The Supreme Court's Next Big Fourth Amendment Case
What’s at stake in Kansas v. Glover.
Civil Liberties
Shouting Down a Speaker Isn't "Lawful Activity"
"Approximately 2½ minutes after Ms. Oransky's group began chanting ... a representative of the Community Center announced that the facility was closing and that everyone had the leave the building. Ms. Oransky took credit for that announcement immediately telling a videographer 'we closed it down!'"
My New Article on the Supreme Court's Recent Decision in Knick v. Township of Scott - an Important Takings Case
The article is now available for free on SSRN.
Cops Prevent Students From Advertising Fake 'Pot' Brownies Outside Free Speech Zone
Western Illinois University clamps down on student speech.
Trump Mulls Orwellian Proposal to Stop Mass Shootings by Monitoring 'Mentally Ill People' for Signs of Imminent Violence
The program would try to develop a surveillance system based on predictive tests that don't exist.
Boston Judge Smacked Down for Overruling D.A. Who Tried To Drop 'Straight Pride' Protest Charges
Top justice rules that trying to push a criminal case forward over prosecutors’ objections is a violation of separation of powers.
Did You Download an App that Connects to Your Rifle Scope? If So, the Justice Department Wants to Know Who You Are.
Feds go fishing for private data in order to track down illegal exporters.
Don't Just Do Something
Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Who knows? Do something!
San Francisco's Anti-NRA Policy Could Be Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court has said the First Amendment protects government contractors against termination based on their political views.
Alabama Dean Resigns After Conservative Snowflakes Publicize His Old Tweets
Right-wing cancel culture comes for Jamie Riley, who dared to criticize the American flag.
Mississippi Retreats on Stupid Attempts to Censor 'Veggie Burger' Labels
Nobody is being "confused" by vegetarian meat substitutes.
Prof. May Be Ordered to Refer to Transgender Student Using the Student's Preferred Title and Pronoun …
... or refer to all students without a title (e.g., by first name or by last name) and not use third-person pronouns to refer to them.
A Suspiciously Selective, Logically Shaky Analysis of Mass Shooting Data Claims the Federal 'Assault Weapon' Ban 'Really Did Work'
The law's impact on weapon choice cannot plausibly account for reductions or increases in fatalities.
Feds to YouTube: No More Cookies for Children!
The Federal Trade Commission's settlement with YouTube will cripple online video functionality.
Boston Judge Turns Stupid Straight Pride Parade Fighting Into Bizarre Constitutional Drama
An attempt by the district attorney to drop charges against nonviolent protesters was overruled.
Does the Texas Shooting Show That 'Universal Background Checks' Are a Good Way to Prevent Mass Murder?
The policy is unenforceable and poorly tailored to the problem it is meant to address.
Corporations and the First Amendment: Free Speech Rules (Episode 6)
Episode 6 of Free Speech Rules, from UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
Walmart's Ammo Sales Decision Doesn't Violate the Second Amendment. But the Government Ordering Them To Stop Selling Ammo Would.
Defenders, and enemies, of gun access need to get used to their fight being more cultural than political.
The FBI's Infamous List of 'Known Terrorists' Is Ruled Unconstitutional
Plus: millennials are buying homes after all, protecting Pinterest from anti-vaxxers, and more...
The Futility of a Gun Buyback
Before you ask how many Americans will give up their guns, ask how many cops will even try to take them.
How Will the Hong Kong Protests End?
The brave idealism of the people of Hong Kong is enough to stir the heart of anyone who cherishes freedom.
Hong Kong Dissidents Win 1 Demand—Now There's 4 More to Go
Today, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam withdrew the controversial extradition bill that set off protests.
Defending 'Reasoned Debate About Public Safety,' San Francisco Supervisors Declare the NRA a 'Domestic Terrorist Organization'
If you disagree with these politicians about gun control, they think, you might as well join the KKK.
Beto's Impossible Gun Ban Dreams
A growing number of prominent Democrats want owners of "assault weapons" to surrender them to the government. History says most people will ignore any such law.
