Civil Liberties
Trump's Plan to Force Mexico to Lock In its Own People
The President's effort to coerce Mexico into blocking the emigration of its own people undermines the distinction between keeping people out and locking them in. It thereby makes US immigration policy analogous to the Berlin Wall.
The Supreme Court Should Take the Love Terminal Takings Case
A lower court decision the Supreme Court is currently considering reviewing has important - and dangerous - implications for property rights.
Facebook's Zuckerberg Was Right To Skip Canadian Show Trial
Abroad, legislators are in the mood to theatrically punish social media companies. CEOs shouldn’t play along.
What to Make of the Supreme Court's Latest Abortion Case
SCOTUS sidesteps the hard questions in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
First Amendment Limits Media Liability for Inducing Breach of Nondisclosure Agreement
So holds a (nonprecedential) California Court of Appeal decision in the Jenni Rivera heirs vs. Univision case, though the decision is narrowly tied to these particular facts.
Subpoenas Seeking to Identify Illegally Absent Teachers Likely Don't Violate the First Amendment
"Students are expected to attend classes. If they fail to do so without a valid excuse, their absence is duly-noted and appropriate action is taken. But the teachers at the center of this controversy expect different treatment."
Unlike President Donald Trump, Justin Amash Actually Fights Against FISA Surveillance Abuse
The most absurd attack against the Michigan congressman involves ignoring his entire history in office.
First Amendment Group Sues the University of Illinois Over Bias Reporting System, Restrictions on Political Speech
"An elaborate investigative and enforcement regime designed to restrain, deter, suppress, and punish speech."
Why Instapundit Glenn Reynolds Thinks Twitter, Facebook, and Google Should Be Busted Up
The "blogfather" once touted the internet as the antidote to Big Government, Big Business, and Big Media. Now he wants the feds to crack down on social media.
Dissenting From a Decision Blocking a Retaliatory Arrest Claim, Neil Gorsuch Notes That 'Almost Anyone Can Be Arrested for Something'
The Trump appointee warns that "little would be left of our First Amendment liberties" if cops could punish people who irk them by finding a legal reason to bust them.
Planned Parenthood President Wrong on Illegal Abortion Deaths Pre-Roe
Plus: how the FDA is handling cannabidiol products, highlights from Harris and Amash town halls, and more...
No "Tone-Policing," Says a Court
Sound words from a federal district court decision handed down last year.
Now Microsoft Supports an American GDPR. Which Tech Giant Wouldn't?
Government-mandated privacy regulations will allow the most powerful companies to game it to their advantage.
First Amendment Protections for Anonymous Speakers Apply to Foreign Speakers
So holds a district court, in a copyright case brought by the Jehovah's Witnesses against a Reddit commenter.
Utah State Trial Judge Disciplined for Anti-Trump Remarks in Courtroom
The Utah Supreme Court upheld a six-month suspension without pay, based in part (though not entirely) on these remarks; the judge has a history of past discipline on other grounds as well.
Who Owns Your Life Story? Free Speech Rules (Episode 4)
Episode 4 of Free Speech Rules, starring UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
Crossfit Deletes Facebook and Instagram After User Group Is Deplatformed
In the best of all possible worlds, such actions wouldn't be necessary. In the current climate, boycotting social media might spark a return to a robust marketplace of ideas.
New Julian Assange Indictment Crushes the Hopes of Journalists Who Thought Their Press Passes Would Save Them
Don't believe the Justice Department when it reassures journalists that the WikiLeaks founder is uniquely guilty of violating the Espionage Act.
Dangerous Precedent Looms in Espionage Indictment Against Julian Assange
Plus: Naomi Wolf has no clue (again), gun site wins Section 230 case, and more...
Theory of Revised Julian Assange Indictment Could Apply to Ordinary Reporters
Under the government's theory in some of the charges, any reporter who knowingly prints certain kinds of government secrets could equally be prosecuted.
Alt-Right, Woke Left Join Forces to Cancel Kyle Kashuv for Past Comments He Regrets
"I want to be clear that the comments I made are not indicative of who I am or who I've become in the years since."
Colorado's Growing Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement
What happens when cities and counties have their own ideas about a law that authorizes the seizure of guns from people who are mentally ill?
Todd Levitt, "Badass Lawyer," Loses a Third Libel-Related Appeal (with an Emotional Distress Claim)
"In this day and age, one must accept the possibility that one might be recorded in public. That possibility heightens when one chooses to engage in vitriolic behavior."
A Man Fights Back After His Profane Rant About a Deputy Ended in Harassment Charges
Jon Goldsmith called a local deputy a "stupid sum bitch" on Facebook, so the deputy's superior charged Goldsmith with writing a threatening statement.
Are We Seeing Early Signs of a Facial Recognition Technopanic?
Or are Americans simply wising up to the dangers posed by cops having their "face prints" on file?
Court Throws out Lawsuit Against Tor for Providing Anonymous Routing
Tor, a leading service for anonymously accessing the Internet, is shielded by 47 U.S.C. § 230.
A Sniff by a Pot-Detecting Dog Requires Probable Cause and Does Not Justify a Search, Says Colorado Supreme Court
Marijuana legalization changes the constitutional status of canine olfactory inspections.
The First Amendment Protects the Right to Work as a Tour Guide, Says Federal Judge
A Savannah, Georgia, law that required testing and licensing of tour guides is found unconstitutional.
Once Again, the Mongols Motorcycle Club Can Legally Keep Its Patch
The federal attempt to take the patch uniquely combines free speech violations and asset forfeiture.
Does the Second Amendment Secure a Right to Carry Guns in Most Public Places?
The Supreme Court will consider the petition Thursday.
Twitter Gives Conflicting Reasons for Suspending User Who Tweeted Links to 3D Gun Plans After Sen. Bob Menendez Asked Them To
The senator asked for a private business to squash a citizen's communication, and they did it, though they don't say they did it for him.
An NYPD Superior Reacted to Eric Garner's Death by Texting 'Not a Big Deal.' And That's Completely Unsurprising.
For five years, the NYPD, its apologists, and even Mayor Bill de Blasio have absolved cops of their role in Eric Garner's death.
The Supreme Court Probably Won't Kill Roe Yet
SCOTUS is likely to restrict abortion access, but in a more gradual way.
Chelsea Manning Faces $1,000-a-Day Fines, Was Imprisoned Again Yesterday After Refusing to Testify for Grand Jury
Plus: An old drug warrior learns new tricks, Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage, and more...
Even Legal Visitors to U.S. Can Be Denied Second Amendment Rights
So says the Ninth Circuit, treating legal visitors as subject to the same reduced protection as that applied to illegal aliens.
To Fight 'Extremism,' Journalists Are Praising Online Censorship
Social media platforms and governments are "voluntarily" teaming up to ban "violent extremist content." What could go wrong?
With the Equality Act, Congressional Democrats Want To Redefine 'Sex' To Include Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Here's why that's a bad idea—and it has nothing to do with God's wrath, women's rights rollbacks, or locker-room predators.
Tweet From Country's Largest Labor Org Encourages Workers to 'Seize the Means of Production'
The AFL-CIO's Twitter account appears to endorse a workers' revolution.
San Francisco Bans Police Use of Facial Recognition
Preventing a slow march toward automated authoritarianism?
