Free Speech Unmuted: Book Bans—or Are They?
I'm delighted to announce this new video/audio podcast series by Prof. Jane Bambauer (Florida) and me, and its first episode.
Civil Liberties
States Try To Strip Sex From Literature in Libraries, Schools
These aren't outright bans. But they still can chill free speech and academic freedom.
Losing the Home State
Plus: Adderall shortages, infrastructure lessons, Kanye West, and more...
"The Coddling of the American Mind" Movie
This is the film based on the bestselling book by FIRE's Greg Lukianoff and Prof. Jonathan Haidt (NYU).
Proposition E Would Make It Easier for Police To Surveil San Francisco
The measure, which will be on the March 5 ballot, would greatly expand the SFPD's power while subjecting it to even less scrutiny.
School's Referring to Student by Student-Preferred Name and Pronouns Likely Doesn't Violate …
the parent's constitutional parental rights, including when the school conceals this from the parent.
Justin Amash: 'I'd Impeach Every President'
Former Rep. Justin Amash says "the idea of introducing impeachment legislation suggests there's other people who will join you. Otherwise, it's just an exercise in futility."
Biden Is Trying To Motivate Voters Who Oppose Pot Prohibition. Maybe He Should Stop Supporting It.
The supposedly reformed drug warrior's intransigence on the issue complicates his appeal to young voters, who overwhelmingly favor legalization.
Fourth Circuit on One-Sided Pseudonymity in Sexual Assault Cases
The decision allows such pseudonymity when the defendant has already been found (by default judgment) to have committed the assault, but Judge Wilkinson's concurrence argues that, absent this unusual factor, one-sided pseudonymity should be frowned on.
Government Is Snooping on Your Phone
Many apps collect data that is then accessed by outside entities. Should you care?
NYC Child Protection Agency Uses 'Coercive Tactics' To Bully Parents Into Allowing Warrantless Searches
According to a new lawsuit, NYC's child protection agency almost never obtained warrants when it searched over 50,000 family homes during abuse and neglect investigations.
The Biden Administration Is Bent on Setting an Alarming Precedent by Prosecuting Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder already has spent as much time in a London prison as DOJ lawyers say he is likely to serve if convicted in the U.S.
Supreme Court Denies Red State Effort to Intervene in Mifepristone Case
The Court also rejects a late-filed amicus briefs from the American Bar Association, but accepts one from former FDA Commissioners.
"Victimizing the Families of Opposing Counsel and Causing Well-Founded Concern for Their Well-Being … Is … a Profound Dishonor as a Lawyer"
"Lawyers in litigation may be expected to assume the risk of a certain amount of rough-and-tumble. Their families do not. In preying on the families of opposing counsel, Mr. Manookian crossed the Rubicon."
White University Administrator's Race Discrimination Case Can Go Forward
The administrator, at Texas A & M University Texarkana, alleges he was pushed out because of his race, and because he had declined to discipline a student who "had used the word 'Nigga' in [a classmate's] presence while on a trip to the mall."
Don't Pick Out That Corvette Yet: Prosecutor Loses Libel Lawsuit Against Newspaper
What does it mean, in context, to say that a prosecutor "assisted with the prosecution" of someone who has been exonerated?
Claudine Gay's Defenders Shot the Messenger
Harvard should pick someone with academic integrity as its next president.
Are Parents Too Involved in Their Adult Children's Lives?
A recent Pew survey says parents are "very involved in their young adult children's lives," but one might quibble with the definition of "very involved."
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Enforcement of Houston Ordinance Against Feeding the Homeless
The judge found that Food Not Bombs' activity was clearly expressive conduct under the First Amendment.
Alvin Bragg Is Trying To Punish Trump for Something That Is Not a Crime
The essence of the case, the Manhattan D.A. says, is that Trump "corrupt[ed] a presidential election" by concealing embarrassing information.
New Article on "The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning"
Coauthor Josh Braver and I argue exclusionary zoning violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Progressives Are Ditching Free Speech To Fight 'Disinformation'
From limits on liability protections for websites to attempts to regulate the internet like a public utility, these proposals will erode Americans' right to express themselves.
Posts About Child Abuse Investigator Weren't "Harassment" That Could Be Enjoined
Among other things, posts that "target the plaintiff's reputation and cause her emotional distress" aren't covered by the Massachusetts harassment prevention order statute.
They Had Their Baby At Home. 2 Years Later, They Still Can't Get a Birth Certificate.
Teresa and Jeff Williams had their son, JJ, at home without medical help. They didn't know it would be nearly impossible to get legal documents for him.
Shoshana Weissmann: Online Age Verification Rules Are Unconstitutional and Ineffective
"None of these laws prevent kids from viewing anything. They just prevent kids from posting," argues Shoshana Weissmann.
Kids Have First Amendment Rights Too, Federal Judge Reminds State Lawmakers
Banning people under age 16 from accessing social media without parental consent "is a breathtakingly blunt instrument" for reducing potential harms, the judge writes.
Another Damn Impeachment
Plus: Suozzimentum, gun factories, body-count discourse, and more...
Qualified Immunity Is Not Limited to Police Brutality. It Protects a Wide Variety of Abusive Officials.
An analysis of appeals involving the doctrine finds that less than a quarter "fit the popular conception of police accused of excessive force."
Buffalo Cops Denied Qualified Immunity for Arresting Man Who Called Officer an 'Asshole'
R. Anthony Rupp III was cited and detained after he called a police officer an "asshole" after the cop nearly drove into two pedestrians.
Tucker Dreams of Moscow
Plus: Aid for Ukraine, remote learning for 5-year-olds, intermittent fasting for Palestine, and more...
PROTECT Act Could Require Removal of All Existing Porn Online
Sen. Mike Lee's "technological exploitation" bill also redefines consent.
Writer's Suspended Death Sentence Is a Reminder of China's Awful Record on Human Rights
Yang Hengjun's punishment will be commuted to life in prison if he passes a probationary period. But the espionage accusations against him are highly spurious.
Cops Arrested Him for a Fictitious Traffic Violation Because He Flipped Them Off
A federal judge allowed a lawsuit against the officers to proceed, finding evidence of several constitutional violations.
If Lawyer Representing Himself Is "Unable to Keep His Personal Feelings out of His Pleadings and the Way He Litigates This Case,"
"he might want to consider hiring an attorney to represent him in this case."
