A Texas News Vlogger Asks SCOTUS To Decide Whether Criminalizing Journalism Is 'Obviously Unconstitutional'
This is Priscilla Villarreal’s second trip to the Supreme Court, which last year revived her First Amendment lawsuit.
Civil Liberties
Mother's Telling Children She Thinks Thor Actor Chris Hemworth Is Their "Spiritual Father" Didn't Preclude Award of Custody to Her
"There was also evidence presented regarding Liza's alleged delusional thinking and hallucinations. Eli testified that Liza told him Kenneth was his physical father, but actor Chris Hemsworth was his spiritual father. Eli also testified that for years Liza had talked about having another daughter someday, whom she would name Phoebe, and Hemsworth would be the father. Brigham testified that Liza told him she believed Hemsworth was the children's father." Plus unschooling, unbathing, and more.
ISIS Gunmen
Plus: Universal child care polls well, DEI and generational dynamics, and more...
When Originalism Undermines Trump
From birthright citizenship to tariffs, many of the president’s key policies run counter to the Constitution’s original meaning.
Shootings at Bondi and Brown
Plus: Chile elects a right-winger, Jimmy Lai gets convicted, midair collision narrowly averted, and more...
Felon's Living with Family Members Who He Knows Own Guns Doesn't Itself Show "Possession" Under State Ban on Felons Possessing Guns
So concludes the Louisiana Supreme Court, though my sense is that other courts may well have decided this differently.
Penn State Basketball Player vs. Head Coach Defamation Lawsuit Can Go Forward (but Not as to the Disrespectful "Bro")
"[The coach's alleged statement] can reasonably be inferred as ... defamatory ... about Clary—that Clary himself was greedy and only interested in money and, as a result, abandoned [his] team and refused to play for Penn State."
Court Refuses to Block Medical Journal's Retraction of COVID Vaccine Study That Had ~150K Views
The court concluded that a retraction likely wouldn't breach any publication contract, and that under the circumstances a temporary restraining order would be especially unjustified given the publisher's First Amendment rights.
Americans Need More and Better 'Third Places.' User Fees Can Help.
As traditional gathering places disappear, market-based funding could expand parks, courts, and other spaces that help people reconnect without raising taxes.
Nepal's Socialist Government Banned Social Media, So Activists Plotted a Revolution—on Discord.
The country's transition leader was selected not at the ballot box but on a 100,000-person Discord chat.
The Feds' 'Worst of the Worst' Database Is Stuffed With Nonviolent Offenders. Who Exactly Is ICE Arresting?
Most ICE arrestees are nonviolent or have no criminal convictions at all.
Netflix and Paramount Will Fight for Trump's Favor
Which is what progressive fans of antitrust want, no?
CBP Agents Held This U.S. Citizen for Hours Until He Agreed To Let Them Search His Electronic Devices
A federal lawsuit argues that the agency's policy of perusing travelers' personal data without a warrant or probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment.
Trump Administration Claims That Spending $140 Million on Jets for Deportations Will Save Money
But the real goal is to speed up removals, despite ongoing due process violations.
Want To Vacation In America? Trump Wants To See Your Social Media Posts First.
The move is bad for free speech and bad for American businesses that depend on tourism.
The DOJ Says It Will Challenge Unconstitutional Gun Policies. Maybe It Should Stop Defending Them.
The Justice Department's litigation positions are at odds with its avowed intent to protect Second Amendment rights.
Massachusetts Church's 'ICE Was Here' Nativity Scene Is Protected Speech, Even if ICE Doesn't Like It
Rev. Stephen Josoma of St. Susanna Parish defended the message against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.
How Foreign Governments Police U.S. Speech
Sarah McLaughlin reveals how foreign governments pressure American universities through speech codes and satellite campuses, and examines the broader threat international authoritarianism poses to free expression.
Survey: 91 Percent of College Students Think 'Words Can Be Violence.' That Could Feed Real Violence.
But there's a silver lining—sort of.
Trump's Word Games Can't Conceal the Murderous Reality of His Anti-Drug Strategy
Calling suspected cocaine smugglers "combatants" does not justify summarily executing them.
No Injunction Against Prosecution for Taking Photo of Transgender Politician Washing Hands in Women's Restroom
So holds a Fifth Circuit panel, over a dissent. Note that part of the majority's rationale is that the photo would only violate the statute if the prosecution can show that defendant intended to invade privacy in a way "highly offensive to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities."
Trump Is Still Claiming He Saves '25,000 American Lives' When He Blows Up a Suspected Drug Boat
So far, by the president's reckoning, he has prevented 650,000 U.S. drug deaths—eight times the number recorded last year.
Department of Homeland Security
Trump Is Using the 'Misinformation' Censorship Playbook Republicans Attacked Biden For
The party in power changes. The pressure to silence critics doesn’t.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Incitement, Enthusiasm, and the Dangers of Negligent Protest," by John Inazu
From the "Gitlow v. New York at 100" symposium, held this year at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Why Gun Groups Oppose Transgender Gun Bans
It's not surprising that the NRA and other Second Amendment advocates spoke out against a trans firearm ban floated by the Trump administration.
Our Amicus Brief in the Pung v. Isabella County Home Equity Theft Takings Case
I wrote it (with help from others) on behalf of the Cato Institute and a group of takings and property scholars.
The Government Wants To Punish Orgasmic Meditation Defendants for Crimes They Weren't Charged With
The prosecutors argue that sentencing based on unconvicted—or even uncharged—conduct doesn't violate due process.
Hegseth Mulls Releasing a Video That Illustrates the Brutality of Trump's Murderous Anti-Drug Strategy
The footage shows what happened to the survivors of the September 2 attack that inaugurated the president's deadly campaign against suspected drug boats.
Bill of Rights Day: How Your Rights Keep Authoritarianism in Check
The document remains remarkably resilient, even as Republicans and Democrats keep launching assaults on liberty.
Ayn Rand Denounced the FCC's 'Public Interest' Censorship More Than 60 Years Ago
In her 1962 essay "Have Gun, Will Nudge," Rand foresaw how government officials would seek to silence people they don't like.
Plaintiff Can Add Claims to Case Alleging Carnegie Mellon Prof Said Time on Jewish-Related Project "Would Have Been Better Spent" Exploring "What Jews Do to Make Themselves Such a Hated Group"
One claim is that CMU's Chief Diversity Officer illegally recorded meeting with student and the accused professor—and then apparently "asserted her Fifth Amendment rights when ... asked her if she did so or if she had a pattern or practice of recording student meetings, without their consent, in the scope of her duties."
The 'Threat' That Supposedly Justified Killing 2 Boat Attack Survivors Was Entirely Speculative
The commander who ordered a second missile strike worried that the helpless men he killed might be able to salvage cocaine from the smoldering wreck.
Texas Governor Strips 2 Muslim Groups of the Right To Buy Land in the State by Calling Them Terrorists
You don't have to like the Muslim Brotherhood or the Council on American-Islamic Relations to think the government should be required to prove accusations before punishing people.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Gitlow as a Guide to Holmes," by Joseph Blocher
From the "Gitlow v. New York at 100" symposium, held this year at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law; other papers from that symposium will be published shortly.
Boat Attack Commander Says He Had To Kill 2 Survivors Because They Were Still Trying To Smuggle Cocaine
Adm. Frank M. Murphy reportedly told lawmakers a controversial second strike was necessary because drugs on the burning vessel remained a threat.
