Civil Liberties
Court Rules Cop Who Shot Unarmed 15-Year-Old Is Protected by Qualified Immunity
The ruling once again shows the legal disgrace that is qualified immunity.
Florida Cops Arrest a 15-Year-Old Boy for Joking About Perpetrating a Mass Shooting
"Joke or not, these types of comments are felonies under the law," says the Volusia County Sheriff's Office
Threatening with a Gun vs. Shooting at Someone
There are different legal standards for the two actions, the Michigan Court of Appeals correctly concludes (in the Siwatu-Salama Ra case).
How I Was a Criminal Defendant in a N.J. Harassment Case
"Eugene Volokh told the police he refuses to leave me alone."
China Escalates Hong Kong Conflict By Detaining Consulate Staffer
Simon Cheng Man-kit, a staffer at the British Consulate in Hong Kong, hasn't returned from a trip he took to mainland China nearly two weeks ago.
Justin Amash Wants To Talk About Process and Love, but His Constituents Want To Talk About Gun Control
Facing his district for the first time since going independent, the libertarian congressman preaches legislative process and constitutional principle to an audience thirsty for gun fixes.
March For Our Lives Calls for Confiscating Guns, Investigating the NRA, and 'Reforming' the Supreme Court
The gun control group's new policy proposal is radical, intersectional, and deeply contradictory.
Michigan Court of Appeals Has Reversed the Felony Assault Convictions of a Gun Owner Who Acted in Self-Defense
A then-pregnant Siwatu-Salama Ra was sentenced to two years in prison after using an unloaded gun to protect herself, her daughter, and her mom.
OK to Oppose Sealing of Court Documents Without Local Counsel
... if you're asserting your own rights of access (which all of us have) to court records.
Beto O'Rourke Proposes Plan to Punish Tech Companies for Failing to Censor Hate Speech
The move would violate the First Amendment.
Do These 21 Mass Shootings That Did Not Happen Show the Benefits of California's 'Red Flag' Law?
Only if you assume they would have happened in the absence of gun confiscation orders.
Prosecution of Unauthorized Abortion Pill Websites Begins
Ursula Wing sold abortion drugs to U.S. customers and is now charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
"Right to Be Forgotten" as to Court Opinions Rejected …
... by a federal district court decision yesterday, in a case brought by a pro se litigant in New Jersey.
The Government Wants a 'Red Flag' Social Media Tool. That's a Terrible Idea.
The FBI is looking for companies to comb through social media posts and pinpoint possible threats ahead of time. Think of it like a meme-illiterate Facebook-stalking precog from Minority Report.
Privacy-Friendly Fashion for a Surveillance-State Age
You can literally wear your principles on your sleeve while baffling facial recognition technology.
Proud Boys and Antifa Playact Protest in Portland
“It was healthy discourse in a controlled environment,” said one Proud Boy. But was it?
Another Federal Court Allows Warrantless Cellphone Searches at U.S. Border
It’s time for SCOTUS to revisit the "border search exception" to the Fourth Amendment.
Kamala Harris Promises To 'Disarm Violent Hate' by Seizing Guns From Bigots
The Democratic presidential contender suggests that "racist threats or anti-immigrant manifestos" could justify federal gun confiscation orders.
Calling Informants "Snitches" May Be a Federal Felony
That's so regardless of whether the statement is seen as a true threat or incitement—and it applies to any "harmful" speech "inten[ded] to retaliate" against anyone giving law enforcement "any truthful information" related to a federal crime.
Conservative Justices Are Political Hacks, Five Senators Argue While Urging SCOTUS to Drop a Second Amendment Case
The five Democrats warn that the Court may have to be "restructured" if it keeps making decisions they don't like.
A Correctional Officer Who Drove Through Anti-ICE Protesters Is Placed on Leave
The Rhode Island attorney general and state police are investigating a video of a correctional officer driving through a wave of protesters.
Hong Kong's Market Is Providing Gas Masks and Protest Gear Despite Government Crackdown
Despite police harassment and border confiscations, protest supplies continue to make their way to dissidents.
