Civil Liberties
Trump Can Take Revenge on the 'Deep State': Pardon Snowden
Why Edward Snowden deserves not only a presidential pardon, but a hero's welcome home.
$725K Settlement in University of North Texas Academic Freedom Case
The case settled while motions for summary judgment were pending; the plaintiff, Prof. Timothy Jackson, had prevailed against an earlier motion to dismiss, and the Fifth Circuit had also rejected defendants' appeal as to procedural matters.
Anti-Israel/Anti-Zionist Speech Doesn't Violate School Board Members' Ethics Obligations, When Said in the Member's Personal Capacity as Professor
But speech sharply critical of Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, and of Sharia (and thus perhaps of traditionalist Islam) had been found, by the same commission, to be unethical.
The Republican-Appointed Judge Decrying Trump's 'Deeply Disturbing' Attacks on the Rule of Law
When Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick is worried about our constitutional order, we should all pay heed.
Gun Rights Groups Welcome the Demise of Illogical and Constitutionally Dubious Federal Firearm Taxes
The taxes on sound suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, originally enacted in 1934, were meant to be prohibitive, imposing bans in the guise of raising revenue.
Trump vs. the Declaration of Independence
Several of the items on the Declaration's list of grievances against King George III also apply to Donald Trump today.
Judge Denies Pseudonymity, Because Plaintiff's Sensitive Personal Information Wouldn't Likely Emerge in the Case—But then Disclosed That Information In Its Order
"[T]he heart of the district court's analysis in denying Brooks's initial motion was its conclusion that the litigation would not require Brooks to disclose the information that he had filed under seal. But, in some respects, the district court's order did just that—it put the information that Brooks had filed under seal on the public docket."
Celebrate Independence Day by Insulting a Politician
Perhaps the one thing Americans still have in common is our eagerness to criticize government.
Government Employees May Generally Be Disciplined for Sufficiently Controversial Public Political Speech
From the Eleventh Circuit, a reminder that First Amendment protections against government employer action are much weaker than the protections against the government as sovereign (especially, but not only, when the speech is also "disrespectful, demeaning, rude, and insulting").
NIMBYism Stifles Housing Construction in Previous Growth Areas
In recent years, exclusionary zoning and other regulatory restrictions have begun to block housing construction in areas where it was once relatively easy.
Florida Can Forbid Transgender High School Math Teacher From Using Feminine Pronouns to Refer to Herself in Class, 11th Circuit Says
The appeals court vacated a preliminary injunction that had been based on her First Amendment rights
Florida Teachers Have No First Amendment Right to Indicate Their Preferred Pronouns and Honorifics in Class
So an Eleventh Circuit panel held today, by a 2-1 vote.
Florida Plans To Deputize 9 National Guardsmen as Immigration Judges To Increase Deportations
Legal experts are concerned that immigration judges with only six weeks of training will not uphold constitutional protections for migrants.
By Settling Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS, Paramount Strikes a Blow at Freedom of the Press
The company's surrender to Trump's extortion vindicates his strategy of using frivolous litigation and his presidential powers to punish constitutionally protected speech.
The First Amendment Protects CNN's Reporting on ICEBlock and Iran
The Justice Department cannot constitutionally prosecute a news outlet for covering the news.
Lawsuit Against Google for Accurately Reporting Negative Stories About Plaintiff Dismissed
Plaintiff claimed that the search results violated his "right of publicity," and also that the output was defamatory because it "uses a 'negative algorithm' that promotes negative stories about Garmon while suppressing positive stories about him—or, at least, pushing the positive stories down the list of search results."
New York City Tried To Seize Lucy the Pig. Mayor Eric Adams Says the Family Can Keep Her—If She Leaves Town.
The owners faced fines of up to $18,000 for keeping the pig within city limits.
Trump Says the Courts Have No Business Questioning His Dubious Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is considering whether the president properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members.
Are Plaintiffs More Eligible to Be Pseudonymous in Lawsuits Against the Government? Less Eligible?
Today's D.C. Circuit decision muddies the matter still further.
Legislation Will Not Protect Kids Online
New laws aimed at protecting kids online won’t work, and could even make things worse. Parents, not politicians, are the best defense against digital dangers.
California Law Stops City from Flying World Flag Above U.S. and California Flag
And the U.S. Constitution doesn't preclude this result.
Court Allows Breach of Contract Claim for Haverford's Allegedly Failing to Respond to Anti-Semitism Complaints—But Only for Nominal Damages
"So whatever hard to imagine rationalization Haverford might offer for obscuring the content of its actual bias policy—an artifice reminiscent of Dean Wormer's 'double secret probation'—I find the demarcation 'draft' to be of no legal import."
I'm No Fan of UVA's President. That Doesn't Mean the Government Should Force Him Out.
Jim Ryan is the latest casualty in Trump's unconstitutional war against elite universities.
Trump Is Now More Powerful Thanks to the Supreme Court. But Will It Last?
Plus: Conservatives won big overall this year at the Supreme Court.
Federalist Society Webinar on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London
The panelists included Peter Byrne (Georgetown), Wesley Horton (counsel for New London in the case), Timothy Sandefur (Goldwater Institute), and myself.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for a Child-Snatching Texas Cop Who Falsely Alleged Abandonment
Alexandra Weaver argued that she could not reasonably have been expected to know her actions were unconstitutional.
No Qualified Immunity for School District Police Officer Who Seized Home-Schooled 14-Year-Old from Home
The child, and her 12-year-old brother, were left under the supervision of a neighbor by the mother, who left town for six days for a foreign job interview.
Cancellation Litigation + Doxing Claim, over Allegedly Malicious Publicizing of Snapchat Video with Allegedly Racist Statements
"[B]oth parties exchanged these Snapchat videos while they were intoxicated and their judgment was impaired. Notwithstanding, the communications were private and intended to be jokes between close friends."
New Orleans City Council Considers Ordinance To Adopt Real-Time Facial Recognition Technology
America is slipping steadily down the slippery slope to a surveillance state.
Clarence Thomas Undermines Free Speech in Porn Site Age-Verification Case
The Supreme Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton weakens the First Amendment rights of adults everywhere.
Criminal Justice Reformers Should Welcome Pam Bondi's Gun Rights Restoration Initiative
Democratic critics of the new program overlook the injustice of permanently disarming Americans who pose no threat to public safety.
How DHS Facial Recognition Tech Spread to ICE Enforcement
More government agencies are using facial recognition for enforcement than ever before.
How Should Courts Analyze Age Verification Requirements for Porn That's Illegal for Minors?
Prohibiting the distribution of porn to minors, the Court says, legitimately carries with it some burdens on adults as well, when the burdens are closely linked to distinguishing the adults and the minors.