YouTube Is Not the Government
Conservatives who argue that the video platform is constrained by the First Amendment are forsaking their constitutional principles.
Will Democrats Really Grab Your Guns?
Debating "mandatory buy-backs," Afghanistan withdrawal, and back-to-school week on the Reason Podcast.
Catholic School Pastor Thinks Harry Potter's Spells Are Real, Bans the Books
Harry Potter and the Baffling Return of Religious Panic
Colorado Teen Banned From School for Going Shooting With His Mother
Posting “Finna be lit” on Snapchat shouldn’t have gotten Nathan Myers thrown out of school.
The Media Claimed Andy Ngo Was Complicit in a Far-Right Attack on Antifa. But the Video Doesn't Support That.
“There’s some merit in some of the criticisms of things that I’ve gotten wrong,” admits the former Quillette reporter.
How Your Digital Purchases Could Serve the Perfect Surveillance Network
You may be surprised how many different companies know whenever you use your credit card.
PragerU's Lawsuit Against Google Seeks To Rewrite the First Amendment
It flies in the face of precedent.
Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories
An economist and a science fiction author discuss cryogenics, mythology, philanthropy, fragmentation, and simulation.
He Went for a Big Gulp; "He Ended up Shooting 2 Robbers, Killing 1"
"'There’s definitely an emotional cost to this,' he said. 'But I didn’t get the choice of leaving. I didn’t know what they were going to do.'"
"Harm to Reputation Is Insufficient to Overcome the Strong Presumption in Favor of Public Access …"
"... , especially where, as here, the party who filed the suit alleges harm from the public availability of the record."
Federal Court Rules State Judges Cannot Profit From Fines and Fees Imposed on Defendants in the Cases Before Them
If the court that hears the cases stands to profit from the fines paid by defendants, that's a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. The rulings have potential implications for other, similar conflicts of interest in the criminal justice system.
New Orleans Magistrates Get a Cut of Fines and Bail Money, and That's a Problem
Two federal court rulings cite a significant conflict of interest.
Pro-Democracy Activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow Arrested in Hong Kong
"Hong Kong is a place without basic political and economic freedom," Wong tells Reason.
New Hampshire Woman Can Keep Her 'PB4WEGO' Vanity Plate
The state attempted to recall the vanity plate on the grounds that it referenced "excretory acts or functions."
Free Speech Defenders Warn Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez That She Is Violating the Constitution by Blocking Critics on Twitter
The same First Amendment principles that apply to the president also apply to the congresswoman.
"A Narrative Summary Describing How the … Taxpayer … Shares California's Values with Regard to Women's Reproductive Rights"
That's what a California bill (passed 76-0 by Assembly and 6-0 and 5-2 by Senate committees) would ask film tax credit seekers to provide in their tax credit application.
Feds Kick Incoming Harvard Freshman Out of the Country Because of His Friend's Social Media Posts
Authorities questioned Ismael Ajjawi for eight hours at Logan Airport. Then they revoked his student visa.
No Sealing of Business Details "Directly Relevant to the Heart of [a Civil] Case"
"If the Court sealed the disputed materials, it would essentially conceal the very mechanism that REA used to perpetuate the scheme, leaving the public with little more than the judgment itself to establish the existence of the scheme."
Planned Parenthood Succeeds in Getting Missouri's 8-Week Abortion Ban Blocked, but Rule Against Race- or Sex-Selective Abortion Remains in Place
Plus: North Carolina sues eight more e-cig companies, Tulsi Gabbard fails to meet debate threshold, and more...
No Qualified Immunity for Kim Davis
Government officials fail to follow Supreme Court decisions at their own risk.
OK for Restaurant to Eject City Councilman Whose Political Positions "Had Financially Harmed" the Restaurant
California public accommodations law has been read as banning discrimination based on "political affiliation," but the court concluded that this didn't apply to discrimination based on "political views" more broadly (or based on votes as an elected official).
