Institute for Justice: Totally Worth Your Donations
It's one of the public interest law firms that I admire most.
Criminal Justice
U.S. Incarceration Rate Fell Last Year to Lowest Level Since 1994
Total prison population, imprisonment rates, and racial disparities in incarceration all continued their slide.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Vote hauling, signature verification, and extended deadlines.
Sixth Circuit Strikes Down Transportation Agency's Exclusion on "Political" Ads and Ones That "Scorn or Ridicule"
The case involved an anti-Islam ad; the court reversed its earlier decision in favor of the transportation agency, based on two more recent Supreme Court decisions.
Debate's Best Moment: Trump and Biden Bragging on Prison Reform
The U.S. incarceration rate peaked in 2008, but it's good to see two "law and order" candidates talking about clemency.
Biden's Proposed Bipartisan Commission on Court Reform Could be a Hopeful Sign for Opponents of Court-Packing
The implications of this move are far from clear. But it could well be a step to avoid court-packing, rather than promote it.
The Republican Antitrust Suit Against Google Is a Progressive Dream
The government is going after Google not to stop consumer harm but to level the business playing field.
The Sixth Rule of Court Packing is Appoint A Commission To Recommend Court Packing
Biden: "If elected, what I will do is I'll put together a national commission."
Trump Grants Clemency to 5 More Federal Prisoners
All five cases were recommended to the White House by commutation recipient Alice Marie Johnson.
On Criminal Justice, Trump and Biden Are Running Against Their Own Records
The progressive who helped usher in mass incarceration is running against the law and order conservative who let prisoners go free.
Fun Facts About Judge David C. Westenhaver of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (1865-1928)
The Wilson appointee presided over the sedition trial of Eugene Debs and declared unconstitutional the Village of Euclid's zoning code
Vexatious Litigant vs. Linda Sarsour
Allegedly being "a plain, ill-dressed woman" who "indulges in coquettish vanity"? Oddly enough, not legally actionable.
Classes #18: The Scope of the 14th Amendment III and Zoning I
Yick Wo, Plessy, and Village of Euclid
Clobbering Purdue Pharma Makes Drug Warriors Feel Good, but It Won't Reduce Opioid-Related Deaths
The $8.3 billion DOJ settlement is part of a crackdown that has perversely pushed drug users toward more dangerous substitutes.
Rethinking the Seattle "CHOP" Takings Case
Property owners are suing the city for helping far-left activists seize control of their property during the period when it allowed the latter to rule an "autonomous zone" covering 16 blocks in the area.
Virginia Passes Bill To Make it Harder for Problem Cops To Jump to New Departments
A local news investigation found three dozen cops who committed crimes but never were decertified.
ACB on RAP
Doug Kmiec writes that his former student, Amy Coney, "deftly answered" questions about the Rule Against Perpetuities.
Venue, People with Two Homes, and Commentator / Retired Judge Andrew Napolitano
Remember: Lawyers' true superpower is to turn every question into a question about procedure.
Freed To Speak, Grand Juror Says Charges in Breonna Taylor's Death Were Never Considered, Let Alone Rejected
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said "the grand jury agreed" that indicting the two officers who shot Taylor was inappropriate.
Property Owners' Lawsuit Against Seattle Over Its Toleration of the "CHOP" Takeover Can Go Forward
Plaintiffs allege that Seattle affirmatively supported the Capitol Hill Occupying Protest (rather than just declining to stop it).
R Street Institute Event with Two Ilyas - Speaking About Our Respective Books
Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute and I will be speaking about our respective new books: "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom," and "Supreme Disorder: The Politics of America's Highest Court."
Fight Like a Canadian
Interviewing Citizen Lab's Ron Deibert in Episode 334 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
Classes #17: The Scope of the 14th Amendment II and Covenants IV
Strauder v. West Virginia, the Civil Rights Cases, Sanborn v. McLean, Shelley v. Kraemer, Western Land v. Truskolaski
Supreme Court Denies Request for Stay in Pennsylvania Election Dispute
The court split 4-4 in what could have been a major election decision.
One week away from Justice Barrett's (likely) confirmation, the Court 4-4's an appeal from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The application for a stay was filed on 9/28, and the briefing completed on 10/6. 13 days later, the Court was unable to break a deadlock.
Justice Department Prepares for First Federal Execution of a Woman Since 1953
Lisa Montgomery killed a pregnant woman and took her baby in 2004. She is clearly mentally unwell. What does killing her accomplish?
Cops Clash with Protesters in America and Around the World
Plus: Pennsylvania restaurant wins lockdown lawsuit, Pakistan bans TikTok, and more...
The Federal Death Penalty Returns
State-level executions have been on the decline since 2000, but the federal government recently got back in the business of executing prisoners.
Defendant Says He'd Never Try to Have Nonconsensual Sex; Is Accusation from When He Was 15 Admissible in Response?
Bonus fact: The majority opinion was written by a male judge, joined by three female judges (one of them a former sexual assault prosecutor). The dissent was written by a male judge.
North Carolina Mother Sues School Resource Officer Who Handcuffed and Pinned Her 7-Year-Old Autistic Son
Just the latest in a string of incidents involving school police and children with disabilities
Biden Tries To Gloss Over His Long History of Supporting the Drug War and Draconian Criminal Penalties
The Democratic presidential nominee cannot escape one of his major legacies.
The Portland Protest Shooter's Death Looks More and More Like Excessive Force—but Trump Keeps Bragging About It
Plus: A tale of two townhalls, Matt Welch interviews Jo Jorgensen, Bill Gates talks antitrust, Ajit Pai moves on Section 230 study, and more...
If Trump Was Serious About Police Reform, He Would Have Addressed Qualified Immunity
The legal doctrine makes it considerably harder to hold cops accountable. Trump refused to address it.
No, Joe Biden, Cops Can't Just Shoot People in the Leg
The former vice president's comment during the ABC town hall was idiotic.
These 7th Circuit Decisions Suggest Amy Coney Barrett Takes a Constrained View of Qualified Immunity
In several cases, the Supreme Court nominee voted to allow civil rights lawsuits against officers accused of misconduct.
Colorado Couple's Adoption Plans Wrecked by Child Neglect Charges for Briefly Letting a Kid Nap in the Car
"If you're on that registry, you're bad."
