Civil Liberties
Rutgers Says: Professors' Facebook Opinions Can Be Punished for Disrupting "the University's Core Function of Educating a Diverse Student Body"
Prof. James Livingston (white himself) said he "hate[s] white people" -- but Rutgers' reasoning would equally punish professors who express a wide range of views that offend people with a particular religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the like.
Rabbinical Law, The 5th Amendment, and Michael Cohen's Guilty Plea
The same civil liberties that protect accused communists or street criminals may also protect the president or his lawyer. They protect us all.
Brett Kavanaugh, Abortion, and 'Settled Law'
Don't assume Roe v. Wade will be safe with Justice Kavanaugh.
ACLU on the NRA's Lawsuit Against N.Y. Gov. Cuomo
The NRA accuses N.Y. government officials of unconstitutionally pressuring financial services companies into not dealing with the NRA -- an ACLU friend-of-the-court brief says, "If true, those allegations represent a blatant violation of the First Amendment."
ACLU Sticks Up for the NRA?!
The civil rights group and the gun rights group don't always get along. But today the ACLU stuck up for the NRA against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Reporter Says She Was Cuffed for Photographing a Cop in Public
Prosecutors have declined to file charges against the officer.
Saudi Arabia Wants To Execute a Female Activist for Protesting the Government
Israa al-Ghomgham would be the first female activist to be executed in Saudi Arabia.
Netherlands Prosecuting Man for Insulting Turkish President Erdogan
The insults were in e-mails sent to the Turkish embassy.
Trump Is No Match for the First Amendment
Far from undermining freedom of the press, the president's fulminations prove its durability.
Rap Song = Punishable True Threat, Says Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The court stressed that the song threated particular police officers by name.
Prison Inmates in at Least 17 States Are Going on Strike Today
"For some of us it's as if we are already dead, so what do we have to lose?"
A New Report Details Pro-Trump Censorship of Liberty University's Student Paper
"I didn't feel comfortable being told what I couldn't write about by President Falwell."
Extortion and Super-Secret Prior Restraints
An Oklahoma case involving an employee's allegations of food plant contamination-litigated under seal.
This Liberal Carried an American Flag to Protest Fascism in Portland. Antifa Cracked His Head Open With a Bat.
Masked Antifa agitators told Welch, a Hillary voter, to hand over the flag. He resisted. They attacked.
The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com's Founders Speak for the First Time.
An inside look at how indie media veterans James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
"A Court Cannot Tell [Anyone] That He or She Cannot Be Rude, Insulting, or Boorish"
Words of wisdom from Rhode Island Judge Richard Licht.
Air Marshals Secretly Followed an Artsy Virginia Mom on Flights to Make Sure She Wasn't Going to Destroy America
More details emerge on TSA's secret, suspicionless surveillance of certain American travelers.
Why the New Winnie the Pooh Movie Is Banned in China
A story of censorship in the age of memes
After China Complains, Apple Removes Thousands of 'Illegal' Gambling Apps
It's not the first time Apple has bowed to China's censorship demands.
Kevin McCarthy Shows Why the Government Shouldn't Regulate Social Media
The House majority leader doesn't understand how Twitter works.
Surprise! The Ban on Digital Sex Ads Didn't Work
Plus: digital privacy concerns down 11 percent since 2015
Visitors Wearing "Abolish ICE" T-Shirts Barred from Statue of Liberty
Unconstitutional viewpoint-discrimination, and the Park Service has acknowledged it was a mistake.
Security Bars Couple From Statue of Liberty for Wearing 'Abolish ICE' Shirts
Tiffany Huang and her fiancé just wanted to exercise their "right to free speech." But security guards apparently had other ideas.
Fifth Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenges to "Campus Carry"
Texas, like some other states, allows law-abiding adults who have concealed carry licenses to carry at public universities as well as elsewhere; this was challenged on First Amendment, Second Amendment, and Equal Protection Clause grounds.
