It's a Conspiracy, I Tell You
The Great Illuminati want me.
Criminal Justice
Should U.S. Supreme Court Litigants Decline Consent for Filing of Amicus Briefs?
TL;DR summary: No, it's pointless -- as the data shows -- and it can make you look bad.
Why Can Felons Be Denied the Right to Vote?
Felons retain their free speech rights. Some recent court decisions conclude that some felons regain their Second Amendment rights. But the right to vote is different, according to the constitutional text.
Short Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
Grilling in the yard, radioactive waste in the yard, and police drive onto the wrong yard.
The Golden State Killer and Your Genetic Privacy
Do you have a reasonable expectation of genetic privacy under the Fourth Amendment?
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Declares that "Goals" Really Are Quotas--But Only When They Apply to Goals the Commissioners Don't Like.
It's never a dull moment at the Commission on Civil Rights.
What's a 'Website,' Anyway?
As a recent Indiana Supreme Court case amply demonstrates, the term "website" is not nearly precise enough for use in our criminal law, and judges and legislators need to stop pretending that it is.
This Terrible Florida Sheriff Thinks Schools Should Be Arresting More Kids for Dumb Reasons to Stop Shootings
Mike Chitwood arrests 11-year-olds and then complains that officials aren't calling them more.
The Sex Trafficking Charges Against Smallville Actress Allison Mack Are Totally Bogus
The federal charges against Mack highlight how human trafficking hysteria harms vulnerable women.
SCOTUS Released Same-Day Oral Argument Audio. Guess What Happened Next?
There is no reason not to release same-day audio for all oral arguments at the Supreme Court.
Defamation by the Anti-Defamation League (UPDATED: ADL Apologizes)
The ADL defames Canary Mission.
"Drew Cloud Is a Well-Known Expert on Student Loans. One Problem: He's Not Real."
A remarkable story from The Chronicle of Higher Education (Dan Bauman & Chris Quintana)
Chicago Is Trying to Pay Down Its Debt by Impounding Innocent People's Cars
How a uniquely punitive city impound program combined with the drug war and asset forfeiture to deprive people of their vehicles for years at a time.
Pardon Jack Johnson
The White Slavery Panic of the late 19th/early 20th centuries caused Congress to pass the vaguely-worded Mann Act. It allowed the FBI and prosecutors broad discretion to go after individuals they didn't like.
Are Cop-Assisted Promposals Charming or Alarming?
Stopping drivers without a legal justification is unconstitutional, even in the name of young love.
Weapons Are Just Tools. It's People Who Are Dangerous.
Restricting guns-or vans, knives, or planes-won't make the world safer. The Toronto van attack reminds us peril lies in people with bad intent, not with how they get it done.
Supreme Court Nixes Suits Against Foreign Corporations in U.S. Courts Alleging Violations of International Law
If domestic courts are to be a forum for these sorts of suits, five justices conclude, Congress must first say so.
British Politicians Declare War on Knives
Having failed to thwart crime with gun bans, British officials now want to restrict what may be the most useful tool ever invented.
Why German-Style Apprenticeships Are Not an Easy Fit in the United States
The German economy depends on strong national unions and complex licensing and certifications to discourage apprentices from leaving their apprenticeships prematurely. Americans may not be so keen on that.
Law Prohibiting 'Revenge Porn' Violates First Amendment, Says Texas Appeals Court
The state law targeted people who share erotic photographs of others without their consent.
Flashback: The Supreme Court Turns Back the Parade of Horribles
Cases like Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (2014) show how important it is appoint good judges to the federal courts.
In Defense of Cash
Around the world, governments are trying to kill paper money. It's a terrible idea.
District Judge Generally Rejects Plea Bargaining
An unusual perspective in a system that very heavily relies on plea bargains, but one I thought worth noting.
#IlyaConfusion - A Guide for the Perplexed [Updated]
For partly understandable reasons, I often get confused with Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute. Here is the definitive guide to how to tell the two libertarian Ilyas apart.
Pure Foolishness
Eight years ago, the Volokh Conspiracy pointed out that the Chair of the Vermont State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights had made ridiculous, racially inflammatory statements. Today the Commission evidently decided that's just what Vermont needs and brought him back for a second stint as Chair.
Short Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
Loafing about, fishing for a lighter, and standing on the porch.
The Seventh Circuit splits on the national injunction
National injunction upheld 2-1 in Chicago sanctuary city case
How To Talk to People Who Think You're Evil and/or Insane: Podcast
A special all-female edition of the Reason Podcast
Cop Charged With Using Illegal Traffic Stops to Pick Up Women
A New Jersey state trooper allegedly threatened two women with fines and jail time unless they turned over their phone numbers.
Caniformia
Apparently all carnivorans (not quite the same as carnivores) are either doggy or catty.
Seventh Circuit Upholds Injunction in Sanctuary City Case
The Trump Administration loses its appeal in Chicago v. Sessions, but one judge dissents on the appropriateness of a nationwide injunction
"D.C. lawmaker who said Jews control the weather visits Holocaust Museum but leaves early"
Not an Onion headline (but maybe subconsciously influenced by one).
I Doubt This Is the Right Way to Manipulate Justice Gorsuch
Capsule summary: "Vote the way we want you to, and maybe we'll have just a bit less contempt for you than we now do."
Why Aren't Feminist Groups More Concerned that So Many Colleges and Universities Discriminate Against Women in Admissions?
Is it they don't want to admit that females do so well relative to males in high school? They don't want appear to be defecting from the left-of-center coalition that supports race-preferential admissions policies? Or is something else driving this?
Gov. Cuomo to Use Pardons to Restore Voting Rights to Some Felons
He faces a reelection challenge from the left, with Cynthia Nixon running on criminal justice issues like pot legalization.
James Comey Has Craptacular Opinions on Mass Incarceration and Prosecutors
The former top G-Man thinks "mass incarceration" is a misnomer and that taking Martha Stewart down was pretty much the work of God.
Relax—You'll Probably Survive Until Tomorrow
Americans have a poor sense of risk, and media panics don't help.
School Discipline: Don't Make a Federal Case Out of It
The Obama Administration's effort to federalize school discipline policy was not just wrongheaded, it was likely beyond the scope of its authority; Secretary DeVos should withdraw it.
Starbucks Will Host Anti-Racist Training Session at 8,000 Stores
But don't expect it to fix whatever happened in Philadelphia last week.
