Civil Liberties
Justice Department Invokes State Secrets Privilege Over Deportation Flights
The move is an escalation of the White House's attempt to claim an unchallengeable and unreviewable amount of power.
Judge Orders Rhode Island Town To Return Secretly Seized Land to Affordable Housing Developer
Plus: the federal government tries to stiff landlords over eviction moratorium one last time, the Supreme Court declines to take up eminent domain case, and starter home bills advance in Arizona and Texas.
Trump's War With the Courts
Plus: A listener asks why some American libertarians seem to unquestioningly accept everything Vladimir Putin says.
FIRE Says the Law Trump Is Using To Deport Mahmoud Khalil Is Unconstitutional. Trump's Sister Agreed.
As a federal judge, Maryanne Trump Barry said the provision is unconstitutionally vague. That's especially problematic when it is used to punish speech.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case that Might Have Led to Overruling of Kelo v. City of New London
We don't know why the justices chose not to take it.
Federal Judge Blocks Texas A&M From Banning Drag Shows
The judge ruled that Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive orders targeting "gender ideology" can't change the fact that drag performance is expressive conduct under the First Amendment.
The Truth About Brazil's Rumble Ban
Justice Alexandre de Moraes has shut down Rumble in Brazil, using the same dubious legal arguments that led to the blocking of X and Telegram.
New Case Against Khalil
Plus: Sanders supports deportations, tariff tracker, Panama's Jewish enclave, and more...
Woman Compensated for Vaccine Injury Seeks to Have Name Redacted Because She Works in Vaccine-Related Public Relations
"She 'does not want her experience with [a] poorly administered vaccine to become a story in itself that would interfere with her ability to advocate for vaccinations at large.'"
Lawsuit Challenges Use of Eminent Domain as NIMBY Tool to Block Housing Project
A Rhode Island town seeks to use eminent domain to block construction of a large-scale affordable housing project.
Trump's Reading of the Alien Enemies Act Defies the Usual Meaning of Its Terms
To justify the immediate deportation of suspected Venezuelan gang members, the president is invoking a rarely used statute that does not seem to apply in this context.
Will ICE Use the Alien Enemies Act To Enter Homes Without Warrants?
Already this year, the agency has allegedly conducted a warrantless raid in Newark and several warrantless arrests in the Midwest.
Chicago Public Defender's Claim Over Displaying Photo with Israeli Flag and Gun Can Go Forward
Office leadership allegedly "told Gassman's supervisors that the photo was 'comparable to a Nazi swastika.'"
Another Legal Resident Faces Deportation for Vague Allegations That They Support Terrorists
The Trump administration keeps arresting legal immigrants with views they don't like.
National Constitution Center Podcast on the Alien Enemies Act and Mahmoud Khalil Immigration Cases [Updated]
The participants were Adam Cox (NYU) and myself.
The FBI Seized This Woman's Life Savings—Without Telling Her Why
Linda Martin's lawsuit alleges that the agency violated her right to due process when it took her $40,200 and sent her a notice failing to articulate the reason.
Did ICE Deport This Guy Over a Real Madrid Tattoo?
We can't be sure, and that's why due process matters.
France Accuses Trump of Booting Space Researcher Over 'Personal Opinion'
Border officials reportedly barred the academic from visiting Texas after finding anti-Trump messages on his phone.
"A Statement from Constitutional Law Scholars on Columbia"
by "Eugene Volokh, Michael C. Dorf, David Cole, and 15 other scholars."
Rand Paul Seeks Information on U.K. Requests for Americans' Private Data
Last month, the U.K. reportedly demanded access to any Apple user's data anywhere in the world. Paul wants to know if any other companies have received similar orders recently.
Why Was a Brown University Surgeon Deported to Lebanon?
The Trump administration has started a pattern of trying to deport legal residents over allegations of pro-terrorist views.
How Trump's Alien Enemies Act Deportations Violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment
The people deported are incarcerated in Salvadoran prisons without any due process whatsoever.
Miami Beach Mayor Withdraws Bill To Evict Theater for Screening No Other Land
The attempt to retaliate against a cinema for screening a documentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict drew national condemnation from civil rights groups and filmmakers.
FBI Failed To Spot Faked Evidence in Case Against Alleged Orgasm Cult
Journals allegedly written by the government's star witness in 2015 were not authentic, prosecutors now say.
Trump Is Explicitly Targeting Legal Residents Based on the Opinions They Express
The rationale for deporting Mahmoud Khalil is chillingly vague and broad.
The Feds' Legal Arguments for These Deportations Are Laughably Weak
A Trump administration official admits that there is little specific evidence tying some deportees to any crime—and argues that the lack of evidence should be taken as proof of criminality.
'We Are Not Stopping'
Plus: Texas midwife arrested for violating abortion ban, JFK files, Gaza bombings, astronauts finally rescued, and more...
Why We Don't Need the Department of Education
Plus: A listener asks the editors whether a Kamala Harris presidency would have been preferable.
Congress, the Fifth Amendment, and Personal Jurisdiction
A recently filed amicus brief in Fuld v. PLO.
Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Printed Guns, Scratch and Sniff, Jakarta Traffic (Vol. 18)
Good intentions, bad results.
First They Came For…
Plus: Democrats' filibuster hypocrisy, Trump bombs Yemen, March Madness, and more...
Anti-DEI Executive Orders Can Go Forward, for Now, Says Federal Appeals Court
A district judge had "found the provisions likely unconstitutional and issued a nationwide injunction" against them; the Fourth Circuit just stayed that injunction, pending full consideration of the issue on appeal.
TSA Screeners' Union Sues the Trump Administration for Violating Its First Amendment Rights
Passengers suing the TSA for First Amendment violations have had a rough time in court.
Taking $200 Out of an ATM Should Not Trigger Federal Financial Surveillance
No, not even if you do it in a county that borders Mexico.
Utah Court Strikes Down Injunction Banning Speech "Annoy[ing] or Caus[ing] Distress" to Neighbor Running a Mental Health Residential Treatment Center,
but upholds limits on speech to plaintiff (or her visitors).
Georgia Antidoxing Bill Could Criminalize Everyday Criticism
The bill is a "law against criticism of any kind," according to a lawyer who testified against it.
The FCC's Show Trial Against CBS Is a Political Power Play
The commission’s partisan “news distortion” probe is trampling the First Amendment to pressure the press.