All Aboard the Vasectomy Van
Plus: Protesters at the DNC, anarcho-brat summer, V.C.s supporting Trump, and more...
Civil Liberties
Censoring the Internet Won't Protect Kids
Sen. Rand Paul makes the case against the Kids Online Safety Act.
The Feds Are Skirting the Fourth Amendment by Buying Data
The government needs a warrant to spy on you. So agencies are paying tech companies to do it instead.
Muted Outrage and Aspirational Crowds: Dispatch From the DNC
Early protests at the 2024 Democratic National Convention reveal uncertain momentum.
Baltimore's Tax Sales Are Robbing People of Their Equity
The Edmondson Community Organization accrued a modest property tax debt. The group paid dearly for that.
DNC Readies for Protesters
Plus: Ceasefire negotiations go haywire, free vasectomies and abortions from a van in Chicago, and more...
When Attacks on Anarchists Accidentally Improved Free Speech Law
After the crackdown on anarchists died down, it became more difficult to imagine anyone could go to jail in America solely for political heresy.
European and American Censors Want War With Elon Musk
Beware the Thierry Bretons of the world.
NFL's Facial Recognition Technology Sparks Fears of Fan Surveillance
Personal data retained by government or private entities are always at risk of compromise, misuse, or access by law enforcement.
Plaintiff Claims P. Diddy's Defamation Damaged Plaintiff's Drug Smuggling Business
Plaintiff says he was "always willing to set up business deals with the rich for drugs."
UCLA Appeals Yesterday's Preliminary Injunction That Ordered It to Avoid Repetition of Exclusion of Jewish or Pro-Israel Students from Parts of Campus
[UPDATE 8/23/24: UCLA has just dropped the appeal.]
"Personal Protection Order" Statute May Be Unconstitutional to the Extent It Authorizes Ex Parte Orders That Restrict Speech
The court is discussing orders "enjoining protected speech or conduct ... without an adversarial hearing or adjudication on the merits that the speech or conduct is not protected."
San Francisco City Council Targets Free Speech To Cover Up Its Own Housing Failures
Desperate to control soaring rents, the city council bans rental data tools while ignoring its own role in the housing crisis.
Limits on Carrying Objects in Marches Near Chicago Convention Aren't Unconstitutionally Vague
“[C]ourts do not use vagueness doctrine to establish a rule that government cannot regulate anything until it classifies everything.”
Charles Gasparino: 'Woke' Hypocrisy Is Hurting Businesses
The business journalist discusses his new book Go Woke, Go Broke and how CEOs accelerated corporate political activism only to regret its impact on the economy.
2 Contradictory Decisions on AR-15 Bans Reflect Clashing Views of Supreme Court Precedents
Does the Second Amendment allow the government to ban guns in common use for lawful purposes?
Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against UCLA, Stemming from Risk of Repetition of Exclusion of Jewish or Pro-Israel Students from Parts of Campus
If participants in unauthorized encampments exclude Jewish or pro-Israel students from walking in parts of campus, UCLA would then have to close those parts to everyone.
Case Over Handcuffing and 30-Minute Detention of Concealed Carry Permit Holder Can Go Forward
"[A] person in possession of a firearm and a facially valid permit for that firearm had a clearly established right to be free from the kind of forcible and prolonged detention to which Soukaneh was subjected, absent any objective reason to suspect that the permit was forged or otherwise invalid."
Can Nostr Make Twitter's Dreams Come True?
Twitter's founder says Nostr is “100 percent what we wanted”—an open, ownerless network.
Lawsuit Claims Indiana Unconstitutionally Seizes Millions in Cash From FedEx Packages Every Year
The Institute for Justice says Indianapolis police and prosecutors are exploiting one of the biggest FedEx hubs in the U.S. to seize cash for alleged crimes they never explain.
A 'Reformist' Legal Expert Calls for a Surveillance State
A lawyer who should know better wants to ignore the history of snooping cops to fight guns and crime.
The Republican Radical Who Helped Launch the Gay Rights Movement
Dorr Legg saw the government as homosexuals' enemy.
Federal Appellate Court Rules in Favor of Takings Lawsuit Against the CDC's Covid-Era Eviction Moratorium
The 2-1 decision overrules a trial court decision that went the other way, and could set an important property rights precedent.
A Lawsuit by Christian Zionists Says Biden's West Bank Sanctions Violate the First Amendment
By targeting "persons undermining peace, security, and stability," the plaintiffs argue, the president is threatening to punish people for opposing a two-state solution.
U.K. Politicians Target Social Media To Deflect From Riots and Civil Unrest
As Britain grapples with riots, politicians shift focus to “holding tech accountable” by pushing for censorship and sidestepping the deeper issues fueling the chaos.
Pacific Legal Foundation Report on "Locking Squatters Out: How States Can Protect Property Owners From Squatters"
The report has useful data on the scope of the problem, and recommendations on what can be done about it.
Comedian Hannibal Buress's False Arrest Lawsuit Can Go Forward
"Roast[ing]" police officers may not generally be wise, but it is still generally constitutionally protected.
California School Punishes First-Grader for a Drawing, Sparking Federal Lawsuit
The First Amendment case about a first-grader’s free speech rights is headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Pit Stop Policing Transforms Traffic Violations Into High-Stakes Drug Hunts
South Carolina's Operation Rolling Thunder targets cash and contraband but harasses guilty and innocent travelers alike.
My Jotwell Review of David Pozen's "The Constitution of the War on Drugs"
The book is the most extensive analysis to date of constitutional issues arising from the War on Drugs, and why the constitutional law largely failed to constrain its abuses.
