Due Process and the Criminal Law: A Few Thoughts on Kahler v. Kansas
An important Supreme Court decision on how much criminal law doctrine is constitutionally required.
Criminal Justice
Coronavirus Fears Mount in D.C. Jail After Quarantines
Lawyers, inmates' families, and correctional officers worry the jail is ill-prepared to handle an outbreak.
Allen v. Cooper is an excellent opinion for teaching Sovereign Immunity
Justice Kagan pithily summarized Boerne, Florida Prepaid, and Kimel
The Prison Coronavirus Disaster Everybody Warned About Is Unfolding in New York City
Jail officials urge more and faster releases as the virus spreads between staff and inmates.
PA Governor: Marshmallow Peeps are "Life-Sustaining," production can continue during COVID-19 Emergency
Designating candy as "life-sustaining," but not constitutionally-protected firearms, is irrational
Law schools should not abandon standard grading policies for all students
Only those students with demonstrated hardships should receive a pass/fail option
Divided PA Supreme Court: Governor can shut down firearms dealers during Coronavirus emergency
Dissent for three Justices: "This amounts to an absolute and indefinite prohibition upon the acquisition of firearms by the citizens of this Commonwealth—a result in clear tension with the Second Amendment..."
"It Is Their Care in All the Ages to Take the Buffet and Cushion the Shock."
“It is their care that the gear engages; it is their care that the switches lock. / Raise ye the stone or cleave the wood to make a path more fair or flat; / Lo, it is black already with the blood some Son of Martha spilled for that.”
Is Learning in Corona-time Like Learning in Wartime?
C.S. Lewis' famous sermon may still be appropriate
Grading in the Time of Coronavirus
For most law schools, switching to across-the-board pass/fail grading would be a mistake.
Unicorns, Coronavirus, and Emergencies
"The world is facing a real emergency. Plaintiff is not."
It's Time for the Commission on Civil Rights to Stop Using Words Like "Racism," "Xenophobia," "Hate," and "Hateful" So Indiscriminately
A Statement by Two Commissioners.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Jaguar habitat, CIA black sites, and deadly insurance benefits.
The Trump Administration's Uncooperative Environmental Federalism
The EPA has talked the talk of cooperative federalism, but it's not yet fully walking the walk.
Come for the Judicial Opinion, Stay for the "Additional Views"
A Federal Circuit panel took the unusual step of throwing in some dicta in a separate non-opinion.
Did This Louisiana Deputy Try To Plant Drugs During an Arrest?
Social media users seem to think so. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says it's "false information."
Sacramento County Releases Inmates Early To Curb Coronavirus Spread
Overcrowded jails are ill-prepared for a coronavirus outbreak.
Keep Coronavirus Out of Jails by Arresting Fewer People in the First Place
Police departments turn to summons instead of processing people into cells—a change they should keep after this is all over.
Ohio Releases 28 Low-Level Offenders To Reduce Spread of Coronavirus
One man was arrested because he didn't have enough bus fare to make his court date.
Maryland Man Killed in No-Knock SWAT Raid Was Shot While Asleep, Family Says
Montgomery County police say Duncan Lemp "confronted" a SWAT team executing a search warrant on his family's house. His family says he was shot in bed.
After a State-Authorized Medical Marijuana Patient Had an Epileptic Seizure and Crashed Her Car, Police Arrested Her for Driving With 'Marjuana in Her System'
The case illustrates the injustice and irrationality of Pennsylvania's "zero tolerance" approach to stoned driving.
Chelsea Manning Freed Again, but Her Refusal to Testify Comes With a $256,000 Price Tag
She was imprisoned for a year as she resisted a grand jury's investigation of WikiLeaks.
A Qualified Immunity Case That the Federal Courts Got Right
Fatal police shootings and the Fourth Amendment
Trump Confuses Nation With COVID-19 Address
Plus: A second person appears to be cured of HIV, cops can destroy your home for no reason and refuse to pay, and more...
A Wrongfully Convicted Kansas Man Can Now Sue the Corrupt Cop Who Framed Him
Lamonte McIntyre served 23 years in prison for murders that he did not commit.
Will We See Real Surveillance Reform This Week?
The USA Freedom Act is about to sunset. Who will decide how and if it will be changed?
Trump Attacks Biden on Drug Policy From the Left
It's an interesting strategy for a president who ran in 2016 on a Nixonian "law and order" platform.
Expelled for a Night of Drunken Sex, $283,000 in Debt
A Michigan State University medical student was expelled shortly before graduation—three years after the incident.
