Civil Liberties
Profs. Dorf & Koppelman on Anti-BDS Laws
A couple of posts prompted by an error (since corrected) in an article that cited our brief.
Delaware Court Creates Expungement Remedy for Quickly Dismissed Protection-from-Abuse Orders
"[T]he parties argued as public figures employed in the areas of law and civil service, their livelihoods are tied to their reputation."
Connecticut Commission Opposes Repeal of "Racial Ridicule" Law
"At a time when hate and bias incidents are on the rise, it is crucial that the state not remove these types of prohibitions that deter or punish this unacceptable behavior."
Can Senseless Gun Regulations Be Constitutional?
Under New York's rules, licensed pistol and revolver owners were not allowed to leave home with their handguns unless they were traveling to or from a shooting range.
Twitter's New 'Deceptive Video' Labeling Plan Immediately Abused To Attack a Silly Joke Ad from Bloomberg
Nobody is being misled by this obviously joking debate clip. But this sort of ginned-up outrage will be used to target political opponents.
Newspaper Lobbyists and Encryption Foes Join the Chorus Against Section 230
How the press learned to stop worrying and love censorship.
Yes, the Constitution Means Your Political Opponents Get Due Process Too
Americans are so locked into their political sides that many of them seem willing to cast aside some of the nation's long-established constitutional protections.
The First Amendment Right To Encourage Illegal Immigration
What’s at stake in United States v. Sineneng-Smith.
Congressional Candidate Ordered Not to Repeat Charges That Her Opponent Abused His Wife
A clear constitutional violation.
Federal Court Rules Against Plaintiffs in Second Hurricane Harvey Takings Case
The ruling may well be both correct and consistent with the same court's earlier ruling in favor of a different set of plaintiffs arising from the same events. But the opinion does still have a few notable flaws.
A Michigan Police Task Force Is Playing Jurisdiction Games To Avoid Compensating an Innocent Man Cops Put in the Hospital
The Institute for Justice calls on the Supreme Court to put a stop to it.
Ohio University's Radical Students Could Have Ignored Kaitlin Bennett. Instead, They Threw Liquids At Her.
The mob strategy is morally and practically flawed.
The FBI's Sloppy FISA Surveillance Is Exposed
The findings shared by Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed some rotten practices at the FBI and a major media blindspot.
Bloomberg's Constitutionally Oblivious Gun Battles
The presidential candidate’s gun control platform, like his defense of "stop and frisk," sacrifices civil liberties on the altar of public safety.
No Belated Sealing of "Central" Information in Professor's Race Discrimination Suit
The lawsuit had been filed against the University of Colorado; the Scheduling Order, which the professor had sought to seal, referred to allegations of improper conduct on the professor's part.
Virginia's Thwarted 'Assault Firearm' Ban Illustrates the Folly of Trying to Distinguish Between Good and Evil Guns
Legislators who approved a bunch of other gun control bills could not agree on what features make a firearm intolerable.
Does South Park Encourage Political Apathy and Moral Superiority?
Critics say the long-running satiric cartoon has created "a generation of boys" who are smug and disengaged.
Are Laws Requiring Lawyers to Join (and Fund) State Bar Associations Unconstitutional?
In Janus, the Court rejected requirements that government employees pay dues to unions; now the question before the Court is whether this applies to mandatory bar membership (and bar dues).
U.K. 'Celebrates' Its New Freedom From the E.U. by Pushing Massive Online Censorship Orders
Government wants to force social media platforms to accept a “duty of care” to protect users from whatever they deem harmful.
How Rob Long Went from Cheers to National Review to LSD
The long, strange, and unfinished trip of a sitcom-writing legend who turned right after the Cold War, co-founded a podcast empire, turned on to psychedelics, and got turned off to politics.
CIA Encryption Meddling and Chinese Espionage Allegations Make It Clear: We All Need Strong Data Protection
Somebody tell the FBI and Congress.
