Today at SCOTUS: Traffic Stops, Drug-Sniffing Dogs, and Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
When does the use of a drug-sniffing dog transform a lawful traffic stop into an illegal seizure?
Civil Liberties
Illinois Schools Now Have Terrifying Access to Kids' Social Media Passwords
To quell cyber-bullying, administrators would abolish privacy.
Pope Francis Says He Never Meant to Endorse Punishment of Religious Insults
The pope's "clarification" is implausible but welcome.
Sandy Hook Advisory Commission Wants to Confiscate All Guns With Detachable Magazines
The governor's advisers say it's not their job to worry about the Constitution.
Steven Soderbergh, Copyright Hypocrite?
The filmmaker takes one approach to intellectual property in court, another in his own work.
Obama's Privacy Conversion
The surveillance debate that supposedly preoccupies the president is one he never wanted to have.
Obama SOTU: We've "Turned the Page"; But What We Need is a Whole New Book
The president's tired rhetoric and policy proposals show that we've not yet entered the 21st century in politics.
NY Sheriff to Constituents: Keep Your Handguns and Toss the Permit Applications
Mass defiance of the new permit process is another monkey wrench tossed in the works.
The Persistence of Policing for Profit
Eric Holder's forfeiture reform is welcome but does not go nearly far enough.
Obama Promises to Strengthen Privacy in State of the Union Speech - Rand Paul Would End Domestic Spying
And it's way past time that lying domestic spying agency chiefs should be punished.
Here's What Concerns Experts About Obama's State of the Union Cybersecurity Goals
Harsher penalties and more government involvement won't help protect privacy.
A Defense of France's 'Hate Speech' Laws: People Often Say Offensive Things Without Being Punished
The very existence of speech-policing tribunals offends freedom of expression.
Obama Invites a Symbol of Emotion-Driven Gun Control to His SOTU Address
Citing horrific acts of violence to push policies that have nothing to do with them
Pew: Americans Say Obama is a "Good Man" Who is "Incompetent"
While most of us will be tuning out tonight's SOTU, here's a reason to watch: It frames the president's thinking about the next year.
Obama's Sinking SOTU Ratings: Tune In, Turn Off, Watch Netflix Instead
Barack Obama's ratings for his annual State of the Union Addresses have gone down like the Titanic. What's behind the slide? Anger and disappointment mostly.
Cop Arrested for Refusing to Take Off Mask During Protest, Produce Identification, Claims to Be Part of Anonymous
A cop in Florida has some hobbies that trouble his supervisors
Police Use Radar Device To See Inside Your House
The latest example of battlefield technology finding its way home to civilian policing
British Spy Agency Practiced Scooping Up Journalists' E-mails
Ten minutes of communications at news outlets like The Guardian, The New York Times, and NBC collected.
How the Press Exaggerated Holder's Forfeiture Reform
The change leaves untouched the vast majority of loot that state and local agencies get from federal asset grabs.
The DEA Fights Drugs by Collecting Your Phone Records
The government acknowledges another warrantless metadata program.
Concerned Citizens Write to J. Edgar Hoover About Martin Luther King
Letters from the FBI's King files
The Fine Print in Holder's New Forfeiture Policy Leaves Room for Continued Abuses
An exception for joint task forces allows evasion of state property protections.
Does Legalization Make Marijuana-Detecting Dogs Obsolete?
What use is a pot-sniffing canine when pot is no longer contraband?
Over $455,000 Seized from Medical Marijuana Patient Slapped with Civil Asset Forfeiture
Patient says "there's no such thing as innocent until proven guilty"
The Open Society and Its Worst Enemies
One can have an open society or a militarist foreign policy, but not both.
Silk Road Trial Roundup, Week One: Mt Gox Bitcoin Exchange Operator Mark Karpeles Was Thought by Federal Agent to Be Dread Pirate Roberts
Testimony Says Ross Ulbricht Wasn't Always the Feds' First Target
The Perverse Forfeiture Incentives Created by Equitable Sharing
The DOJ program allowed police and prosecutors to bypass state limits on asset seizures.
Best of Reason on Asset Forfeiture: We've Had Your Back for Decades
Eric Holder finally listens.
Obama's 2014 State of the Union Scorecard
The president didn't get much of his wish list last year and he'll get even less this time. That's a good thing.
In France You Go to Jail for Saying 'They Were Right to Do That'
A law against condoning terrorism prescribes prison for rash remarks.
Ben Carson's Comparison of ISIS to the Founding Fathers: Bad Politics, But Worse Thinking
A free and prosperous society should have fewer, not more people prepared to die for it at any given time
What Good Is a Pot-Sniffing Dog When Pot Is Legal?
Marijuana legalization complicates the use of drug-detecting canines.
NSA Domestic Spying: There is No Technological Replacement for Liberty
National Academy of Sciences report finds "no software-based technique can fully replace the bulk collection of signals intelligence."
What Pope Francis Got Wrong About Free Expression
The right of people to be critical of religion-even their own-is a defense of the common good.
Larry Flynt Fights to Shed Light on Missouri's Mysterious Death Penalty Drugs
Missouri, like many states, is secretive about the drugs it uses in executions.
Pope Francis Supports Free Speech, Unless It Offends People
"You cannot provoke," the pope says, endorsing the terrorist's veto.
Orwell's 1984 Still Matters, Though Not in the Way You Might Think
A Washington, D.C., readathon reminds us that the left once hated this anti-totalitarian classic.
