Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
It wasn't about what was fair, it wasn't about what was honest, it was about winning.
Criminal Justice
Brett Kavanaugh Explains Why He Voted to Grant Buddhist Inmate's Stay of Execution
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 last night to grant Patrick Murphy's petition for a stay.
Supreme Court Stays Execution in Death Penalty/Religious Liberty Case
The facts of this case are very similar to those of Dunn v. Ray, a recent ruling in which the Justice let the execution proceed, and thereby attracted a firestorm of criticism.
Futuristic Tech-Driven Policing Will Only Be as Good as the Cops Doing It
One doesn't need a predictive-policing program to realize that police officers who have been convicted of serious crimes ought not to be trusted with a badge.
Kim Foxx, the State's Attorney Who Let Jussie Smollett Go, Has a Lot of Explaining to Do
"A case with the consequential effects of Mr. Smollett's should not be resolved without a finding of guilt or innocence."
Federal Judge Rules New York's Dumb 'Gravity Knife' Law Is Unconstitutionally Vague
Groups have complained for years that the laws allowed police and prosecutors to selectively charge people carrying common pocket knives.
This Man Didn't Kill Anyone. Texas Plans To Execute Him Tonight Anyway. (UPDATE: Supreme Court Blocks Execution)
Texas' law of parties is to blame.
FOSTA's First Test Targets Cloud Company Used by Backpage
Plus: a Robert Kraft/spa-sting update, Florida sex-buyer registry nixed, D.C. activist alleges entrapment, and more sex-work and sex-policy news.
Cooley Judicial Lecture: Respecting Local Control: State Law in the Federal System
Come hear Judge Joan Larsen give inaugural Cooley Judicial Lecture at Georgetown Law; See Cooley Book Prize awarded to Richard Fallon
The Southern Poverty Law Center Is Both a Terrible Place to Work and a Place That Does Terrible Work
Top executives are departing amidst reports of racial and sexual harassment.
Houston Narcs Implicated in Deadly Drug Raid Will Soon Be Collecting Pensions
The officer accused of falsifying the no-knock warrant for the home invasion that killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas retired last Friday.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Still Think Jussie Smollett Is Guilty—and Are Furious He's Going Free
"Where is the accountability in the system?"
Prosecutors Drop All Charges Against Jussie Smollett
The FBI is still investigating, however.
Battering Ram-Wielding Chicago Cops Crash 4-Year-Old's Birthday Party, Point Guns at Terrified Kids
When an aunt asked to see a search warrant, she says she was handcuffed.
Justice Department Revises Its Position in Texas ACA Case
The Trump Administration has decided that the Affordable Care Act should be voided in its entirety.
Is This America's Shittiest Cop?
The San Antonio Police Department tried to fire this officer for giving a crap sandwich to a homeless man. It was overruled.
Vox Symposium on Attorney General Barr's Summary of the Mueller Report
Fifteen legal scholars weigh in, including the VC's own Keith Whittington, and myself.
First Impressions on the Mueller Investigation
The attorney general has released his summary of the report. Let the games begin.
Preet Bharara's Boy Scout Manual of 'Doing Justice'
The former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York unconvincingly channels Atticus Finch in his legal memoir.
Florida Cops Re-Arrest 26 Sex Offenders in 'Operation Karma.' Their Crime? Not Updating Their Car Info.
Most of the perpetrators committed offenses decades ago, and pose no danger to the community.
Indiana Cops are Charged with Federal Civil Rights Violations for Beating a Handcuffed Man
The Elkhart Police Department has had several misconduct issues throughout the years.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Electron microscopy, therapeutic insoles, and (allegedly) thieving police.
Amy Klobuchar Is a Cop, Too
Plus: Robert Kraft, Dyma Loving, Michelle Aldana, and others in the news for mistreatment by the U.S. criminal justice system
After Deadly Drug Raid on His Watch, Houston's Top Cop Lists Reforms, Praises Himself
Art Acevedo plans to limit no-knock raids and give narcotics officers body cameras but wants credit for not covering up a cop's search warrant lies.
Indiana Teachers Say Cops Shot Them with Airsoft Bullets During Active Shooter Training
How does shooting teachers with pellet guns make anyone safer?
Fourth Circuit Deepens the Split on Accessing Opened E-Mails
Courts have been struggling with this issue for years, and now the law is even more divided than before.
Dangers of Growing Support for Court-Packing
There is growing support for packing the Supreme Court among liberal Democrats, including some presidential candidates. It's a terrible idea that would severely damage the institution of judicial review, if ever implemented. Thoughtful liberals would do well to reject it.
Florida Republicans Advance Bill That Would Sharply Limit Restoration of Voting Rights to Felony Offenders
A Florida House committee advanced a bill that would require people with felony records to pay off their court debts before they could regain the right to vote.
California News Outlets Team Up To Delve Into Police Misconduct Records
More than 30 organizations are reviewing thousands of newly released documents about bad cop behavior
Supreme Court Gives Feds a Long Leash To Detain Immigrants With Criminal Records
Conservative majority declines to consider constitutional concerns of holding noncitizens without hearings.
New Cert Petition: Does the Fourth Amendment Allow "Information Seeking" Stops of Suspects?
I blogged about this case last year, and now I've filed a cert petition in the case.
The Majority of an Oklahoma Sheriff's Office Just Quit Over Unsafe Jail Conditions
It's encouraging to see police stand up for inmates' rights.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Episode 255 of the Cyberlaw Podcast: Russia and China revamp their military technologies
Will Utah Ban the Shackling of Inmates in Labor?
A bill to stop the dangerous practice reaches the next step.
Emory Academic Freedom/Free Speech on Campus conference this week (3/21-3/23): CLE credit available
All are welcome to this week's conference at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta, Ga., with a selection of nationwide experts on the First Amendment, free speech, academic freedom, and university policies, from both the academic side and the student-affairs professional side.
Does the Constitution Require Unanimous Jury Verdicts in Criminal Cases?
In 1972, a 4-1-4 Supreme Court decision said "yes" in federal cases, no in state cases; the Supreme Court will now reconsider it.
Marsy's Law Is a Gift to Bad Cops
In South Dakota, officers can claim their names shouldn't be released to the public after shooting someone.
Sam Bray receives Story (Bator) Award
for excellence in scholarship, teaching, and public impact.
Can Victims' Rights Go Too Far?
The rapid spread of Marsy's Law could undermine due process across the country.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
A police schism, a profanity-laced raid, and Mustangs over Berlin.
SCOTUS Still Won't Allow TV Cameras -- But What About Same-Day Audio
The Court has released same-day audio of oral arguments before. Why can't it be a regular practice?
Rudeness Isn't Illegal Says Sixth Circuit, In Case of Flipped-Off Cop Who Issued Ticket
Plus: Can sex workers ever trust Kamala Harris? Why do teens love Google Docs? And how is Tumblr faring without porn?
