Civil Liberties
Here Is Why a Federal Judge Rejected Hunter Biden's Second Amendment Challenge to His Gun Charges
Likening drug users to people who are "mentally ill and dangerous," the ruling says barring them from owning firearms is not unconstitutional on its face.
A SWAT Team Blew Up This Innocent Couple's Home and Left Them With the Bill. Was That Constitutional?
Mollie and Michael Slaybaugh are reportedly out over $70,000. The government says it is immune.
Tennessee Appeals Court Rules Against Wildlife Agents Who Planted Cameras on Private Land
The three-judge panel concluded unanimously that while the state law at issue is constitutional, the wildlife agents' application of it was not.
MIT President's Statement on Removal of Encampment
"Disciplinary measures were not sufficient to end [the encampnent] nor to deter students from quickly reestablishing it."
An American Gangster at 100: J. Edgar Hoover's Authoritarian Legacy
Hoover’s reign at the FBI compromised American civil liberties and turned the FBI into America's secret police.
Reason Is a Finalist for 14 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominated stories include journalism on messy nutrition research, pickleball, government theft, homelessness, and more.
The Feds Are Talking to Social Media Companies Again
Unless the Supreme Court rules against this practice, it is certain to continue.
Supreme Court Rules No Due Process Right to Preliminary Hearings in Civil Asset Forfeiture Cases
The cars of two Alabama women were seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners. The Supreme Court says they had no constitutional right to a preliminary hearing.
California Students Get $1 Million After They Were Expelled for Wearing Supposedly Racist Acne Masks
School officials falsely accused the boys of posing for a photo in blackface.
Nico Perrino: When Does Protesting Become a Crime?
Executive VP of FIRE Nico Perrino discusses the history and legality of campus protests.
The Government Fears This Privacy Tool
The Department of Justice indicted the creators of Samourai Wallet, an application that helps people spend their bitcoins anonymously.
Court Orders Unsealing of Documents in Lottery Winner's Lawsuit
The lottery winner is suing an ex-girlfriend based on a non-disclosure agreement aimed at concealing his identity. (The motion to unseal, at this point, is aimed at just unsealing various sealed documents in the case, not at disclosing the parties' names.)
Michigan Supreme Court Allows Evidence Collected by Drone, Without a Warrant
The court declined to address whether the search violated the Fourth Amendment and merely held that the evidence could not be excluded in a civil case.
An Atlanta Cop Killed This Man For Refusing To Sign a Ticket
Now his victim's family has been awarded a $3.8 million settlement.
Is America's Blank Check for Israel Ending?
President Biden is holding up a shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel, after months of resisting any conditions on U.S. aid to Israel.
Noam Dworman: Free Speech for All, From Finkelstein to Chapelle
The owner of the Comedy Cellar and viral podcaster wants to argue with you about Israel, the media, and whether women are funny.
TikTok Asks Court To Declare Ban Unconstitutional
Congress is "silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate," the company argues.
This Student Was Allegedly Suspended for Saying 'Illegal Aliens.' Did That Violate the First Amendment?
Christian McGhee is suing, arguing a North Carolina assistant principal infringed on his free speech rights.
Federal Court Rules Laws Restricting Interstate Travel for Abortion Violate the Right to Travel
The decision addresses an important issue left open by the Supreme Court's decision reversing Roe v. Wade.
Judge Allows Suit Over Alabama Abortion Travel To Go Forward
Abortion rights groups have sued Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall after he said he would prosecute anyone who facilitates legal out-of-state abortions.
Academics Use Imaginary Data in Their Research
Academia values the appearance of truth over actual truth.
Campus Anti-Israel Protests and the Ethics of Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is sometimes justified. But current law-breaking by anti-Israel protestors on college campuses doesn't come close to meeting the requisite moral standards.
Judge Says Alabama Can't Punish Helping People Go to Other States to Get Abortions
"[T]his case is simply about whether a State may prevent people within its borders from going to another State, and from assisting others in going to another State, to engage in lawful conduct there."
Minnesota's Indefinite Detention of Sex Offenders Is Ineffective As Well As Unjust
A new report argues that the notorious program squanders taxpayer money while keeping people imprisoned without justification or recourse.
Americans Care About Inflation, but Politicians Don't
Plus: A listener asks the editors about cancelling student loan debt.
What I Saw at the University of Virginia's Protest Crackdown
The college had a legal right to break up the pro-Palestine encampment. But does that mean it should?
Missouri Bill Would Ban Eminent Domain, but Only for Wind and Solar Projects
The Show Me State has plenty of room to rein in laws on taking private property, but instead, lawmakers are focusing only on one very narrow use case.
MIT President Says MIT Is Finally Shutting Down Anti-Israel Encampment
"And no matter how peaceful the students' behavior may be, unilaterally taking over a central portion of our campus for one side of a hotly disputed issue and precluding use by other members of our community is not right."
Pseudonymity Tentatively Allowed in "Wet Farts" Wrongful Discipline Lawsuit Against Columbia
When may plaintiffs in highly politically controversial cases sue pseudonymously, in order to avoid public hostility?
Even If You Support Police, Don't Ban People From Recording Them
Filming cops is a First Amendment right, and there are already plenty of laws against harassing them.
Ben Sasse on Speech and Protest at the University of Florida
The former Senator says "the adults are still in charge" in Gainesville
WSJ: How Campus Anti-Israel Protestors Were Encouraged and Trained By Outside Activists
An interesting report that helps explain why the messaging, tactics, and methods adopted by campus protestors have been so similar across the country.
"Not In Our Name": Tablet on the Antisemitism Awareness Act
A Jewish journal argues the problem is not the Act's definition of antisemitism, but the larger anti-speech bureaucratic edifice.
Trump Promises To Give Police 'Immunity From Prosecution'
The pledge, while mostly legally illiterate, offers a reminder of the former president's outlook on government accountability.
Message from Johns Hopkins University President
"I am writing today to reiterate the reasons why the encampment is so problematic and why I am calling on you to end it."