No Sealing + Harsh Words About Employer-Mandated Arbitration in Doordash Case
"The district court should not be a party to concealing this information from the public, especially as it concerns an arbitration organization that holds itself out to the public as impartial. These documents would be useful to the public in evaluating the true extent to which the organization is impartial."
New Data Suggest Florida Cops Have Broad Power to Take Away People's Second Amendment Rights
In Broward County, judges almost never reject police petitions for gun confiscation orders.
"Judge Who Sealed Documents Relating to Her Home in Beach Community Gets Reversed by Appellate Court"
An update on that Connecticut unsealing case.
Bloomberg's Awful Old Quotes Defending Unconstitutional Stop-and-Frisk Are Coming Back to Haunt Him
The former New York mayor is being called a racist for his former support of searching young minorities without cause.
Psychiatric Hospitals Can Still Force Patients to Accept Shock Treatment. One Connecticut Patient Has Been Shocked 500 Times in Five Years.
Despite concerns about efficacy and side effects, courts are slow to act on behalf of patients who don’t want the treatment.
California Attorney General Defends Gang Database Despite Abuses by LAPD
Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced action against the department.
Georgia Can't Compel School Speakers To Promise They Won't Boycott Israel, Argues New Federal Lawsuit
Plus: Sanders tops Biden in new national poll, how federal housing policy is getting families evicted, and more...
Where Have You Been? Your Cellphone Knows and Is Willing to Tell
Your cellphone is tracking your movements and, despite legal protections, federal, state, and local officials are finding new and disturbing ways to use that information.
6th Circuit: This Man Can Sue the Cop Who Arrested Him for Defending His Daughter Against a Feral Cat
Dwain Barton says Officer Dean Vann illegally entered his home and used excessive force while arresting him without probable cause.
@UnsealieCourt, a New Twitter Feed for News About Public Access to Court Records
(and perhaps to other government records).
Last Monday: Second Circuit Fair Use Day (Drake + Sargon of Akkad)
Four Second Circuit judges gave fair use victories (separately) to rapper Drake and blogger Sargon of Akkad, concluding that defendants' uses of plaintiffs' work to comment on it and criticize it were fair use and thus not copyright infringement.
The Tear of Allah
The Chinese Communist Party confiscated a sacred meteorite from Muslim herders. They're suing to get it back.
Louisiana Prosecutors Say They Can't Be Sued Over the Fake Subpoenas They Used To Pressure Witnesses Into Testifying
In several cases, victims received higher bonds than criminal defendants and were forced to serve jail time.
Kesha Defamed Former Producer in Private Text to Lady Gaga About Rape, Says Judge
Plus: Maybe Buttigieg didn't win Iowa? Vermont considers decriminalizing prostitution. Customs and Border Protection gets a status change. And more...
Alexander Hamilton's Influence on Free Press Law: Free Speech Rules (Episode 10)
Episode 10 of Free Speech Rules, a video series by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
Judge Upbraids UConn for Unfair Investigation
The university disallowed the testimony of witnesses who would have undermined the accuser's credibility.
Australia Moves To Restrict Cash and Build Up Its Surveillance State
It’s all part of the international push by officials to monitor the public. You’re next.
New York City's Commission on Human Rights Thinks It Can Tell Prada What To Sell. Prada Agrees.
The city's overzealous commission has ordered the company to stop selling dolls some said were racial caricatures.
Meet Titania McGrath, the Wokest SJW on Twitter
"Say what you will about ISIS but at least they're not Islamophobic." Journalist Andrew Doyle has created the ultimate parody account.
Judge Orders Heavy Redaction of Motion to Recuse
If a motion to recuse argues that the judge has a conflict of interest because she owns particular property, can the judge order the redaction of all the details related to the location of the property?
China's Coronavirus Censorship Hurts Public Health
Efforts to control the flow of information fail, but they muddle the quality of what people share in defiance of the censors.
Elizabeth Warren Absolutely Wants the Government To Punish Facebook for Spreading Disinformation
"We need to stop this generation of big tech companies from profiting off of lies to the American people," the candidate told PEN America.
