"A Better Way to Limit Congress' Subpoena Power"—My SCOTUSblog Symposium Article on Trump v. Mazars
The article critiques the majority decision, and outlines a better way to limit Congress' subpoena power.
Law & Government
Preliminary Thoughts on the Mazars and Vance Cases [Updated with Link to my SCOTUSblog Article on Mazars]
Vance strikes me as compelling and correct. Mazars creates a complex and unwieldy balancing test.
Roberts, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh Reject Trump's Assertion of 'Absolute Immunity' From State Criminal Subpoenas
The Supreme Court weighs the legality of subpoenaing Trump’s financial records.
BREAKING: Supreme Court Decides Trump Financial Records Cases and Fate of Eastern Oklahoma (Updated)
The Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump's claims of immunity, but reaffirmed limits on investigatory powers, and ruled in favor of Native American tribal claims against Oklahoma.
A Big Day for Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court
On the penultimate day of the October 2019 term, the Supreme Court expands the ministerial exception and upholds exemptions to the contraception coverage mandate.
Qualified Immunity Is a Test for Conservatives
The judicially invented license for police abuse undermines the rule of law and the separation of powers.
Supreme Court Reaffirms Traditional Severability Principles in Barr v. AAPC
In a decision considering federal limitations on robocalls, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its longstanding approach to severability.
I Don't Want To Be Anybody's Employee
The push to reclassify independent contractors is harming many of the workers it's supposed to help.
Lindsey Graham's Terrible Anti-Privacy 'EARN IT' Act Passes Senate Committee
This isn't a bill about fighting child porn. Don't fall for it.
En Banc D.C. Circuit Delivers Big Win for Landowners
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejects a procedural trick used by FERC to avoid judicial review.
Lawsuit Against 'Shitty Media Men' List Creator Can Proceed, Judge Says
Plus: Tech giants will testify in Congressional antitrust hearing, Seattle police clear out CHOP, and more...
Judge Luttig on How the D.C. Circuit Bungled the Flynn Case
Former federal judge Michael Luttig thinks that the D.C. Circuit did not really understand what was at stake.
House of Representatives Votes to Give D.C. Statehood
The House voted to recognize the District of Columbia as a state, but many obstacles still lie ahead.
When One Federal Agency Sues Another in Federal Court
If the U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission disagree, does the case belong in federal court?
Supreme Court Rules Against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Says Agency's Format 'Clashes With Constitutional Structure'
SCOTUS rules 5–4 in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Why John Roberts Joined the Supreme Court's Democratic Appointees in an Abortion Case
Roberts dissented in 2016 when SCOTUS struck down an abortion law. What changed this time around?
My New Atlantic Article on Trump's Coronavirus Immigration Bans
The article explains why these policies, which made made America more closed to immigration than at any previous time in history, are both harmful and a dangerous executive power grab.
Rand Paul Tries (Again!) To Make It Harder for Police To Take Your Stuff
Federal civil asset forfeiture bill reintroduced as police reform efforts hit a partisan wall.
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.
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.
