Criminal Justice
NSA Purging Millions of Improperly Collected Call Records Is Important (and Not About Trump)
The USA Freedom Act was supposed to reduce unwarranted access to our personal data. That's not what happened.
Police Arrest Man Who Threatened to Kill Rand Paul and Butcher Family, Senator Says
Rand Paul thanks U.S. Capitol Police for arresting a man who allegedly made disturbing threats against the senator and his family.
Libertarian Party Adopts New Sex Work Plank, Becomes Only Notable U.S. Party to Endorse Prostitution Decriminalization
The LP's move comes the same week the Green Party explicitly rejected a platform that protects sex worker rights.
This UNC Rape Victim Became a Title IX Activist Leader. But Does Her Own Story Hold Up?
Andrea Pino's gruesome campus rape report jump-started national reforms, but even other activists are asking questions.
Is This the Summer of Snitches?
Meet Burrito Bob, Permit Patty, and other vigilante informants
Pennsylvania Officer Tases Suspect in the Back Because He Didn't Cross His Ankles Quickly Enough
"Oh come on, bruh. You're really going to tase him? He was sitting down. That's crazy. That's why I record everything."
Cops Arrested a Black Man. He Called Them Nazis, So He Was Charged With a Hate Crime.
"This is not what the hate crime statute was for. This is criminalizing pure speech, and that violates the First Amendment."
San Diego Police Chief's Bogus Number Ties Cannabis to Crime
Cop calls that supposedly show the trouble caused by dispensaries mostly had nothing to do with dispensaries.
Say Goodbye to the Kennedy Court
Justice Kennedy's retirement will have a significant impact on the Roberts Court beyond its ideological makeup.
Reality Winner Accepts Harsh 5-Year Sentence for Leaking Russian Hacking Report
Would she have gotten a better deal if she hadn't been denied bail?
Is It Legal for Cops to Shoot Unlicensed Dogs?
Pets shouldn't be treated as contraband.
Assessing Justice Kennedy's Legacy
A Politico symposium offers assessments by a wide range of legal scholars and commentators. And I offer some additional thoughts of my own.
Tennessee Deputy Charged After Videos Show Him Tasing Teen Tied to Chair
In one surveillance video, the victim is tased four times for a total of 50 seconds.
For Once, Police Officer Promptly Charged in Shooting Death of Unarmed Black Teen
Since 2005, just 32 officers involved in fatal shootings have been convicted on criminal charges.
The Big National Injunction Case
A decision with major implications for the national injunction--not Trump v. Hawaii but Gill v. Whitford
A war reporter for the cyber age
Interview of David Sanger in episode 223 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
Justice Thomas Criticizes Nationwide Injunctions, Citing Our Own Sam Bray
An interesting separate concurrence in the "travel ban" decision.
20 Opinion Line-Ups and Counting
The Supreme Court justices divide among themselves in many different ways.
Short Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
Mo money mo problems, open-air burn pits, and the case of the missing tattoos.
First Thoughts on Carpenter v. United States
A big case. Here's an ongoing Q&A, which I will add to through the day.
What Do Justices Gorsuch and Justice Breyer Have in Common?
Still more interesting line-ups from SCOTUS
More Interesting Supreme Court Line-Ups Today
The Court broke in untraditional ways in making decisions about taxing internet sales and the Appointments Clause
Supreme Court Will Hear Case on the Excessive Fines Clause that Could End Up Curbing Asset Forfeiture Abuse
The case will decide whether the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment applies to the states. If so, it will also have to address how much it restricts asset forfeiture.
State Secretary of State Stuck with CLE Sanction
Today was a terrible, no-good, very bad day for Kris Kobach.
What it feels like to be that guy in line with Woody Allen
Episode 222 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Significant New Case About Civil Asset Forfeiture and the Bill of Rights
The justices will hear oral arguments next term in Timbs v. Indiana.
Fatal Texas SUV Crash a Result of Irresponsible Policing, Not Poor Border Security
We'd be outraged by the unnecessary pursuit if Americans had been killed.
Supreme Court Will Decide: Does the Excessive Fines Clause Apply to the States?
The Court has decided that almost all of the Bill of Rights applies to the states (with just a few exceptions that don't); now it will decide about the Excessive Fines Clause.
Today's Unusual SCOTUS Lineup(s)
Masterpiece Cakeshop is not the only decision to surprise this term.
Just in Time for National Bourbon Day (June 14), a Bourbon Trademark Case
Crafted with love in the cellars of the Sixth Circuit.
Hawaii Mismanaged Asset Forfeiture Program, Audit Finds
A state audit finds the Aloha State isn't keeping track of the stuff it seizes.
Short Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
Dangerous tennis shoes, a magnificent distillery, and bad advice from the IRS.
Manafort Sent to Jail over Accusations of Witness-Tampering
Bail revoked for breaking one of the fundamental rules: Don't meddle with the court case.
Trump Says Comey 'Totally Protected Hillary' but Was Fired for Actions That Hurt Her
The president reverts to his original, highly implausible excuse for dismissing the FBI director.
How Do the States Have Standing to Challenge an Unenforced and Unenforceable Mandate?
There is no longer any legal or financial consequence for failing to comply with the individual mandate, so how are states (or anyone else) harmed by it?
The Case Against Qualified Immunity, Part V
Today, I suggest ways the Supreme Court might adjust qualified immunity doctrine to comport with evidence of its role in constitutional litigation, and ways lower courts might resolve qualified immunity motions to mitigate some of the worst aspects of the doctrine.
