Civil Liberties
No Need for Expert Evidence as to Media Defendant Negligence in Resisting Anti-SLAPP Motion,
at least when the dispute is over a simple identification error./
Requiring Registered Sex Offenders to Post Signs on Halloween Saying "No Candy or Treats at This Residence"
unconstitutionally compels speech, says the Eighth Circuit federal court of appeals.
Second Amendment Protects Right to Open Carry, Ninth Circuit Panel Holds (2-1)
If the decision doesn't go en banc, it may go to the Supreme Court, because the Second Circuit held the opposite (and there's thus a circuit split).
The DOJ Thinks Cocaine Couriers Are Not Worth Prosecuting. Trump Thinks They Deserve To Die.
Even as the president blows up drug boats, the government routinely declines to pursue charges against smugglers nabbed by the Coast Guard.
Suit Alleging Retaliatory Police Mislabeling as Repeat Violent Offender Can Go Forward
Plaintiff claims his actual offenses were a curfew violation during 2020 protests and spitting on FBI agent.
Presence of Probable Cause Precludes Claim That Immigration Arrest Was Retaliation for First-Amendment-Protected Speech
So concludes a federal district in Louisiana, disagreeing with a Ninth Circuit panel.
3 Areas Where the Courts Pushed Back Against Trump's Attempts To Avoid Judicial Review in 2025
The president asserted broad powers to deport people, impose tariffs, and deploy the National Guard based on his own unilateral determinations.
Did Brett Kavanaugh Just Apologize for Butchering the Fourth Amendment? Maybe.
Puzzling over a curious omission from the conservative justice.
If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
Man Who Had Pleaded Guilty to Felony Forgery of Court Orders Sues Over Being Called "Convicted Felon"
From a Justice Department press release as to the original forgery: "Michael Arnstein's blatant criminal scheme to exploit the authority of the federal judiciary for his company's benefit was outrageous. As Arnstein has learned, his attempts to remove negative reviews about his business from Google search results by forging a U.S. District Court judge's signature may have worked in the short term, but it also earned him nine months in a federal prison."
Trump Bars 5 Europeans From the U.S. Over Their Censorship Efforts
Creeping authoritarianism in the European Union gets pushback from an administration that has its own rocky relationship with free speech.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
School Employees' Lawsuit Claiming "Equity Training" Violated First Amendment Can Go Forward
So holds a majority of the Eighth Circuit federal court of appeals, sitting en banc.
These Progressives Seek to 'Disempower' the Courts
Is unfettered majority rule actually a good idea for the left to embrace?
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Innocent Man Sues for Over $60,000 After Police Blew Up His Business. A Court Says He's Entitled to Nothing.
It is yet another ruling that shields the government from liability for damages caused by law enforcement.
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act Is Every Bit As Bad As You Would Expect. Maybe Worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
Bail Reform Faces Backlash as Policymakers Move To Require Cash Bond for Pre-Trial Defendants
Critics of cash bail say it creates a two-tiered justice system: Those who can pay maintain their freedom, while those unable to pay remain behind bars.
"[T]he First and Fifth Amendments Require ICE to Provide Information About the Whereabouts of a Detained Person"
ICE Salt Lake City apparently isn't answering its phone.
Could the Feds Throw You in Jail for Merely Filming ICE Immigration Raids?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said "videotaping" agents was violence—but Border Patrol brought a film crew to Chicago-area raids.
Trial Court Had Ordered Mother to Only Call Son by First Name (Javier), not Middle Name (Reece), in Public
But the Colorado Court of Appeals just reversed that, in part on First Amendment grounds.
From Nixon to Trump, the 'War on Drugs' Has Been a Disaster for Americans' Freedom
The Trump administration's chest-pounding approach is costing lives and eroding freedoms.
The Fourth Amendment's Erratic Year at the Supreme Court
The right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure had a rocky 2025.
The DOJ Assails D.C.'s 'Assault Weapon' Ban As an Arbitrary, Historically Ungrounded Gun Law
The department's lawsuit notes that the prohibited firearms are "in common use" for "lawful purposes," meaning they are covered by the Second Amendment.
Refusing To Let Trump Deploy the National Guard in Chicago, SCOTUS Adds a New Wrinkle To the Debate
The justices suggested the president is misinterpreting "the regular forces," a key phrase in the statute on which he is relying.
Evidence of Plaintiff's Suicide Excluded in Lawsuit Alleging Threats of Prosecution Aimed at Censoring His Posts About High School Girls' Bathrooms
"Plaintiff has not alleged that Defendants' conduct caused a mental condition in which Mr. McBreairty could not control his suicidal impulses."
Volokh Conspiracy Commenter ReaderY Makes The Big Time!
Comment on this blog = reaction "from the Stanford Law School" = "negative reaction of the legal community."
10 Times That 2025 Tried To Stop Kids From Growing Up
Parents faced arrests, investigations, and fear-driven rules—but there was also meaningful progress toward making independence normal again.
Andor Creator Tony Gilroy on Bureaucracy and the Surveillance State
Tony Gilroy examines how Andor portrays authoritarian power as a bureaucratic system, the moral compromises of life under surveillance, and the role ordinary people play in enforcing oppressive systems.
Good News for D.C.'s Gun Owners
Plus: Homeownership myths and realities, discrimination at the theater, career diplomats brought home, and more...
Parent's Claim Over School Board Meeting Attendance Ban Can Go Forward
The matter stems from a controversy over books with sexual content in the school library, and the parent's shouting that school board members "should be arrested."
Mercy Otis Warren, the Founding Mother Who Opposed the Constitution
Remembering an important voice from the founding era.
