"I Despise White People" Lawsuit Against OSU Can Go Forward
A white administrator is claiming she was fired based on her race, and based on her complaints that her department chair said "I despise white people" and various other things.
Civil Liberties
Gen. Michael Flynn's Brother v. CNN Lawsuit Over Allegations of Being a "QAnon Follower"
can go forward as to the "false light" claim, but not as to the libel claim (at least unless the plaintiff can amend his Complaint to adequately allege specific economic losses).
Kim Kardashian's Love of Lower Taxes and Individual Rights Has Made Her Politically Homeless
It's a fairly benign thing to say. And yet it's a landmine in our media landscape.
Cops Held Two Innocent Boys at Gunpoint, Forced Them to Lie on the Ground, Handcuffed Them, and Searched Them. That's Fine, the 8th Circuit Said.
The Institute for Justice wants the Supreme Court to review the case—and to clarify the proper scope of "investigatory stops."
Magistrate Judge Expresses Concerns About DOJ's Not Explaining How It's Complying with Policy Related to Getting Information from News Media
“The events of January 6th were an attack on the foundation of our democracy. But this does not relieve the Department of Justice from following its own guidelines, written to preserve the very same democracy.... [This case] leaves the court to wonder who watches the watchmen.”
Are the Parents of the Michigan School Shooter Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter?
The charge requires proof that James and Jennifer Crumbley knew their son posed a threat and could have prevented the attack through "ordinary care."
Attract Government Attention and Get Your Name Run Through a 'Terrorist' Database
Offending the powerful can be dangerous in an increasingly authoritarian world.
Arizona Mom Threatened With Prison, Placed on Secret Blacklist For Letting Kids Play At the Park
"The market was asking that anyone who didn't need to go into the store to please stay outside," she says.
"Dating an Actress … Would Not Cause 'Public Hatred,' 'Shame,' [or] 'Ridicule'"
MyPillow founder Michael Lindell loses lawsuit over allegedly false claim that he had a "secret romance with 30 Rock actress Jane Krakowski and wooed her with flowers and champagne."
Taking a Page From the Texas Abortion Ban, California's Governor Threatens To Attack Gun Rights With Private Lawsuits
Gavin Newsom is exploring legislation to authorize private civil actions against people who sell "assault weapons" or gun kits.
Judge Limits Discovery of Kevin Spacey's Past Romantic and Sexual Partners
“During discovery, plaintiff shall not inquire of the defendant concerning his prior sexual or romantic experiences ... with anyone unless the identity of the person ... has been disclosed by the [person] or otherwise become public, in either case in connection with a claim, published report in mainstream media, or public allegation that any such sexual or romantic experience or encounter was not in all respects consensual.”
University of Florida Suppresses Speech Ron DeSantis Might Not Like, Report Alleges
Keeping professors from testifying in lawsuits isn't the school's only free speech problem
California Governor Calls for S.B. 8-Style Legislation Targeting Firearms
In response to the Supreme Court's ruling largely precluding pre-enforcement challenge of the Texas abortion law, Governor Newsom calls for similar action on guns.
Veterinarian's Advice May Be Protected by First Amendment
Federal district court holds that the First Amendment sharply limits restrictions on such professional-client speech, at least when the speech doesn’t involve “prescribing medication or reaching a diagnosis.”
How Narrow is the Pathway the Supreme Court Left for Suits Challenging SB 8 and Other Similar State Laws?
Things are far from completely clear. But Justice Gorsuch's opinion may give preenforcement challenges to SB 8 and other similar laws a good deal more wiggle room than many think.
SCOTUS Says State Judges and Court Clerks Can't Be Sued To Block Enforcement of the Texas Abortion Ban
The Court allowed claims against health care regulators to proceed, but that will not prevent the private civil actions authorized by the law.
Here Is Why a Texas Judge Concluded That the State's Abortion Ban Is Unconstitutional
District Court Judge David Peeples focused on the law's "unique and unprecedented" enforcement mechanism rather than abortion rights.
U.K. Rules Julian Assange May Be Extradited to the U.S. To Face Espionage Charges
In a significant threat to the free press, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces decades in federal prison for leaking classified documents.
The Great Libertarian Gift Guide of 2021
It's time to spread cheer. Reason is here to help.
