With 1 Republican Cosponsor, Rep. Justin Amash Gains Tripartisan Support To End Qualified Immunity
Rep. Tom McClintock (R–Calif.) announced he will support the Ending Qualified Immunity Act.
Criminal Justice
Rights and Wrongs of "Defunding the Police"
If "defunding the police" means abolishing them completely, it's a bad idea. But there are ways to use cuts in funding to improve police incentives for the better.
Pennsylvania Adopts Variant of ABA Model Rule 8.4(g)
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, with one recorded dissent, finally acted on a process that began in 2016.
Will the Cops Who Killed Kenneth Chamberlain After Illegally Breaking Into His Apartment Ever Be Held Accountable?
Responding to a medical alert they knew was erroneous, White Plains officers killed the man they supposedly were trying to help.
Is Attending a Political Protest More Important than Attending a Funeral?
American rabbis were strongly in favor of strict "stay at home" policies--until the recent protests started.
Cops Who Shot Homeless Man 22 Times While He Lay on the Ground Are Not Protected by Qualified Immunity, Appeals Court Rules
It's a perverse kind of progress, but it's progress all the same.
These Judges Defend Qualified Immunity as 'a Deferential Rule' That Protects the Police
“Officers don’t have the time to pull out law books and analyze the fine points of judicial precedent.”
The Government Was Wrong About Masks
Plus: "fictional pleas," COVID-19 in migrant detention centers, and more...
Minneapolis Police Chief Ends Contract Negotiations With Police Union
After George Floyd’s death, the city will bring in outside advisers to recommend changes to make policing more transparent and accountable.
Post-COVID Lockdowns, Early Big City Crime Stats Are Slightly Encouraging
Early COVID lockdown effects show no significant increases in most crime. In most cases, there were drops.
Senate Republican Police 'Reforms' Won't Touch Qualified Immunity
With Trump opposed too, there's little hope that a serious police reform bill will get through Congress anytime soon.
Seattle Protesters Establish 'Autonomous Zone' Outside Evacuated Police Precinct
Is the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone a brave experiment in self-government or just flash-in-the-pan activism?
California Ammunition Raids Put Innocent People at Risk of Police Violence
The state boasts of blocking 754 illegal purchases, but it wrongly tagged 101,047 law-abiding people as prohibited. Any of them could have been targeted.
Leaders of 'Rogue Regimes' Have Some Thoughts About Police Brutality in America
Statements by China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea use U.S. violence against protesters and journalists to point out American hypocrisy on the global stage.
Some of the Charges Stemming From George Floyd's Death Should Trouble Criminal Justice Reformers
The criminal complaints against Derek Chauvin and three other officers rely on expansive liability principles that reformers usually oppose.
The PROMESA Board Members Are Not "Officers of the United States." So What Are They?
Article IV territorial officers hold “Office[s] under the Authority of the United States,” and are bound by the Sinecure Clause.
We Filmed the Cops. People Changed Their Minds.
Videos of police abuse haven't stopped police brutality. But they've helped build a consensus for police reform.
Cops Who Allegedly Assaulted and Arrested a Man for Standing Outside His Own House Are Protected by Qualified Immunity
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision is "a precedent-setting error of exceptional public importance," writes dissenting judge.
It's Time to End Qualified Immunity for College Administrators, Too
The doctrine lets courts allow public universities to get away with eroding their students’ speech rights.
Maybe Cops Should Be 'Pulling Back'
Abolishing qualified immunity is a crucial step in holding police accountable for violating our rights.
'Defund the Police' Should Include Federal Cops Too
Federal spending on policing has quadrupled since the 1980s, while state and local spending has increased by about one-third.
Recruitment of Bad Cops Shows How Misconduct Is Deeper Than a Few Bad Apples
Sometimes a "few bad apples" is systemic rot.
Will Big Labor Give the Boot to Police Unions? Be Skeptical.
Union leaders show very little interest in considering collective bargaining’s role in protecting bad cops.
The War on Terror Comes Home
The foreign policy lesson in the struggle for police reform
One Win, One Loss for Second Amendment Claims in the Epidemic
A federal court in Connecticut struck down a policy that effectively stopped gun purchases; a week ago, a federal court in California upheld such a policy.
"The Oft-noted Hollowing Out of the Middle Class is a Metropolitan Phenomenon"
Income inequality is increasingly a phenomenon driven by big cities.
Download the Powerpoint Slides for 100 Supreme Court Cases
All of the files are now available on a shared drive.
Public Health Experts are Embarrassing Themselves
While the current protests are certainly well-meaning and anger over police violence and racism justified, claiming that the protests' positive effects on public health will exceed the harms from the spread of coronavirus is an assertion of faith, not science.
Another Take on Judge Sullivan and Michael Flynn's Petition for a Writ of Mandamus
Professor Peter Margulies argues the writ should be denied, for the most part, at least for now.
AI Means Superfuzzing plus Whaling at Scale
Episode 319 of the Cyberlaw Podcast - an interview with Ben Buchanan
Video Shows Cops Slashing Tires Across Minneapolis During Protests
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says they were scared people would drive too fast.
Democrats Unveil Policing Reform Bill
The bill includes many items on police reformers' wishlists, but it would also pump more federal money to police departments instead of shrinking their budgets.
Professionalizing Police Hasn't Worked. Try Privatizing Instead.
No amount of protesting is likely to reduce police brutality in the absence of structural reforms that increase accountability, competition, choice, and incentives.
Protesters Want to Defund the Police. Joe Biden Wants to Hire More of Them.
The Democratic presidential candidate wants an extra $300 million in federal grants for cops.
The Attorney General's Overblown Fears About Scrapping Qualified Immunity
It's not likely to have the chilling effect he expects. Unfortunately, it might not do as much as criminal justice reformers expect either.
The Case for Defunding Police Shouldn't Depend on How Much Privilege You Have
The police aren't good at solving crime in general, regardless of the victim's race, ethnicity, or income. Making this about "privilege" actually undercuts the strength of the argument.
New York Police Are Jailing Protesters For Days Without Charging Them
A New York State Judge has ruled that the twin crises of civic unrest and coronavirus justify holding people without charge beyond the normal 24-hour limit.
'Where Are Libertarians on Police Reform?' Right Where We've Always Been.
Real changes will require fewer laws and less violent enforcement.
