Civil Liberties
Interview on the Eminent Domain Podcast
Bobby Debelak, new host of this podcast, interviewed me about a variety of topics related to eminent domain and property rights.
Tyreek Hill's Violent Traffic Stop Shows Wider Police Problems in Miami
In body camera footage from Hill's arrest, Miami-Dade officers intimidate bystanders and invoke a law that hasn't gone into effect yet.
"Equity Training" Requirement for Public Employees Didn't Violate First Amendment, Even When …
employees were required to "correctly" answer multiple choice questions based on the training content.
The Government Is Taking Babies Away Because Their Moms Ate Poppy Seeds
Unreliable drug tests are sparking unnecessary child welfare investigations.
Campus Protest Hypocrisy Reveals Need For Student Education on Free Speech
As Israel-Hamas demonstrations continue in the new school year, the misunderstanding of free speech is fueling disruption and hypocrisy on campuses.
On the Missions of Academic Institutions
As long as academic institutions place social justice goals ahead of truth seeking and knowledge creation, they will lose the respect of the public and will not live up to their potential.
DIY Guns Bring Libertarianism to the World, Says The New York Times
Innovation and defiance hobble government efforts at control.
Sixth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity for State University Officials Who Allegedly Violated Professor's First Amendment Rights
Officials allegedly retaliated against a professor who expressed politically controversial statements about the best treatments for gender dysphoria among youth.
Glenn Greenwald: Why Did Brazil Ban X?
Glenn Greenwald discusses Brazil's ban of X, the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, and the global crackdown on speech on Just Asking Questions.
The FBI Is Undercounting Firearm Self-Defense Incidents
"A couple million times a year, people use guns defensively," says economist and author John Lott.
The First Amendment and the Social Media Dilemma
Social media poses problems far more serious than misinformation campaigns, but solutions consistent with the First Amendment are not clear.
Malcolm Gladwell's Invented Facts Make Good Stories
His "Revisionist History" podcast can amount to historical fiction
Psych Professor's Lawsuit Over Alleged Contract Nonrenewal Based on Speech About Gender Dysphoria Can Go Forward
Prof. Allan Josephson (formerly of the University of Louisville medical school) claims his contract wasn't renewed because "he expressed his thoughts on treating childhood gender dysphoria during a panel discussion sponsored by a conservative think tank [the Heritage Foundation]."
On Abortion, Harris and Trump Were Both Right and Both Infuriatingly Wrong
Each candidate made some good points about reproductive freedom and each told some major whoppers.
On the Responsibilities That Come with the Freedom to Speak Freely
The best practitioners of the freedom of speech are those who do not assume that everyone who disagrees with them operates from bad motives.
Raphael Warnock Admits Laws Won't Stop School Shootings but Wants More Anyway
Often, the best thing for lawmakers to do is nothing.
The First Amendment Right To 'Greenmail' Developers
Plus: The Montana Supreme Court rescues zoning reform, and a new challenge to inclusionary zoning.
Unfortunately There's a Debate Tonight
Plus: Columbia's outside agitators, E.U. antitrust crackdown prevails, and more...
9th Circuit Partly Upholds Injunctions Against Location-Specific Gun Bans in California and Hawaii
The ruling says some restrictions on guns in "sensitive places" are constitutionally dubious but upholds several others.
Court Lets Plaintiff Suing Over "Pro-Hamas Demonstrations at Northwestern" Proceed Pseudonymously
Plaintiff had alleged that being publicly identified would put him at risk of physical harm.
Ruth Shalit Barrett's Defamation Lawsuit Against The Atlantic Survives in Part
The opinion includes some interesting discussion of defamation by implication.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Speech Regulation and Tobacco Harm Reduction," by Jonathan H. Adler & Jacob James Rich
The final article from the Information as Medicine symposium.
The War on 'Foreign Influence' Has Become a War on the First Amendment
Go after bribes and espionage, but leave mere speech alone.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Freedom of the Test," by Prof. Alex Tabarrok
An article from the Information as Medicine symposium.
Free Speech and the Educational Mission
Some of the hardest free speech issues arise when a university argues that restrictions are justified by its "educational mission."
QAnon "Patriot Reporter" Claims Newspaper Libeled Him by Saying He Had Admitted to "Sexual Relationship" with 15-Year-Old
But he loses: "As a result of Godlewski's guilty plea to 'inappropriate text [m]essages' and 'contact' ..., as set forth in the Affidavit of Probable Cause quoting the offending text messages admitting and memorializing a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old minor, Godlewski is collaterally estopped from denying his participation in [the] sexual relationship ...."
1 in 3 College Students Say Violence in a Campus Protest Can Be Acceptable, Survey Finds
The survey of over 50,000 students also found that 37 percent of students said it was "sometimes" or "always" acceptable to shout down a speaker, up from 31 percent last year.
A Georgia Teenager Killed 4 People at His High School. Why Is His Father Charged With Murder?
The case is another example of stretching criminal laws to hold parents accountable for their children's violence.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "The NIH's Genomic Data Sharing Policy and the First Amendment," by Prof. Adam Candeub
An article from the Information as Medicine symposium.
Claim That Someone Is "Racist" or "White Supremacist" Is Opinion and Thus Not Libel, Though …
claims that someone has engaged in specific conduct may be factual assertions and therefore potentially libelous.
No, Not That David Sackler; No, Not That State Law
Law students: Take that Choice of Law (often called Conflicts of Laws) course your law school offers; it can be tremendously important.
'Sometimes You Need a Strongman,' Trump Declares
The former president's attempts to put a positive spin on the term are consistent with his alarmingly authoritarian instincts.
Kamala Harris vs. Elon Musk
The Democratic nominee has favored policing online speech. Would a future Harris administration defend free expression?
Fire Department Chaplain Fired for Blog Post About Transgender Controversies Can Go Forward With Lawsuit
The chaplain's post "discuss[ed] 'how God designed each person as male or female, and that sex is immutable'" and "stated it is unfair to allow males to compete in women's sports."
California Social Media Platform Reporting Mandate Likely Violates the First Amendment
The mandate required platforms to, among other things, report to the state "how the terms of service define and address (a) hate speech or racism; (b) extremism or radicalization; (c) disinformation or misinformation; (d) harassment; and (e) foreign political interference, as well as statistics on content that was flagged by the social media company as belonging to any of the categories."
N.Y. Community Education Council Speech Restrictions Likely Violate First Amendment
"The Community Guidelines' prohibitions of, inter alia, 'homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, racism, or any other forms of oppressive beliefs or behaviors,' 'name-calling,' and 'disrespect' are prohibitions against ideas that offend, and therefore discriminate on the basis of viewpoint in violation of the First Amendment."
A Federal Judge Says Carry-Permit Holders Have a Right to Armed Self-Defense on Public Transit
The ruling concludes that the government failed to show an Illinois ban is "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
