Civil Liberties
He Lost the Title to His Home Over a Small Property Tax Debt. Years Later, He's Finally Getting It Back.
A local government gave ownership of Kevin Fair's Nebraska house—and all of its value—to a private investor, in a practice known as home equity theft.
Weak Allegations of Shaken Baby Syndrome Keep Tearing Families Apart
Nick Flannery faces 12 years in prison for allegedly shaking his 2-month-old son. Child protective services are ignoring the other possible causes of his son's medical problem.
Punishing Revenge Porn as (Federal) Criminal Libel
It doesn't always work, but it worked on the facts of this case.
The 10 Most Infuriating Challenges to Free-Range Parenting in 2024
Here's hoping for a free-range 2025!
The Racist Roots of Gun Control
Measures restricting gun ownership still disproportionately harm black and brown people, says Maj Toure, founder of "Black Guns Matter."
Supreme Court Can Protect Property Owners From Eminent Domain Abuse
A Utica, New York, land grab offers the justices an opportunity to revisit a widely criticized precedent.
IRS Failed To Properly Dispose of Sensitive Tax Documents, Report Finds
Some IRS offices routinely threw away sensitive material with regular trash, while others used unlocked or damaged storage bins.
Pay Up, Trump
Plus: Biden's last-minute Ukraine cash surge, Tennessee age-verification law blocked, Kentucky man killed by cop who showed up at wrong house, and more…
Arkansas Can't Jail Librarians for Giving Kids 'Harmful' Books
Portions of a law, struck down last week, would have subjected individuals to misdemeanor charges for providing "harmful" materials to minors.
"He Admitted Receiving the Password" for the Laptop, but "It Took Him Over an Hour to Log In"
Defamation litigation ensues.
Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit Against Fox Officers and Directors Over Fox $787M Libel Settlement Can Go Forward
"[T]he complaint alleges facts sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt that at least three other directors lack independence from Murdoch."
Alabama Teen Killed During 'No-Knock' Drug Raid Had His Hands Raised, Lawsuit Says
The wrongful death lawsuit says Randall Adjessom came out of his bedroom with a gun when Mobile police broke down his family's door in a predawn raid, but when he realized they were cops, he put his hands in the air.
The Government Took a Developer's Land and Gave It to a Competitor. In New York, That's Business As Usual.
The case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to revisit a widely reviled decision that invited such eminent domain abuses.
Bringing Shame on the Family Name
"The articles, from the York Daily Record and FOX43 websites, detailed an incident in which Father was 'found sleeping half-naked in his car at a Rutter's store' and offered an investigating officer $50 instead of his license. The articles indicate that Father was charged with DUI, indecent exposure, open lewdness, and other related charges."
No Sealing of Transgender Prisoner's Case
The prisoner had argued that other inmates were accessing the case documents, and as a result were urging other inmates to beat, rape, and kill the prisoner, apparently because of information in the court file related to the crime of which the prisoner had been convicted.
Women Allegedly Raped in Prison by Trans-Identifying Inmate Will Have To Refer to Attacker as 'She/Her'
The recent ruling means that on the stand those women may be subject to speech policing from their alleged rapist—who has opted for self-representation.
Plaintiff Suing Sean Combs / P. Diddy and Shawn Carter / Jay-Z Can Proceed Pseudonymously
This further adds to the split among Manhattan federal judges as to pseudonymity in the various Doe v. Combs cases.
2 Florida Men Who Thought They Were Freeing Illegally Caught Sharks Are Now Felons
Federal prosecutors argued that John Moore and Tanner Mansell stole property when they hauled in a fishing line they mistakenly believed had been set by poachers.
Court Orders Unsealing of Part of Declaration by Giuliani's Ex-Lawyers in Georgia Election Workers' Defamation Case
"To permit Defendant to claim that he had instructed his lawyers to comply with all court orders including those requiring electronic production and that it was Prior Counsel who were responsible for the misdeeds that have plagued this case, while sitting on declarations in the court file that belie those claims, would permit him to make a 'mockery' of the court and its proceedings. "
A San Francisco Coder Built a Musical Surveillance System
With a name inspired by a controversial police surveillance technology, Bop Spotter scans the streets for ambient tunes.
Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim
How cops, politicians, and bureaucrats tried to dodge responsibility in 2024
Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Filed by Jussie Smollett's Hoax Attackers
The Osundairo brothers sued Smollett's lawyer for suggesting that they might have put on white makeup for the hoax.
Activists Tried To Cancel a Record Number of Campus Events in 2024
164 events or speakers were targeted, mostly over the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Trump Media & Technology Group Loses Lawsuit Against Washington Post Over Story About Trump Social Deal
The statements were true or at least substantially true, the court concludes, plus Trump Media failed to adequately allege knowing or reckless falsehood on the Post's part.
A SWAT Team Destroyed an Innocent Woman's House. The Supreme Court Won't Hear Her Case.
Whether or not the government is required under the 5th Amendment to pay such victims will remain an open question.
Court Blocks Arkansas Law That Limits "Harmful to Minors" Books in Public Libraries and Bookstores, and Also
limits "inappropriate" books in libraries.
"Not Only Is [the Race Discrimination Plaintiff] a Perpetual Claimant, He Is a Holdup Artist"
A judge sanctions a self-represented litigant who threatened to contact defendant's donors as a means of trying to pressure defendant into settling.
Much of Government Response to Parent's Criticism of School Board "Was Beyond the Pale," but Can't Justify an Injunction …
because there's not enough evidence that the response would recur (which is what is required for an injunction, which is a forward-looking remedy).
Do You Have To Choose a Side in Politics? Reason Versus The Bulwark
The Bulwark's Tim Miller and Sarah Longwell debate Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch on choosing a side in politics.
The Spending Bill Would Fund Censorship
Republicans should not give any more money to the Global Engagement Center.
Trump Mounts a 'Direct Assault on the First Amendment' by Portraying Journalism As Consumer Fraud
The president-elect's lawsuit against The Des Moines Register is a patently frivolous and constitutionally dubious attempt to intimidate the press.