Delaware Court Rejects Temporary Restraining Orders Against Alleged Libel
Even if permanent injunctions against speech that has been found to be libelous are constitutional, preliminary orders based on a mere finding that the speech is likely libelous -- or just might be libelous -- are generally unconstitutional.
Judge Threatens Censorship After Newspaper Reveals Bureaucratic Errors in Parkland Lead-Up
"If I have to specifically write word for word exactly what you are and are not permitted to print…then I'll do that," the judge said.
A Georgia Police Chief Is Convinced His Department Was Right to Tase a Grandmother
The 87-year-old woman was cutting dandelions with a kitchen knife.
Cars Could Be the Latest Instrument of Assault to Be Banned in London
London already has restrictive gun and knife controls. Could cars be next?
Can a Baker Be Forced to Make a Transgender Celebration Cake?
Masterpiece Cakeshop is back with a new lawsuit over another rejection.
Two Dozen Sad Nazis Cost D.C. at Least $2.6 Million
White nationalists were vastly outnumbered by counterprotesters at Sunday's Unite the Right II rally, but the whole affair cost the District millions.
Twitter Caves, Bans Alex Jones. For a Week. Sort Of.
The conspiracy theorist's account has been restricted for seven days.
Muslim Male Inmate Objects to Strip Search by Apparently Anatomically Female Transgender Guard
An interesting case now being litigated in federal court in Wisconsin.
Matt Welch Interviews Zach Weissmueller, Libertarian State Rep. Brandon Phinney & More on Sirius XM!
From the alt-right to Twitter deactivation, bands drinking booze to presidents crowing for cronyism, we'll hash it out on Sirius XM Insight channel 121 today from 9-12 ET
Missouri Democrats Retract Welcome to Pro-Life Voters
Pro-life and a Democrat? Missouri's Democratic Party isn't interested.
Feminists Rally to Defense of Female Professor Accused of Sexual Harassment by Male Student
#MeToo madness: it's wrong to use Title IX, a feminist tool, "to take down a feminist."
Are Omarosa's White House Recordings Even Legal?
The answer is not likely to please President Trump.
Mandatory 'In God We Trust' Signs Greet Florida Students at Start of School Year
Thanks to legislation that passed in March, all Florida public schools must display "In God We Trust" signage in "a conspicuous place."
Plaintiff Dropping Case in Which He Got Order to Google to Vanish Photo from Search Results
This will lead the order to be vacated; and the parallel case seeking removal of a Chicago Tribune post has also been dropped.
The Great Deplatforming War Rages On: Podcast
Should libertarians cheer, boo, or do a shrug-emoji when a private social media platform bans the likes of Alex Jones?
What We Saw at the Unite the Right II Protest
No more than 30 far right rally goers showed up at what turned into a gathering of the far left.
The Pro-Lesbian Anti-Transgender "Pussy Church of Modern Witchcraft" Recognized by IRS as Church
"The IRS recognized it as a 501(c)(3) organization and went the extra step of recognizing PCMW as a church, the most enviable of all tax statuses. exempt not only from income tax but also from the transparency that filing Form 990 creates. A church does not have to apply for exempt status, but it is a prudent step particularly for an innovative organization like PCMW."
Antifa Still Wants to Punch the Two Dozen Damp, Sad Nazis Who Showed Up at Unite the Right II
But most counterprotesters were calm and nuanced about free speech and fascism at the D.C. rally.
Social Media Giants Shouldn't Be Arbiters of Appropriate Speech
It's implausible to imagine a future in which liberal activists don't demand that right-of-center groups be de-platformed.
Saudis Sentence Man to Crucifixion, Criticize Canada's Human Rights Record
Canada called on Saudi Arabia to release a blogger from prison. Here's how Saudi Arabia responded.
Demonstrators Might Have to Pay a Fee to Protest on the National Mall
The National Park Service says there's an "enormous cost" to managing large political protests.
