Civil Liberties
Court Rejects Attempt to Block Media from Reporting Name of Pseudonymous Litigant
The court required the university defendants to keep plaintiff's identity confidential (common in pseudonymous Title IX cases), but refused to extend this to media, students, and others.
Help Fight Disinformation About Disinformation: Donate to Reason
Your support makes some of the "riskiest" journalism on the internet possible.
Even Hateful Protests Are Protected, Free Speech Group Reminds Congress
Respecting free speech defends individual rights and lets people show us who they are.
Just Asking Questions: A New Reason Podcast!
Subscribe to a new show hosted by Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe, airing on YouTube every Thursday and podcast feeds every Friday.
Texas Newspaper Virally Claims Ted Cruz Wanted To 'Limit' Preferred Pronouns. His Bill Doesn't Do That.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill last month that would bar federal agencies from forcing employees to respect preferred names or pronouns.
California Defies SCOTUS by Imposing Myriad New Restrictions on Public Gun Possession
By banning firearms from a long list of "sensitive places," the state is copying a policy that federal judges have repeatedly rejected.
Seattle Banned Landlords From Rejecting Tenants Based on Criminal Records. Will the Supreme Court Step in?
The political push behind the law was well-meaning. But it will backfire on many prospective renters.
Judge Halts Montana's First Amendment-Violating TikTok Ban
The ban, scheduled to take effect on January 1, is likely unconstitutional in multiple ways, the judge held.
Maintaining Online Copy of Court Opinion Isn't Libelous, Even When It's Reversed
A district court refuses to enter default judgment against caselaw publisher Leagle, concluding that the plaintiff's claims against Leagle were legally insufficient.
Getting Dartmouth to Revoke Plaintiff's Admission Wasn't Speech on Issue of Public Interest,
under California's "anti-SLAPP" statute (which allows for prompt dismissal of claims brought based on certain kinds of speech).
The Backpage Defendants Never Stood a Chance
Moral panic plus government power is an inescapably potent combination.
Irish Prison for Edgelords and Hotheads?
Plus: Repealing tobacco bans, UN pointlessness, Substack's "Nazi problem," and more…
Poised To Lose Battle Over Gun Ads, City Bans All Advertising But Its Own
Flagstaff keeps digging a hole over commercial free speech.
Laws Requiring Permission to Obtain Guns Look Vulnerable
The 4th Circuit’s rejection of Maryland’s handgun licensing system suggests similar schemes in other states are unconstitutional.
Two 15-Year Sentences Illustrate the Ugly Interaction of Drug and Gun Laws
The Supreme Court mulls how to apply a mandatory minimum for gun possession by people convicted of drug felonies.
Maryland Roommates File Lawsuit After Police Shot Their Dog During Alleged Illegal Home Search
Officers barged into their house without a warrant, shot their dog, and mocked them, a federal civil rights lawsuit says.
Prosecutors Use Lyrics, Diary Entries as Evidence in Georgia RICO Cases
In separate criminal racketeering cases, prosecutors are using rap lyrics and the personal diary of a protester shot and killed by police as evidence.
Do You Still Have the Right to a Jury Trial?
The Supreme Court will consider whether federal agencies’ administrative judges violate the Seventh Amendment.
"Protecting People from Their Own Religious Communities: Jane Doe in Church and State,"
a new article of mine, is now available at the Journal of Law & Religion.
USC Censors Jewish Professor for Saying Hamas 'Should Be Killed'
The university is violating John Strauss's free speech rights.
Don't Ask a Judge to Rule for You and Then Send Him a Death Threat
"Cut your backwards ass bullshit or you will start losing family members and the President of the United States will wind up dead!"
It's Not So Hard to Write an Opinion Following Bruen and Reversing in Rahimi
a contrary view to Josh's
Challenge to NYU Law Review's Race and Sex Preferences May Proceed Pseudonymously, at Least for Now
[UPDATE: Added a brief discussion of pseudonymity and class actions.]
The 4th Circuit Says Maryland's Handgun Licensing Law Is Unconstitutional
Before buying a handgun, residents had to obtain a "qualification license," which could take up to 30 days.
He Wants To Label Food 'Low FODMAP.' The Government Won't Let Him.
Lots of Americans have an intolerance to FODMAPs—the sugars prevalent in garlic, onion, and many other foods.
Trump Gag Order Raises Unsettled Constitutional Questions
A D.C. Circuit judge says the government’s defense of the order gives short shrift to "the First Amendment’s vigorous protection of political speech."
Ron DeSantis Rediscovers the First Amendment's Protections for Anonymous Speech
The Florida governor is attacking Republican primary rival Nikki Haley over her awful idea to police online speech, but the timing is awkward.
Goodbye to Detroit's Asset Forfeiture Racket
Wayne County was seizing cars and using its less-fortunate residents as piggy banks.
