China Censors the Oscars To Block a Hong Kong Protest Film
Documentary short Do Not Split draws the ire of Beijing.
Civil Liberties
HHS Blames Trump Policy for 180,000 Unplanned Pregnancies
Plus: Clarity on Adam Toledo's death, Big Tech antitrust bill approved by House Democrats, and more...
Pharma Co. Demands Preliminary Injunction to Take Down Anesthesiology Journal Articles
Pacira Biosciences' redacted brief supporting the motion for the preliminary injunction is now available—but it says nothing about the First Amendment, or about how the injunction could escape the prior restraint doctrine.
Conservatives Embrace Their Own 'Wokeness' With Attacks on Private Businesses
Remember when Republicans believed private businesses had a right to exercise free speech?
Pharma Co. Suing American Society of Anesthesiologists, Seeking Removal of Criticisms in Anesthesiology Journal + Retraction
Pacira Biosciences, Inc. is suing over allegedly "false and misleading statements made about EXPAREL, a pain medication drug."
Threat of Frivolous but Reputation-Damaging Lawsuit Can Be Criminal Extortion,
if it's used as an attempt to get a settlement, the Ninth Circuit rules .
3 Reasons Why Banning 'Assault Weapons' Is a Terrible Idea
A ban won’t stop mass shootings, but it will hinder self-defense.
When Everything Is 'Systemic Racism,' People Will Tune Out the Term
Leveling that grave accusation at every aspect of American life will produce disengagement, alienation, and reaction.
More Than A Dozen States Are Trying To Nullify Federal Gun Control
Conservative state legislators are taking a page from the playbook of pro-immigration activists and the marijuana legalization movement.
FDA Reverses Course on Abortion Drugs by Mail
Plus: Legal battle over published arrest records, senators introduce cruise ship legislation, and more...
6th Cir. Upholds Ban on Doctors Performing Abortions Knowing the Reason Is Down Syndrome
The 9-7 en banc ruling appears to rest on the ban applying on to doctors who know the woman's reason; women could apparently still get such abortions if they don't disclose the reason.
University of Oklahoma Diversity Training Forces Students and Faculty To Affirm the School's Political Views
The mandatory online training requires users to select the “right” speech before they finish.
Georgetown Law Prof. Lama Abu Odeh on the "Progressoriat" and "Georgetown's Cultural Revolution"
"Terror and dread fill academic workers, professors, and staff alike, and it is everywhere."
Overcriminalization Killed Daunte Wright
A police officer pulled the trigger. But Wright shouldn't have been pulled over in the first place.
Biden's Gun-Limitation Schemes Make a Mockery of His 'Unity' Message
The president is picking fights with much of the population and further dividing the country.
Contrary to What Biden Says, Gun Show Sales Aren't Exempt From Background Checks
Plus: GOP gender policing in North Carolina, marijuana legalization mistakes, and more...
Cops Are Using Facial Recognition Technology More Than Previously Revealed
The surveillance state is available as a plug-and-play solution for any cop interested in a free trial period.
Can Places of Public Accommodation Exclude People Based on Their Politics?
It all depends on where you are.
Joe Biden Learns To Love Gun Control by Presidential Fiat
The president's unilateral restrictions are legally dubious and unlikely to "save lives."
Some Thoughts on Google v. Oracle, from Prof. Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard)
"Categories, microworks, and market circularity."
New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity
It is the third state to rein in the legal doctrine that protects state actors from accountability for misconduct.
Ex-Rep. Katie Hill's Revenge Porn Lawsuit Against Daily Mail (UK) Dismissed
"Defendant has established that the images are a matter of public concern, as they speak to Plaintiff's character and qualifications for her position as a Congresswoman, allegedly depicting an extramarital sexual relationship with a paid campaign staff member, the use of illegal drugs by a sitting Congresswoman, and a tattoo similar to the symbols formerly used by white supremacists."
N.Y. Appellate Court Upholds Semester Suspension for Attending Unmasked/Undistanced Off-Campus Parties During Epidemic
“While the penalty of suspension is very harsh, it is not shockingly disproportionate to the offense. It does not shock the conscience for a university, acting during a pandemic, to enforce rules designed to prevent the spread of the virus with the penalty of suspension.”
Names of Police Officers Involved in Defensive Shooting of Suspects Aren't Public Records
So holds the Florida Court of Appeal, interpreting the Florida Constitution's crime victims' rights provision. ("If a prosecutor determines that the officer was not a victim and instead charges the officer for his conduct," the names would be released, but no such determination was made here.)
Backpage Judge Accused of Bias Will Remain on Case
Plus: Effort to decriminalize psychedelics gains traction in California, crony capitalism at its worst, and more...
University Trying to Block Distribution of Faculty Senate Meeting Video Excerpts Using Copyright Law
An interesting controversy involving Portland State University.
Europeans Embrace America's Policing Mistakes
The pandemic pushed Americans to consider police reform while other countries moved to unleash their cops.
MSU Conference on Freedom of Speech and Intellectual Diversity on Campus
A free online conference sponsored by the LeFrak Forum on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy at Michigan State University.
Biden Administration Deploys the Civil Rights Act To Stop a $7 Billion Highway Project in Houston
The Federal Highway Administration is asking Texas officials to hit pause on a massive highway widening project while it examines whether it violates Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Judge Halts Ohio Law Requiring Burial or Cremation of Aborted Fetuses
Plus: Copyright case a win for Google and fair use, California considering repeal of its "loitering with intent to commit prostitution" law, and more...
The No-Fly List Is a Civil Liberties Nightmare
Existing laws are more than adequate to handle the Capitol rioters.
"The People Have Every Right to Look Over Our Shoulder and Review the Documents Before the Court"
"This is beyond the pale. The indiscriminate use of the confidentiality stamp alone warrants the denial of the entirety of the motions."
Justice Thomas Wonders When Supreme Court Will Have To Consider Social Media's Private Deplatforming Power
A moot case about Trump blocking tweets leads to concerns that tech companies have too much control over speech.
A Professor Pushed Back Against 'White Fragility' Training. The College Investigated Her for 9 Months.
The chaos at Lake Washington Institute of Technology is by no means an isolated occurrence.
Some Rhetoric from the Rotenberg v. Politico Complaint
Gripes about publishers getting "private commercial benefit" from "hate speech, propaganda, and statements that seek to destabilize American democracy"; argument that "[t]he public figure doctrine emerged in an era prior to the Internet advertising model that rewards news organizations for the ongoing display of defamatory content."
The Legal Complexities in Rotenberg v. Politico—#1332 Might Surprise You!
Remember: Lawyers’ true superpower is the power to turn all questions into questions about procedure.
