Civil Liberties
Whatever Evidence the DOJ Has Against James Comey, It Cannot Transform '86 47' Into a Death Threat
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche implausibly claims prosecutors can prove Comey "knowingly and willfully" threatened to murder the president.
Louisiana Says Men Are Spiking Women's Drinks With Abortion Pills. There's Scant Evidence of That.
Mail-order mifepristone is how countless women bypass abortion bans. That could soon change if Louisiana gets its way before the Supreme Court.
Restricting Speech By Purportedly Protecting Children
Around the world, governments are censoring speech with the stated goal of shielding youth from online harms.
Surveillance Tools Intended for Border Control Are Being Used Against Americans
U.S. citizens are being monitored and punished with technology meant to battle illegal immigration.
Trump's Responses to Kimmel and Comey Highlight His Contempt for Freedom of Speech
The president is not shy about using government power to punish people for saying things that offend him.
Why the Courts Will 86 the Flagrantly Unconstitutional Charges Against James Comey
The case defies more than half a century of rulings on the “true threat” exception to the First Amendment.
Elite Panic and the Push to Regulate "Misinformation"
European leaders' warnings of a democratic apocalypse failed to materialize in 2024.
Gorsuch Says SCOTUS Is Doing 'Pretty Darn Well' in Handling the 'Hardest Cases'
The justice defends the Supreme Court as a model of respectful and principled adjudication.
Justice Alito Enters Administrative Stay of Mifepristone Order
The Court responds to the mifepristone shadow docket filings.
How a Bill Banning AI Companions for Kids Could Usher in Widespread ID Checks Online
Plus: Supreme Court pauses ban on mail-order abortion pills, TikTok's artistic merit, a defense of pickup artists, and more...
How Bad Facts Make Good First Amendment Law
Jay Near was a hateful man whose litigation set a vital precedent for free speech.
Mifepristone Returns to the Shadow Docket
Drug makers seek interim relief after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocks FDA rule allowing mifepristone prescriptions via telemedicine. (With Update Below.)
"Gaslighting" Isn't "Abuse" for Child Custody Law Purposes
So holds an Oregon appellate court.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Funded
Plus: FISA reauthorization, driverless trucks in California, and an Epstein suicide note.
California Can't Define 'Hate Speech' But May Mandate Workplace Training Anyway
The term “hate speech” gets thrown around a lot, but it’s legally protected in the U.S.
How High
Plus: FISA reauthorization passes the House, a very capitalist museum, escalation in the redistricting wars, and more...
"[Anti-Harassment] Injunctions Are Not a Remedy for Interpersonal Conflict"
So reasons a Florida appellate court, though other courts in other states seem to take a different view.
SCOTUS Narrows the Reach of the Voting Rights Act
Plus: The Supreme Court says “demands for a charity’s private member or donor information” raises First Amendment problems.
Free Speech Unmuted: "Defamacast" and More: How American Defamation Law Works
Jane and I lay out the structure of American defamation law, using the recent lawsuits brought by FBI Director Kash Patel as a launching point. Special bonus: Almost no discussion of New York Times v. Sullivan (an important case but one that listeners have doubtless heard much about elsewhere).
Bankers Scouring Porn Sites. Payment Processors Punishing Journalists. Here's How 'Big Finance' Is Chilling Speech
Financial censorship should worry us all, suggests Rainey Reitman in Transaction Denied.
Unanimous Supreme Court Affirms Standing to Challenge Subpoena for Info on Financial Supporters
The Court dispatches with an easy case the lower courts should have gotten right.
All New Cars Could Have Mandatory Surveillance Tech Unless Congress Stops This Mandate
Cars are already spying on drivers. A 2021 law requires manufacturers to install more tracking technology.
Fauci Aide Charged
Plus: A dicey FISA reauthorization, kingly quips about burning down the White House, the world's narrowest tax breaks, and more...
"Making Negative Statements" About People to Their Employers = Criminal Harassment
"[S]tatements made to third parties can be 'directed at' the victim," and thus criminal harassment if they're repeated and likely to cause serious annoyance or distress, "when they are designed to provoke an adverse consequence against the victim."
A SCOTUS Case Exposes the Dangers of 2 Misguided Fourth Amendment Doctrines
"Geofence" searches illustrate the perilous combination of modern technology and deference to law enforcement.
Trump Administration's Review of ABC's Broadcast Licenses Looks Like 'Illegal Jawboning'
When he returned to the White House, Trump vowed to protect free speech from the government. The FCC's latest move against ABC and Disney looks like the opposite.
Historic Taking
The owners of the house that Marilyn Monroe died in claim in a lawsuit that the city took their property when it landmarked it.
D.C. Circuit Lets Pentagon Require That Journalists Be Escorted While in Pentagon
The panel (by a 2-1 vote) stayed a district court order that, among other things, blocked the newly established escort requirement.
SCOTUS Weighs 'Geofence Warrants' and the Future of Digital Privacy
The government wants access to millions of cell phone location histories. The Supreme Court will decide what the Fourth Amendment allows.
Judge Reaffirms: EEOC May Subpoena Penn's Records as to "Jewish-Related Organizations" (and Others) in Investigation of Anti-Semitic Harassment at Penn
But the judge suspends his decision pending appeal, so that the appellate court has "time to consider and decide the merits of this case, absent unnecessary procedural deadlines."
