Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Noxious odors, trained scientists, and aberrantly salacious products.
Criminal Justice
N.Y. Gun Restrictions Won't Be Applied Retroactively, to Gun Owner with a 1982 Receiving Stolen Property Conviction
A rare gun owner victory in New York court.
Must U.S. Hospital Turn Over DNA of the Late Saudi Crown Prince, so Plaintiff Can Use It in Lebanese Paternity Action?
As usual, the answer is ... procedure, more procedure, and procedure about procedure.
A Pandemic of Surveillance
Americans are increasingly monitored, and COVID-19 health concerns aren’t improving the situation.
Caution for Law Professors Who Plan To Generate Their Own Content
Developing high-quality content is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. No content may be better for students than weak content.
Want To Reform Policing? Bust Police Unions.
As policy makers consider ways to reduce some of these shocking use-of-force incidents, they need to evaluate the role of unions in protecting overly aggressive officers.
Supreme Court Won't Lift Freeze In Florida Felon Voting Rights Case
The state has barred hundreds of thousands of residents with felony records from voting without first paying off their court fines and fees.
Tennessee Reformed Its Harsh Drug-Free School Zone Laws. What About the Hundreds Still in Prison?
Inmates serving mandatory minimum sentences have been left behind.
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Purpose, Scope, and Application of ABA Model Rule 8.4(g)
Opinion states that an "inaccurate, offensive, or upsetting" point of view discussed at a CLE Program would not violate Model Rule 8.4(g).
Only 4 NYPD Cops Have Been Disciplined So Far for Violence Against Protesters
Dozens of dozens of incidents were caught on video.
Footage of Partial Blindings During Anti-Police Brutality Protests Contradicts Cops' Reports
One department said a protester was hit in the eye with tear gas after the canister bounced. Video shows something entirely different.
Betraying Trump, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch Stay Loyal to the Law
Two centuries of precedents say the president is not immune from judicial process.
This Florida Inmate Is Serving an Outdated Drug Sentence. Now He Has Coronavirus
Reason profiled William Forrester's 15-year mandatory minimum sentence in a 2017 investigation into Florida's draconian opioid trafficking laws.
Justice Department Executes First Federal Prisoner in Nearly 2 Decades
A quick scramble to end a man’s life, despite objections by attorneys and even the relatives of his victims
Sen. Josh Hawley Says He 'Took on an Asian Trafficking Ring' and 'Freed a Dozen Women in Sex Slavery.' That's Not True.
As a state attorney, the young GOP senator oversaw raids of more than a dozen massage parlors, but he didn’t secure a single sex trafficking conviction.
Sluggishness of Police Reform Feeds Frustration
George Floyd's death triggered a long overdue cultural reckoning with race-related issues and inequities. It will be too bad, though, if the policing issues that set off the protests are forgotten.
Joe Biden Isn't Ready To End Qualified Immunity
In attempting to appeal to everyone, the Democratic presidential candidate misses the mark.
Justice Department Tangles with Judges Over First Federal Execution in 17 Years
A court delay on Friday was lifted over the weekend, only to be reinstated Monday for different reasons.
All Enforcers Are Cops
Real police reform requires backing off efforts to force people to do things they don’t want to do.
Homeland Security Acting Like 'An Occupying Army' Says Sen. Wyden, After Federal Agents Shoot Peaceful Portland Protester
Plus: Free press threats, marriage licensing woes, Fiona Apple fights for prisoners, Trump spox talk up masks, and more...
Judge Delays First Federal Execution in 17 Years Due to Coronavirus Fears
Relatives of the victims say they shouldn’t have to risk infection to attend. A federal judge agreed.
This Week in Policing Reform: Hawaii Lifts Police Secrecy, Civilian Oversight Boards Make Ballots in Miami and Philadelphia
And Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) says policing reform in Congress might not be dead after all.
Oklahoma Can't Break Congress's Promise That Native American Reservation Would Be 'Secure Forever,' Rules Supreme Court
Plus: Majority think people should be able to sue police officers, and more...
Dallas Cops Who Joked About Pinning a Man to the Ground Until He Stopped Breathing Get Qualified Immunity
The decision vividly illustrates how the doctrine shields police from accountability for using excessive force.
Justice Department Finds Massachusetts Drug Squad Regularly Uses Excessive Force and Covers It Up
The report found it was "not uncommon for Narcotics Bureau officers to write false or incomplete narratives that justify their uses of force."
New York Is Having a Violent Summer, But It's Not Because of Bail Reform
The NYPD is still blaming jail releases, but the data simply doesn’t back that claim up.
Two People Charged With a Hate Crime for Painting Over a Black Lives Matter Mural
Seeking maximal punishment for a nonviolent offense will not help the Black Lives Matter movement.
No, We Don't Need Harsher Criminal Penalties To Fight the 'Karens' of the World
Politicians appear to have learned all the wrong lessons about over-policing.
Qualified Immunity Is a Test for Conservatives
The judicially invented license for police abuse undermines the rule of law and the separation of powers.
San Quentin Prison's COVID-19 Deaths Highlight Officials' Inept Pandemic Response
Six dead in a week, and 1,500 infections, all due to poor decisions by the state. And leaders still wonder why people won't do what they say.
Pennsylvania Is the Latest State To Loosen Occupational Licensing Rules for Individuals With Criminal Records
Finding a steady job is the best way to keep a person from going back to prison or jail. These changes make a lot of sense.
Robert Kraft and Florida Massage Workers Are Still Fighting Unconstitutional Surveillance Video
"Supreme Court jurisprudence...is heavily weighted against you," an appeals judge told state prosecutors last week.
COVID-19 Pulls Back the Mask on America's Prison System
This deadly and contagious disease has exposed problems with prison systems that have been ignored for decades.
What the Declaration of Independence Said and Meant
It officially adopted the political theory of the United States: securing the individual rights of We the People
The Declaration of Independence will never be outmoded, as President Coolidge explained
Equality, inalienable rights, and consent of the governed can be opposed only by reactionaries
Phony Overtime, Fictional Drug Buys, and Mysterious C.I. Payments Offer a Glimpse of Houston Police Corruption
The charges against six narcotics officers reveal a culture of shady practices that led to a deadly drug raid.
