The Courts vs. Misinformation Cops
Plus: A listener questions last week’s discussion of the Supreme Court's decision involving same-sex wedding websites and free expression.
Civil Liberties
A 2007 Debate Provoked by Richard Posner Illuminates the Current Clash Over Judicial Power in Israel
The appeals court judge argued that the Israeli Supreme Court had usurped the role of legislators.
After Legal Threats, Uvalde School District Lifts Ban on Parent Who Criticized Police Hire
Adam Martinez was banned from school property after he criticized the district's decision to hire an officer deemed "ineligible for rehire" by the local sheriff's office.
Court Says Prostitution Law Doesn't Violate First Amendment but Language Should Be Interpreted Narrowly
Plus: Democrats dismiss nonwhite moderates, Schumer wants investigation into energy drink, GOP prosecutors threaten Target over Pride merchandise, and more...
School Board Members Use "Anti-Doxing" Law to Sue Critics for Publicizing the Members' Employers
An Oregon trial court allowed the case to go forward, but the Oregon Court of Appeals threw it out.
Elite Journalists Love Big Brother
Prominent reporters and powerful officials know each other, share attitudes, and trust each other.
The Solution to Chinese Censorship Is Not Show Hearings
Government bullying won’t fix censorship caused by government bullying.
Sixth Circuit Stays Preliminary Injunction Against Tennessee Law Limiting Gender-Affirming Treatments for Minors
A divided panel concludes the plaintiffs are unlikely to prevail on the merits and pledges to expedite the appeal.
Coleman Hughes and Walter Olson: The Supreme Court Got Its Affirmative Action and Gay Website Cases Right
Contra Joe Biden, they argue that these recent rulings show respect for individual rights and concern for racial and sexual minorities.
Barbie Banned in Vietnam!
The glitter-filled movie got involved in authoritarian geopolitics by allegedly displaying Chinese propaganda.
City Agrees To Remove Ordinance Requiring Permission To Protest
"Americans don't need a permission slip to speak in front of city hall. The First Amendment is their permission slip," said one attorney involved in the case.
This 80-Year-Old Supreme Court Case Offers Hope for Teachers Who Think DEI Has Gone Too Far
Teachers are citing West Virginia v. Barnette to protect their right not to be compelled to say something they disagree with.
Journalists Outraged That a Judge Would Dare Limit Biden's Censorship Powers
Unfortunately, there is reason to doubt that the judge's decision will meaningfully constrain the feds.
'I Owe Freedom My Life': Jimmy Lai Is Imprisoned for Criticizing the Chinese Government
Lai's media company covered the Communist government's abuses when other Hong Kong media wouldn't.
Is This the End of the Ivy League Nepo Baby?
A new complaint argues that legacy admissions violate the Civil Rights Act.
Did the Supreme Court Roll Back Gay Rights and Civil Rights?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion of the Court's recent rulings on affirmative action and same-sex wedding services.
Plaintiff's Being a Possibly Vexatious Litigant May Be Basis for Denying Pseudonymity,
even when plaintiff's lawsuit was connected to her having been allegedly sexually assaulted, which has often (but not always) been seen as a basis for allowing pseudonymity.
Federal Judge to Biden Administration: Stop Telling Social Media Sites To Limit Free Speech
Plus: Teaching A.I. about the Fourth of July, and more...
10th Cir. Narrowly Reads "Injury Litigated Against Would Be Incurred" Basis for Pseudonymous Litigation
The court concludes that this justification doesn't generally let plaintiffs sue pseudonymously in libel or disclosure of private facts that seek damages.
The Ranks of Gun Owners Grow, and So Does Their Resistance to Scrutiny
Researchers report that many gun owners, especially newer ones, falsely deny owning guns.
Alleged Panama Papers Leaker Allowed to Proceed Pseudonymously in Breach of Contract Lawsuit Against Germany
But the court insisted that the alleged leaker file identifying information under seal with the court, notwithstanding the alleged leaker's claim that the court computers could be hacked.
UCLA Declined To Hire a Professor After Students Denounced His Mild DEI Criticism
"We are adamant that the hiring committee...not extend a job offer to Dr. Yoel Inbar," reads the petition.
What Will 303 Creative Mean for Social Media Regulation?
If you can't force a web designer to serve a gay wedding, can you force a web platform to serve a politician?
How to Read 303 Creative v. Elenis
The speech compulsion it forbids is not limited to wedding-website designers who object to same-sex marriage, but its principles should apply only to a narrow range of commercial products
Momfluencer Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail Over False Kidnapping Report
"Nobody is abducting 1- and 4-year-old kids into sex trafficking," says the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center.
Have Smart, Nonobvious Things to Say in Law Review Article Form About Court's New First Amendment Decisions?
Submit them to the Journal of Free Speech Law; we'll tell you within 14 days whether we'll accept the submission, and then we can publish it very quickly, if you'd like.
Free-Range Kids in Virginia, Connecticut, and Illinois Celebrate a Very Special Independence Day
New reasonable childhood independence laws in these states will make it easier for parents to let children enjoy the holiday.
Colorado Can't Force a Graphic Designer To Create Same-Sex Wedding Websites, Supreme Court Rules
The decision reverses a terrible previous decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Study Finds Texas' 6-Week Abortion Ban Resulted in 10,000 Additional Babies
A study from researchers at Johns Hopkins is the first to look at the effects of Texas' 2021 "Heartbeat Act" on live births.
S. Ct. Holds That Speech Creators (e.g., Web Designers) Can't Be Required to Create Content They Object to,
including when the requirement is imposed by antidiscrimination laws, for instance when such laws require web site designers who create opposite-sex wedding sites create same-sex wedding sites.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: COVID, Ukraine, Bitcoin, Guns, Free Speech, and More
The environmentalist and anti-vaccine activist talks about his presidential run and whether he'd jail climate change skeptics.
Supreme Court Clarifies 'Undue Hardship' Standard for Religious Accommodations in the Workplace
Plus: Perspectives on the affirmative action ruling, how U.S. policy is thwarting Cuban capitalists, and more...
Another Judge Chips Away at Laws Barring Felons From Owning Guns
Now both a violent and nonviolent felon have been found by lower courts to have a Second Amendment right to own weapons. The Supreme Court will likely consider the issue in the near future.
RFK Jr.: The Reason Interview
RFK Jr. on libertarianism, Tulsi Gabbard, conspiracy theories, drugs, guns, free speech, and more
Qualified Immunity Meets the Takings Clause
A Sixth Circuit decision holds qualified immunity protects a state elevator inspector from being sued for taking a hotel's property.
Prison Ministry Group Sues Indiana Jail for Banning Amazon Books
The lawsuit claims the ban has no "legitimate penological justification"
Modi's Rotten Human Rights Record Didn't Keep Biden From Hosting Him
"During the visit, Biden could have refrained from deep public embraces of Modi or from emphasizing India's democracy. He chose to do neither," says Michael Kugelman.
Supreme Court Refuses To Expand the 'True Threats' Exception for Free Speech
Plus: Maine prostitution measure becomes law, "significant misconduct" in jail where Epstein hung himself, Mike Pence defends free markets, and more...
S. Ct. Decides: "True Threats" Exception Requires Showing that Speaker Was "Reckless," i.e.,
"consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence."
