Police Used a Truck Inspection To Search for Drugs. The 7th Circuit Said the Fourth Amendment Forbids It.
Cops stopped a semitruck because of a drug tip, then tried to dress the illegal search up as a routine inspection.
Court of Appeals
6th Circuit Backs Ban on Ohio Minors Using Social Media Without Parental Permission
The court said the law—which would require age verification for everyone—constitutes only a “marginal burden” and "does not raise meaningful concerns about muting valuable protected discourse."
Maryland Court Rules Against Unconstitutional Stop-and-Frisk in Victory for State's Gun Owners
In a unanimous opinion, the court ruled that it is unconstitutional for officers to stop and frisk someone based solely on suspicion that the person is carrying a gun.
2 Texas Grandmothers Who Overcame Addiction Wanted To Become Social Workers. The State Wouldn't Let Them.
Now Katherin Youniacutt and Tammy Thompson are taking their fight to become licensed master social workers to the Texas Supreme Court.
Separation of Church and State
Federal Appeals Court Says Texas' Ten Commandments Law Isn't Indoctrination
The 5th Circuit upheld a controversial law requiring Texas schools to display the Ten Commandments.
Nationwide Injunctions, a Crucial Check on Presidential Power, Are Not Dead Yet
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden asked the Supreme Court to abolish nationwide injunctions, which allow federal judges to stop a federal policy from going into effect.
Stealing Innocent People's Tax Returns Isn't Heroic. The IRS Leaker Doesn't Deserve a Do-Over.
Charles Littlejohn exposed hundreds of thousands of Americans’ private tax returns and undermined the nation’s voluntary tax system. His five-year sentence shouldn’t be reduced.
9th Circuit Court Upholds Trump's Deployment of National Guard in Portland
The decision “erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States’ control over their States’ militias and the people’s First Amendment rights,” Judge Susan P. Graber warned in her dissent.
Not Guilty but Punished Anyway
Sentencing defendants based on acquitted conduct violates basic notions of justice.
Pay Up, Trump
Plus: Biden's last-minute Ukraine cash surge, Tennessee age-verification law blocked, Kentucky man killed by cop who showed up at wrong house, and more…
D.C. Circuit Court Upholds TikTok Ban, Prioritizing 'National Security' Over Free Speech
The popular but beleaguered social media app will have until January 19 to find an American buyer or be banned.
Courts Are Coming for Digital Libraries
A federal court recently said the Internet Archive is not protected by fair use doctrine.
The First Real Judicial Filibuster
Remembering the first time a partisan Senate minority blocked a judicial nomination that enjoyed majority support.
A Prosecutor Allegedly Told a Witness To Destroy Evidence. He Can't Be Sued for It.
Absolute immunity protects prosecutors even when they commit serious misconduct on the job.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Mississippi's Jim Crow–Era Felon Voting Ban
"In short, 'cruel and unusual' is not the same as 'harmful and unfair,'" the court wrote.
Tennessee Will Not Appeal Ruling Over Wildlife Agents Planting Cameras
While the decision is great news for Tennesseans, it's only the first step in reclaiming Americans' property rights against the open fields doctrine.
Can This Woman Sue the Rogue Prosecutor Who Allegedly Helped Upend Her Life?
Prosecutor Ralph Petty was also employed as a law clerk—by the same judges he argued before.
Tennessee Appeals Court Rules Against Wildlife Agents Who Planted Cameras on Private Land
The three-judge panel concluded unanimously that while the state law at issue is constitutional, the wildlife agents' application of it was not.
9th Circuit Temporarily Restores the Right To Bear Arms As It Mulls California's New Gun-Free Zones
The state's law, which a federal judge enjoined last month, prohibits firearms in most public places.
5th Circuit Reluctantly Rules Against Victim of a Prosecutor Who Was Also a Law Clerk
Ralph Petty's "conflicted dual-hat arrangement" as an advocate and an adjudicator was "utterly bonkers," Judge Don Willett notes.
Gun Hobbyists (and Liberty) Win Big in Court
Fifth Circuit judges slap the ATF for making up illegal rules against homemade guns.
Appeals Court Rules in Much-Anticipated Abortion Pills Case
Plus: Court urged to stop Arkansas' social media age verification law from taking effect in September, legalizing medical marijuana linked to lower insurance premiums, and more...
Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Gets Blocked Again
On Monday, a federal appeals court placed an injunction on Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, marking the second major setback for the proposal in recent days.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds College Degree Requirement for Child Care Staff
Plus: how voters respond to vague criticism, U.S. lawmakers still at war with TikTok, and more...
California Environmentalists: Bees Are Now Fish
The state's Endangered Species Act doesn't protect insects, so environmentalists and government officials intent on helping bees had to get creative.
When Should an Appellate Court in a Criminal Case Describe a Victim as the "Alleged Victim"?
In a petition for reconsideration, I ask the Utah Supreme Court to modify a recent opinion to remove the qualifier "alleged" in front of term "victim" in light of the fact that the defendant has been convicted of sexually assaulting the victim.
California Court Rules That Bees Are Fish
Insects aren't a category protected by the California Endangered Species Act. So state officials classified four bumblebee species as fish to get them listed.
Delta-8 Cannabis Compound Is Legal, Says Federal Appeals Court
Plus: Libertarian Party changes abortion and bigotry planks, the FDA's weird rejection of fluvoxamine for treating COVID-19, and more...
Court Says U.S. Cannot Expel Migrant Families to Countries Where They Face Harm
A federal judge wrote that migrants could face "horrific consequences" if expelled to certain places, particularly Mexico and Central American countries.
Appeals Court Rules Social Media Companies Not Liable for Pulse Nightclub Shooter's Radicalization
"The plaintiffs failed to make out a plausible claim that the Pulse massacre was an act of 'international terrorism' as that term is defined in the ATA."
The $2 Drug Test Keeping Inmates in Solitary
Reason tried out the field test kits used to test for drugs in prison. They were unreliable and confusing.
Federal Circuit Court Rules Bans on LGBT Conversion Therapy for Minors Unconstitutional
A court split between Florida and California may mean an eventual Supreme Court decision.
Court Strikes Down California's Ammunition Background Check Requirement
The state has already appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
U.K. Appeals Court Overturns Ruling That Would Have Forced Mentally Disabled Woman To Get Abortion Against Her Will
Justice Natalie Lieven ruled it was in the woman's "best interests" because she has learning disabilities.
Rudeness Isn't Illegal Says Sixth Circuit, In Case of Flipped-Off Cop Who Issued Ticket
Plus: Can sex workers ever trust Kamala Harris? Why do teens love Google Docs? And how is Tumblr faring without porn?
Liberty Has a New Champion on the Federal Bench
Don Willett has championed economic freedom and accountability for cops.
