Don't Expect Millions To Die From Coronavirus, Says Richard Epstein
The NYU Law professor thinks we're in for a mess of bad epidemiology, ineffective stimulus, and misguided quarantines.
Civil Liberties
Will Aggressive COVID-19 Control Measures Cost More Than They Are Worth?
Politicians seem to be proceeding on the dangerous assumption that cost-effectiveness does not matter.
Why I'm Not (Yet?) Much Worried About the Civil Liberties Restrictions Flowing from the Coronavirus Response
The restrictions are less dangerous precisely because they are so broad and onerous.
Federal Lawsuit Against Pro-Palestinian / Anti-Semitic Protesters Outside Synagogue
The plaintiffs are claiming, among other things, "group libel."
The EARN IT Act Is the New FOSTA
The new bill takes aim at internet freedom and privacy under the pretense of saving kids.
COVID-19 Reminds Us: Social Media Is Good, Actually
Will coronavirus help rehabilitate tech's rep?
Adjudication Outside Article III (part one)
Why there are no "exceptions" to Article III
Ross Douthat: 'When They Take the Porn, You Can Curse My Name'
New York Times columnist and Decadent Society author defends prohibitionism in a conversation on The Fifth Column.
Champaign (Ill.) Emergency Order Doesn't Ban Guns, But Does Authorize (Likely Unconstitutional) Emergency Gun Bans
The order activates a pre-existing ordinance, which authorizes a wide range of actions, including curfews, alcohol sales, gun sales, property seizures, and more.
Court Rules Mostly for Catholic Nurse Who Objected to Newly Imposed Birth-Control and Abortion-Referral Duties
The Illinois Appellate Court's decision interprets the Illinois version of the RFRA, and the separate Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act (which bans all discrimination "because of [a] person's conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience").
China Bans Pandemic Video Game From App Store and Steam
Plague Inc. simulates the spread of coronavirus.
A Qualified Immunity Case That the Federal Courts Got Right
Fatal police shootings and the Fourth Amendment
Sealing Court Filings Drawn from Discovery Requires More Than Just General Assertions of Confidentiality
A case decided Monday reaffirms this principle, especially in the Seventh Circuit.
Over Objections From Privacy Advocates, Tame Surveillance Bill Sails Through the House
Some Republican senators are working hard to get Trump behind stronger fixes.
Trump Confuses Nation With COVID-19 Address
Plus: A second person appears to be cured of HIV, cops can destroy your home for no reason and refuse to pay, and more...
Accusations of Trying to "Hit on Underage Girls" Aren't Defamatory Without Proof of Actual Damage,
at least under the Illinois "innocent construction" rule, under which "a nondefamatory interpretation must be adopted if it is reasonable"—"a reasonable reading of Lorenz's article is that although Wedgewood communicated with underage girls, he never meant to take things further."
Do You Have a First Amendment Right to a Slayer-Themed License Plate?
A new lawsuit is challenging the California DMV's rejection of allegedly offensive personalized license plates.
Would Italian-Style Lockdowns to Curtail the Spread of Coronavirus Pass Legal Muster in the U.S.?
The extent of state and federal quarantine powers is surprisingly unsettled.
A Compromise Bill on Domestic Surveillance Reform Aims to Do Just Enough to Shut Trump Up
Privacy activists on the left and the right decry a limp set of proposed changes to the USA Freedom Act.
Can Law Ban False Reporting About Coronavirus?
Probably, if it's limited to knowing falsehoods (or perhaps statements where the speaker knows they are probably false).
Rocker Nick Cave Defends Old Songs From 'Perpetually Pissed Off Coterie of Pearl-Clutchers'
"I would rather be remembered for writing something that was...offensive, than to be forgotten for writing something bloodless."
The Bloomberg and Steyer Fiascoes Should Give Pause to Speech Restrictionists
No amount of money can buy victory for candidates who fail to persuade voters.
Biden Likens Owning an AR-15 to Falsely Shouting Fire in a Crowded Theater
The presidential contender has trouble explaining why the guns he wants to ban fall outside the Second Amendment.
New Jersey Security Guard Arrested for Gun He Has Permit to Carry
When it comes to guns, pretty much nothing is legal in New Jersey, according to their police.
Manhattan Federal Court Coronavirus-Related Restrictions
In light of this, should the presumptive First Amendment right of access to court cases require the court to provide video coverage of hearings?
Will We See Real Surveillance Reform This Week?
The USA Freedom Act is about to sunset. Who will decide how and if it will be changed?
Senators Push Sneaky Anti-Privacy Bill
The EARN IT is an attack on encryption masquerading as a blow against underage porn.
Would a Ban on Handshaking Be Constitutional?
Not that I'm suggesting it, but it's an interesting con law hypo.
Criminal Libel Conviction for Anti-Nixon Cartoon
An interesting 1969 case (based on a publication right after the 1968 election), reversed on appeal in 1974; thanks to Jacob Gershman (Wall St. J.) for letting me know about it.
Did Louisiana Enact a Bogus Health Law as a Pretext for Banning Abortion?
The Supreme Court weighs abortion regulation in June Medical Services v. Russo.
Chuck Schumer's Trumpian Attack on the Supreme Court Threatens the Judicial Independence That Democrats Claim To Defend
The Senate minority leader threatened two justices by name, and then he lied about it.
The Trump Campaign Sues Another Newspaper
Plus: Judge rejects Gabbard's Google lawsuit, Bloomberg drops out, and more...
She Said He Said He Saw Demons. Then He Had to Give Up His Guns.
A bizarre Florida “red flag” case shows the importance of safeguards that protect people’s Second Amendment rights.
No, Google Didn't Violate Tulsi Gabbard's First Amendment Rights, Federal Judge Rules
"Google is not now, nor (to the Court's knowledge) has it ever been, an arm of the United States government," wrote District Judge Stephen Wilson.
More on Steve Farzam, L.A. Businessman Accused of Using Forged Court Order …
to try to vanish online magazine article about him.
Cops Arrested and Handcuffed a 10-Year-Old Boy for Pointing a Toy Gun at a Car
"I was, at the time, very scared."
Husband of Embattled Los Angeles D.A. Pulls Gun on Protesters at Their Door
District Attorney Jackie Lacey faces re-election today against a tough field calling for more criminal justice reforms.
Brett Kimberlin (Speedway Bomber) Loses Attempt to Vacate Long-Past Convictions
Kimberlin is also known for having accused Dan Quayle of having bought marijuana from him, and has since become a frequent litigant, including against bloggers Patrick Frey (Patterico), Aaron Walker, and others.
SCOTUS Denies Certiorari in Bump Stock Case (But Justice Gorsuch Blasts Lower Court's Reasoning)
A high-profile gun case actually presents meaty questions of administrative law
Are Quarantines a Proportionate Response to the Coronavirus?
While the use of force can be justified to curtail the spread of communicable diseases, the threat has to be weighed against the burdens on potential carriers.
Gorsuch Throws Shade at Trump Administration for Rewriting Federal Gun Laws Without Congressional Approval
“Why should courts, charged with the independent and neutral interpretation of the laws Congress has enacted, defer to such bureaucratic pirouetting?”
"Once the Cat Is Out of the Bag, the Ball Game Is Over"
It's often very hard to get court filings retroactively sealed.
Klobuchar's Tough-on-Crime Past Finally Comes Back to Bite Her
Plus: South Carolina primary tallies, coronavirus claims two lives in Washington state, and more...