A Murky Decision in the Texas SB 8 Case
The Court rules that the lawsuit against SB 8 can proceed by targeting state licensing officials. But the implications for future cases are far from completely clear.
Pre-Enforcement Constitutional Challenges
There's no general federal right to them; they are often available when a law is enforced by government officials, but generally not as to laws in which private citizens sue (whether over abortion, speech, religious exercise, gun ownership or sales, or anything else).
Breaking: Supreme Court Allows Slim Pathway to Challenge Texas S.B. 8
The private litigation against some defendants may proceed, but the federal lawsuit is gone.
Texas State Court Rules SB 8 Enforcement Mechanism is Unconstitutional
The ruling is mostly based on the Texas state constitution and probably will not affect the federal case challenging SB 8, currently before the Supreme Court. But it makes some notable points, nonetheless.
The ACLU's Push To 'Cancel' Student Debt Shows How Far It Has Strayed From Defending Civil Liberties
The organization's embrace of a wide-ranging progressive agenda undermines its reason for existing.
California Stops Requiring Academic Prerequisites for Horseshoeing Schools
The change stems from a First Amendment case brought by the Institute for Justice, a leading libertarian public interest law firm.
Religious Freedom Doesn't Bar Discovery in Libel Case By High-Level N.H. Catholic Priest Against Dissenting Group
“The Very Reverend Georges F. de Laire, J.C.L., who serves as the Judicial Vicar and the Vicar for Canonical Affairs for the Diocese of Manchester, brings a defamation claim against Gary Michael Voris, Anita Carey, and St. Michael’s Media, Inc. a/k/a Church Militant.”
Horizontal Federalism and Abortion after Dobbs
Flagging some interesting blog posts on the question.
Showing "20 Shocking China Facts You Don't Know" Video in Class Led to Firing of Minnesota Teacher,
though an arbitrator reduced this to a 40-day suspension.
Crisis at Rikers Island
In 2021, the institutional rot and dysfunction at Rikers Island cascaded into a full-blown catastrophe.
She Got Her Car Back 6 Years After Police Seized It
Malinda Harris’ ordeal shows how easily the government can take innocent people’s property under civil forfeiture laws.
Secret Documents Show Which Message Apps Are the Most FBI-Proof
WhatsApp and iMessage are not as private as you might think.
A New Opportunity for the Government To Screw Up Abortion Law
Plus: A reminder to Bill de Blasio of what "incentive" really means
Teacher Suspended Partly for Quoting (on Personal Facebook Page) Bernie Sanders' "Woman … Fantasizes Being Raped" Essay
"The undersigned finds that despite Mr. Caggiano's belief that his post makes an important point [criticizing] Bernie Sanders, the undersigned finds that it can be logically read to be patently offensive, discriminatory, and degrading to women."
If Roe Gets Overruled, Abortion Policy may not be "Left to the States"
Absent Roe, current Supreme Court precedent likely gives the federal government considerable power to either restrict or protect abortion rights. But that precedent could potentially be limited in ways advocated by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, an unlikely potential savior of abortion rights!
"Trouble Brewing [at Yale] After 'Dehumanizing' Artisanal Coffee Remark"
"The letter condemns Satel for having 'the audacity to challenge Reverend Al Sharpton, an exemplary individual and activist.'"
RIP Phil Harvey, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Who Expanded Human Pleasure and Human Choice
Harvey, who died last week, dedicated his life to supporting human pleasure along with the power to manage it responsibly.
Zoom Conversation Today (Noon Pacific) with Nadine Strossen, Former ACLU Head
The conversation will be about Prof. Strossen's Journal of Free Speech Law article, "The Interdependence of Racial Justice and Free Speech for Racists," and it will be with Profs. Jane Bambauer, Ash Bhagwat, and me.
Zoom Workshop on Prof. David McGowan's Forthcoming "A Bipartisan Case Against New York Times v. Sullivan"
A discussion with Prof. RonNell Andersen Jones (Utah), two noted media lawyers and clinical teachers (Prof. Dale Cohen, UCLA, and Prof. Gregg Leslie, Arizona State), and me about this forthcoming Journal of Free Speech Law article.
En Banc Sixth Circuit Splits 8-8 Over Bump Stock Ban
The district court decision upholding the ATF's conclusion that bump stocks constitute unlawful "machine guns" is upheld by an equally divided court.
