DOJ Dismisses Indictment of Machine Gun Prosecution While Cert Petition Was Pending
How often does the SG dismiss an indictment while a cert petition is pending, without a confession of error? And is there a connection to the Obamacare case?
Criminal Justice
SG Confesses Error on Secret Immigration Docket, SCOTUS GVRs
Thanks for Marcia Coyle for tracking down the Solicitor General's confession of error, which was not publicly available
Prosecutors Fight Early Release for Whistleblower Reality Winner
Fears of contracting COVID-19 in prison are not enough, Justice Department says
Law Schools Still Accepting Applications for the Incoming Fall Class
My law school is. Anyone else?
Automated License Plate Readers, the Mosaic Theory, and the Fourth Amendment
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court weighs in.
Bureau of Prisons Reverses Coronavirus Home Confinement Policy
"What they are doing to people is cruel and unusual. It isn't right."
Idaho Woman Threatened With Jail Time for Holding 'Nonessential' Yard Sale
The local police department says "a garage sale/yard sale is not an essential business and should not be open for business."
"Litigating Citizenship" in Print in Vanderbilt Law Review
On due process and citizenship litigation
Grandchildren in Sandboxes, Elephants in Watering Holes
Gems from Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian
Supreme Court Rules Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts in Criminal Cases Unconstitutional
A 50-year-old precedent was tossed, which caused three justices to dissent.
Making Sense of the Votes in the Ramos v. Louisiana Majority (Updated)
Ramos was not nearly as fractured as Apodaca, but the Court is still splintered on the value of precedent
Unusual Supreme Court Lineup Holds that Jury Verdicts in (Most) Criminal Cases Must Be Unanimous
All three of today's Supreme Court decisions featured unusual alignments among the justices.
Our Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to Consider Takings Case in Which Authorities Refused to Compensate Innocent Owners of House Destroyed by Police
The brief was filed by the Cato Institute on behalf of both Cato and myself.
COVID-19 Leads Some States To Show Mercy on Petty Fines Owed
It seems unlikely that most Americans who owe fines for petty crimes will be in a better position to pay them in 60 to 90 days.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Hair microscopy, an economist breaks bad, and the non-prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.
"I Suppose You Legally Have a Right Not to Give Your ID [to Police],"
"but then you probably are making a judgment call that you need to let a judge make"—reasoning from a New Mexico trial court judge, recently reversed by an appellate court.
The Art of the Troll
Trump is a master of instantly changing the narrative so we forget about yesterday.
The "Elite Eight" Round of the OT 2019 Harlan Institute-ConSource Virtual Supreme Court Competition
Congratulations to the top 8 teams
Noel Canning Redux: Justices Breyer and Scalia wrote that the President could use the adjournment power to block Senate "intransigence" (Updated)
No President has ever adjourned Congress before. Yet at least.
Meet the Philly Judge Standing in the Way of Efforts To Stop Coronavirus Spread in Jails
Judge Anne Marie Coyle has rejected every emergency attempt to reduce prison populations.
SCOTUS Drives a Stake Through The Heart of Rule 33.1
The Supreme Court should permanently exempt cert-stage briefs from the Byzantine printing and paper requirements of Rule 33.1
The Pandemic Brings Out Americans' Inner Snitches
Setting the cops on social-distancing scofflaws is dangerous to public health and a free society.
Is the Supreme Court About to Take Its First Big CFAA Case?
Probably. And they certainly should.
Penn. S. Ct. Rejects Free Speech Challenge to Shutdown
See below for posts about other parts of this interesting and important opinion.
Florida Judge Offers Advice for Zoom Hearings: Dress Appropriately
"It is remarkable how many ATTORNEYS appear inappropriately on camera."
Should We Replace Traditional Elections with Sortition?
Recent controversies over election rules and the coronavirus threat have bolstered advocates of decision-making by randomly selected groups of voters. But this approach still has serious flaws.
