Can Repeated Speech Be Criminalized Just Because It's Intended to "Seriously Annoy"?
No, says the New Jersey Supreme Court in an opinion that sharply limits the state criminal harassment statute.
Civil Liberties
Breaking News Before Local Cops Do Lands Laredo Vlogger With Felony Charges
Sharing arrest and accident info on Facebook before cops can tell "official" media is not OK, say Laredo police-and nevermind that one of their own was the source.
Conservative Snowflakes Get Protesting Nebraska Instructor Booted From Her Teaching Job
Will colleges sanction every educator with a provocative opinion?
House Republicans Push Symbolic Nonsense Abortion Bill
Congressional conservatives want to ban "discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex."
"There Is a Constitutional Right of the Public to Film the Official Activities of Police Officers in a Public Place."
So says the Hawaii Supreme Court.
Bar on Registering 'Immoral or Scandalous' Trademarks Violates First Amendment
So a Federal Circuit panel held today, answering a question that the Supreme Court's Slants case left open.
Amash, Massie, and Other Congress Members Demand Standalone Vote on Federal Surveillance Laws
Can they get past the FBI vs. Trump narrative to talk about snooping on the rest of us?
Government Is the Cause of—Not the Solution to—Online Censorship
As people worry about the net neutrality vote, public officials threaten our rights to free speech.
Prostitution Ad Ban Creeps Forward, Threatening Social Media and Sex Workers
The bill would gut Section 230 and make sex advertising a federal crime.
Rebellious Jurors Make the World a Better Place
Jury nullification has officials losing cases, changing policies, and fretting over the power of the people they often abuse.
Supreme Court Won't Decide Whether Civil Rights Act Bans Anti-LGBT Discrimination
Lower courts are split on whether sex-based protections cover orientation.
Posting or Hosting Sex Ads Could Mean 25 Years in Federal Prison Under New Republican Proposal
A related measure would open digital platforms to liability for past crimes committed by users.
Trump vs. Weigel—Shudder, Giggle, or Both?: Podcast
Also on the Reason Podcast: Is abortion a good reason to vote for Roy Moore? Did Al Franken get a raw deal? Can the feds smother bitcoin?
If Disqualified Gun Buyers Aren't Dangerous, Maybe They Shouldn't Be Disqualified
Given the arbitrariness of federal criteria for gun ownership, the public safety benefits of background checks are dubious.
The End of Free Speech
In 2017, the left eats its own and the right shows its true colors.
The FBI Is No Friend of Liberty and Justice
The FBI's handling of the Michael Flynn case is disturbing.
Atlanta Targets Good Samaritans Sharing Food with Homeless
Feed yourself in a public park. Feed the pigeons and the squirrels there, too. Whatever you do, though, don't share your food with a hungry person.
13 Non-Pedophile Reasons Why You Can Hate Roy Moore
Just when you thought you couldn't like Moore any less.
Abortion Is the Get-out-of-Jail-Free Card of Republican Politics
Conservative apologia for Roy Moore and hostility toward his opponent are anchored on an issue individual senators are highly unlikely to impact.
These Three Cases Define This Month at the Supreme Court Term: Podcast
How to think about gay wedding cakes, Fourth Amendment rights, and whether the federal government can ban sports betting. Plus: How will Neil Gorsuch vote?
Cops Out HIV-Positive Woman to Neighbors and Media
"Around the corner, there's a family neighborhood that's decorated for Christmas," a local television station reports while airing her photo.
Court to Cops: Forcing a Teenager to Masturbate in Front of You Is Not Reasonable
A detective who was later charged with molesting children performed the humiliating search while investigating consensual sexting.
An Update on Gun Legislation One Month After the Texas Mass Shooting
The reaction has shifted to fixing the government's flawed background check system.
Justice Dept. Opposes Mandatory Union Dues for Public Employees, Reversing an Old Position
DOJ argues workers are being forced to subsidize political positions with which they may disagree.
Licensing Board Admits It Can't Silence Red Light Camera Critic
The Oregon engineering board fined Mats Järlström for exercising his First Amendment rights. Now, finally, it admits it's not allowed to do that.
House Pisses Off Gun Control Advocates, Opponents With Concealed Carry Bill
The bill dramatically liberalizes concealed carry laws nationwide.
You Don't Lose Your Right to Anonymity Just Because You Lost a Lawsuit
An appeals court defends anonymous speech.
Cops Brag That They Bullied a Woman Out of Town After a Neighbor Said She Sells Sex
An investigation would've taken months, so Larksville Police decided to skip that part.
Kentucky Top Court to Consider Shop's Refusal to Print Gay Pride T-Shirts
This is a clear-cut case of unconstitutional compelled speech with an easy verdict.
New Jersey Borough Solves Its Traffic Problem By Banning Commuters
Except on one thoroughfare, nonresidents will need to demonstrate a reason for being on the town's roads.
Hillbilly Hotties Win First Round in Bikini-Barista Battle
"Bikinis can convey the very type of political speech that lies at the core of the First Amendment," writes federal judge.
Supreme Court Today Mulls Whether Bakers Can Be Forced to Make Gay Wedding Cakes
Public accommodation laws clash with freedom of religion and compelled speech.
Don't Register Anything
Putting yourself on a registry of people who engage in activities, or own goods, that are even mildly controversial makes you vulnerable to abusive officials.
Who Owns Pepe the Frog? The Alt-Right vs. Cartoonist Matt Furie
A legal fight involving the alt-right, Trump voters, one of Washington, D.C.'s most powerful law firms, and the website 4chan is brewing.
Prohibited Pony Protest at Clinton Event Spurs Vermin Supreme Speech Suit
"No pony has ever attacked an American politician," the lawsuit notes.
Goat Yoga Gets Baaaaaa-nned
The D.C. Department of Health wants to protect farm animals from the ancient Hindu practice.
Chuck Schumer Freaks Out Over Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Privacy
Worried about your genetic privacy? Then don't take the tests.
Declining to Bake a Gay Wedding Cake Is Not the Same As Banning Gay Marriage
The point seems to elude The New York Times.
Antifa Wants 'Bleeding Heart Libertarian' Professor Fired. We're Not Exactly Sure Why.
He did make the mistake of having his picture taken with Milo Yiannopoulos.
Bitcoin Sends Elite Economists Into Glorious Fits of Confusion
Joseph Stiglitz is the George Costanza of economists: Every instinct he has, do the opposite.
Markets Deliver Social Justice Better Than Government Does
Elizabeth Nolan Brown argues in The New York Times that we can thank "feminism, but also free markets" for the ongoing purge of predatory men.
Trump Administration Lawyer Pummeled by Sotomayor and Gorsuch in Cellphone Tracking Case
"Most Americans, I think, still want to avoid Big Brother."
Will This Awful Bill Allowing Warrantless Domestic Snooping Get Shoved Into an End-of-Year Spending Plan?
Congress might quietly expand the feds' surveillance powers without any actual debate.
Hawaii, Which Registers Guns and Medical Marijuana Users, Starts Disarming Patients
Citing state law, Honolulu's police chief tells them to turn in their guns.
Today at SCOTUS: Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking vs. the Fourth Amendment
What's at issue today in Carpenter v. United States.