Yes, America Faces a Threat From White Nationalists. No, More Laws Won't Fix That.
If your neighbor were unbalanced, armed to the teeth and busy posting social-media messages about how much he hates you, you'd certainly support measures to disarm him. But you'd feel more secure if he didn't hate you in the first place.
The U.K. Banned a Cream Cheese Commercial and Car Commercial Due to Gender Stereotypes
The ads are the first to be banned since the new law went into effect in June.
Why Governments Should Not Bar Entry Based on Political Views
Israel's decision to bar two US members of Congress from entering the country is part of a much broader problem. Many nations, including the US, have similar policies. Here's why such restrictions should be abolished.
Is YouTube Discriminating Against Both Conservatives and LGBT Videos? Two Lawsuits Say Yes.
Trying to get the government involved in what sort of videos online platforms promote or hide is going to end badly.
SCOTUS Should Drop This Second Amendment Case, a New York Times Columnist Argues, Because Mass Shootings
The justices would be abdicating their duty to uphold the Constitution if they let such political considerations decide legal issues.
James Alan Fox: There Is No Evidence of an 'Epidemic of Mass Shootings'
The nation's leading scholar of mass shootings explains how media coverage of horrific events such as El Paso and Dayton stoke unwarranted fear and anxiety.
Florida Senate Member Gets Restraining Order Against Critic
Fortunately, the Florida Court of Appeal has just reversed.
Lindsey Graham's Dishonest Defense of 'Red Flag' Laws
"The Second Amendment is not a suicide pact," the senator says, while glossing over the due process issues raised by gun confiscation orders.
Hong Kong Protesters Attacked Two Chinese Men Tuesday As Demonstrations Against Extradition Treaty Escalate
Pro-democracy dissidents turned violent yesterday at Hong Kong's airport.
Restraining Order Issued to Ban Unwanted Contact with Mayor by City Commission Candidate
... vacated by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Democrats Join Trump in Seeking Balance by Policing Speech
The constitutional amendment they support, like the president’s plan to regulate social media, trusts the government to moderate our political debate.
If You're Near the Scene of a Crime, Authorities Can Demand That Google Hand Over Your Data
Quiet fishing expeditions are being used to sort through potential suspects.
Trump Suggests 'Red Flag' Laws Be Used to Take CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo's Guns Away After Viral 'Fredo' Outburst
Do we want Trump in charge of deciding who’s too crazy to own a gun?
Libel Lawsuit Dismissed Under "Fugitive Disentitlement" Doctrine
The doctrine originated in criminal appeals by defendants who were fugitives, but it can also apply to civil cases -- here, where the federal court plaintiff has absconded with her and defendant's children in violation of a state court order.
Every Democrat in the Senate Supports a Constitutional Amendment That Would Radically Curtail Freedom of Speech
The Democracy for All Amendment aims to mute some voices so that others can be heard.
Joe Biden Concedes the 'Assault Weapon' Ban He Wants To Revive Had No Impact on the Lethality of Legal Guns
The presidential contender nevertheless insists the law reduced mass shooting deaths.
Hong Kong Cops Beat and Blind Protesters As PRC Sends Trucks and Tanks to the Border
Nine people were injured during the weekend's protests in Hong Kong, including one woman who might be permanently blind after a violent encounter with the police.
Jeffrey Epstein's Death in Manhattan Jail Sets Off Conspiracy Theories, but Police Neglect Seems More Likely
Plus: Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests turn violent as China cracks down, Elizabeth Warren admits taxes are bad for business, and more...
China Exports Its Panopticon
Science fiction writers have wondered for years what an all-encompassing surveillance state might look like. China decided to build it.
Texas Appellate Court Strikes Down Electronic Harassment Statute
The ban on online speech intended to and reasonably likely to (among other things) "annoy," the court says, is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.
Hong Kong Protesters Use Umbrellas, Lasers, and Respirators to Evade Surveillance and Tear Gas
As Beijing develops a high-tech police state, Hongkongers develop ways to resist it.
Trump's Social Media Executive Order Would Let Unelected Bureaucrats Police Online Speech
It would essentially be a Fairness Doctrine for the internet.
