This Week in Policing Reform: Utah Outlaws Kneeling on Suspects' Necks, Memphis P.D. Ends No-Knock Raids
There's a lot going on. Here's a rundown of significant police reform news from around the country.
Law & Government
House Passes Policing Reform Package, Including Provision That Would End Qualified Immunity
Republicans have said ending qualified immunity is off the table, and for the moment policing reform looks dead in Congress.
Seattle 'Autonomous Zone' Sparks Class Action Lawsuit From Local Businesses
The plaintiffs argue that the city's tolerance of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest has resulted in lawlessness and lost business.
The Federal 'Anti-Lynching' Bill Sacrifices Justice for Symbolism
In the name of fighting lynching, the bipartisan bill authorizes 10-year sentences for minor crimes like vandalism.
This Republican Senator Calls Three Black Men Peacefully Carrying Long Guns 'Mob Rule'
A Second Amendment hypocrite with a plan to undermine federalism
The Feds Sent More than 1 Million Coronavirus Stimulus Payments to Dead People, GAO Says
As much as $1.4 billion might have been paid to deceased Americans. The IRS says that money must be returned.
Devin Nunes Can Sue Cow Account but Not Twitter, Says Judge
Plus: Time to cancel U.S. propaganda outlets, Twitch sued over sexy women, new Assange indictment, social-justice symbolism, and more...
Congress Drops the Ball on Small Business Coronavirus Rescue
Another case of typical congressional carelessness.
Bayer Surrenders to Trial-Lawyer Extortion Over Bogus Glyphosate Weedkiller Cancer Claims
The chemical company has agreed to create a $10 billion settlement fund
Crime Victims Rights Amendment
The D.C. Circuit's Dubious Decision Ordering the Flynn Case Dismissed
A 2-1 ruling concludes that the district court cannot even hold a hearing on the subject.
Senators Propose a Cool New Contest To Destroy Your Online Privacy
A new, terrible anti-encryption bill with a twist
A Senate Republican Has Officially Come Out Against Qualified Immunity
The legal doctrine frequently allows police officers to violate your rights without fear of civil liability.
Turning Local Disturbances into Federal Cases
The Department of Justice is finding creative ways to file federal charges against rioters and looters.
Did John Roberts Just Put an End to Remand-Without-Vacatur?
Professor Christopher Walker explores a potential wrinkle in the DACA decision.
Of Chris Rock, Cartoons, and Qualified Immunity
A Sixth Circuit panel rejects claims of qualified immunity for officers and Monell immunity for a Cleveland suburb.
Was the DACA Decision "Deliberately Designed for One Day and Case Only"?
Professor Zach Price on the Chief Justice Roberts' Decision in Dept. of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California
How Police Reform Bills in Congress Compare
Everybody is talking about changing law enforcement, but not all proposals are equally worthy—or serious.
Supreme Court Holds Trump Administration Rescission of DACA Was "Arbitrary and Capricious" (Updated)
In what appears to be a quite narrow ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts holds that if Trump wants to get rid of DACA, he'll have to try again.
Treating All Neck Restraints As Deadly Force Would Help Curtail Police Brutality
That uniform rule is different from the policies favored by Donald Trump and House Democrats.
D.C. Circuit Rejects Trump Administration's Drug Price Disclosure Rule
A unanimous panel concludes the Department of Health and Human Services Lacked Statutory Authority to Impose the Rule
How Gorsuch Took a Page From Scalia in an LGBT Employment Discrimination Case
"Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit."
The Cops Who Sicced a Dog on a Surrendered Suspect Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Won't Hear the Case.
"I have previously expressed my doubts about our qualified immunity jurisprudence," writes Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in a dissent.
Clarence Thomas Upbraids SCOTUS for 'Prolonging Our Decade-Long Failure to Protect the Second Amendment'
"The fundamental protections set forth in our Constitution," Thomas writes, should be "applied equally to all citizens."
The Former Cop Who Killed George Floyd Will Get $50K Annual Pension Even if Convicted of Murder
The family of George Floyd probably won't be able to successfully sue Derek Chauvin in civil court because of qualified immunity, but they will help pay for the killer cop's retirement.
Criminal Justice Divides the 'Conservative' Judiciary
Pundits often speak of the judiciary in terms of liberal or conservative judges issuing liberal or conservative opinions. The reality is far more complicated.
Another Judge Rules That Ohio's COVID-19 Lockdown Is Illegal
The decision says the "unbridled and unfettered consolidation of authority in one unelected official" violates due process and the separation of powers.
How Not To Build a Transpartisan Coalition for Police Reform
Will progressives alienate allies and squander this opportunity for change?
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Forbes Interview on How to Limit Presidential Power Over Immigration
In it I explain how to reform a federal law the Supreme Court has interpreted as giving the president nearly unlimited power to ban migrants from entering the United States.
What 9/11 and the Financial Crisis Teach Us About COVID-19
Sometime in 2021, the American people will be presented with a reorganized and newly empowered federal public health bureaucracy. As time passes, it will grow in size and scope.
Rep. Justin Amash Wants To End Qualified Immunity. Where Are the Republicans?
The GOP claims to be the party of freedom. If that's true, they should rethink policies that embolden bad police behavior.
3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch This Month
The justices weigh abortion, school choice, and federal anti-discrimination law.
The COVID-19 Recovery Is Starting. Extending 'Bonus' Unemployment Benefits Will Slow It.
If Congress extends boosted temporary unemployment benefits into early 2021, nearly five out of every six beneficiaries would be earning more money by not working.
Violent Protests in 1968 Helped Elect Richard Nixon. Will Today's Protests Help Trump?
Princeton's Omar Wasow talks about the complicated effects of civil rights demonstrations, police brutality, and racial fears on public policy.
Trump Says He'll Use Military Force To Restore Order in the States
Law enforcement, on his orders, violently dispersed nearby peaceful protesters.
Roberts Accuses Kavanaugh of Judicial Activism in Coronavirus Church Closure Case
"Although California's guidelines place restrictions on places of worship," Roberts wrote, "those restrictions appear consistent with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment."
Videos Show Police Aggression Against Protesters Across the Country. Here Are Two Ways To Help It Stop.
Plus: the return of the "outside agitator" narrative, Trump can't designate Antifa a terror group, and more...
Should the Supreme Court Reconsider Keller v. State Board of California?
Do mandatory, integrated state bar associations violate the First Amendment? Two justices would like the Court to reconsider this question.
Congress' Pathetic Effort at Revoking Trump's Trade War Powers Has Failed
Sen. Chuck Grassley says it's dead because lawmakers feared upsetting the president.
Freedom for Me, Rule of Law for Thee
The right's response to the coronavirus lockdowns brings out a longstanding American paradox.
Trump's Illegal, Impossible Plan to Teach Twitter a Lesson
Plus: unrest in Minneapolis, Twitter labels Trump tweet, and more...
California's COVID-19 Shutdown Was Driven by Science. Until It Suddenly Wasn't.
It's great that Gov. Gavin Newsom is finally looking at costs and benefits. But don't kid yourself. None of it has anything to do with "science."
Surveillance Bill Yanked After Trump Tweets Veto Threat. Will It Be Changed for Better or Worse?
Weak reforms to the government’s power to secretly snoop on Americans wasn’t enough for the president. What happens next?
