'If You Wear a Federal Badge, You Can Inflict Excessive Force on Someone With Little Fear of Liability,' Complains Judge Don Willett
A federal judge protests the Supreme Court’s “rights-without-remedies” Bivens doctrine.
Law & Government
CDC Can't Force Landlords To Provide Free Housing, Says Court
Plus: Mexico moves closer to legalizing marijuana, Facebook fights monopoly allegations, and more...
Federal COVID-19 Bailout Prohibits States From Cutting Taxes
The measure could also make it illegal for states to create new tax credit programs, such as those used for expanding school choice.
Is the Supreme Court Preparing to End Qualified Immunity?
Experts disagree on whether this is likely or not. The answer remains unclear. But, either way, reform advocates should pursue both litigation and legislative reform. The two approaches are mutually reinforcing, not mutually exclusive.
These Nonprofit 'Disclosure' Requirements Are an Assault on the First Amendment
A California rule and a bill approved by the House seem designed to chill freedom of speech and freedom of association.
Georgia Republicans Aim To Restrict Voting by Mail
The state Senate approved some cynical changes to Georgia's absentee ballot laws under the guise of securing future elections from fraud that no one seems to be able to find.
Twitter Sues Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Accusing Him of Retaliating Against the Company for Banning Donald Trump
Plus: Iowa limits early voting, a prominent sex trafficking "rescue" group relies on psychics, and more...
State Revenue Is 'Virtually Flat.' Local Government Revenue Is Up Slightly. Congress Wants To Give Them $350 Billion Anyway.
The Democrats' COVID bill showers billions of unneeded dollars on state and local governments.
My New Washington Post op ed on Biden, Syria, and War Powers
I argue that the recent air strike was legal, but overall US military intervention in Syria still lacks required congressional authorization. Biden may be trying to change that; but history gives reason for skepticism.
Biden Indicates Openness to Replacing War Authorizations with "Narrow and Specific" Framework
This initiative might help restore congressional control over war authorization. But there is reason for skepticism that it will pan out.
Biden Says He Wants War Authorizations Repealed
Just keep an eye on the small print. The wars might officially end while still allowing inappropriate military meddling.
The 'COVID Relief Bill' Is Mostly an Expensive Bundle of Politically Motivated Giveaways
The Senate is preparing to pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that has very little to do with the pandemic, and we all know it. Congress should admit as much.
Government, Not Big Tech, Is the Biggest Threat to Free Speech
One bill would require lengthy disclaimers on all online political ads.
Federal Spending Is Out of Control. No, Earmarks Won't Change That.
Congress throws far too much money at special interests.
New Laws Against Domestic Terrorism Are Unnecessary and Dangerous
Violent acts are already illegal, and new tools will inevitably be used against those who annoy the powerful.
Biden Should Nominate Judges Who Battled the Government in Court
More criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, and civil rights litigators may soon be appointed to the federal bench.
COVID-19 Edicts Highlight the Importance of Structural Limits on Government Power
The national eviction moratorium and Arizona’s business restrictions were based on dubious assertions of authority.
The Constitution and Biden's Syria Air Strike
The strike was probably legal (as were similar small-scale strikes by Trump). But there are serious constitutional problems with the overall US military presence in Syria.
RIP Mark Schlefer, the Man Who Made FOIA Happen
"In the drafting, we were adamant that you didn't have to have an interest to have access. You could just be a citizen."
Democrats Demand Bureaucrats Regulate Bureaus More Heavily
The STURDY Act would mandate new testing standards to prevent dressers from killing people.
How Congress Could Send Bigger Stimulus Checks, Fund School Reopening, and Save $1 Trillion
Rep. Peter Meijer has a plan to provide bigger stimulus checks to needy Americans while cutting extraneous elements from the Biden relief bill.
Wildlife as Property Owners Webinar
An examination of how reconceiving animal rights might aid wildlife conservation
The State of the Legal Struggle Over the CDC Eviction Moratorium
Two district court decisions have upheld the moratorium against various challenges, while one has ruled against it. The legal battle may be just beginning.
Rand Paul, Ron Wyden Want To End Endless National Emergencies
Under a bill the two senators reintroduced on Friday, all presidential emergency declarations would expire after 72 hours unless Congress votes to allow them to continue.
The LGBT Equality Act Puts Polarizing Politics Over Good Policy
The anti-discrimination law seems designed to divide when compromise would better serve to expand federal protections.
Democrats Can't Use Reconciliation To Pass a $15 Minimum Wage. Here's What They Might Do Next.
But the real reason why Democrats should abandon the effort to hike the federal minimum wage has nothing to do with arcane Senate rules or the filibuster.
In June Some House Moderates Voted To Abolish Qualified Immunity for Cops. Now They're Not So Sure.
Strategic politicking, police union influence, or both?
Recall Elections Give California Voters a Needed Check on Governors Who Abuse Their Power
California Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn't committed any crimes, but he deserves to face a potential recall for his disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 9/11 to COVID, Every Emergency Means Bigger Government
We have to stop governing by emergency.
What Should Have Happened at the GameStop Hearing
Can’t work Zoom, will fix financial markets.
Federal Suit Seeks Damages for Men Illegally Recorded at Florida Massage Parlors, Falsely Smeared as Sex Traffickers
Two women still face felony charges, though the cases against all male defendants were dropped.
In the Middle of a Pandemic, San Francisco NIMBYs Sue To Stop a New Hospital From Being Built
The lawsuit argues a 2,100-page environmental impact report for a major expansion of the University of California, San Francisco's Parnassus campus wasn't thorough enough.
Biden Revokes Trump's Coronavirus Immigration Bans [Updated with a correction]
This action brings to an end a period when the US was more closed off to legal immigration than at any other time in the nation's history.
Despite Its Own Warning That 'Congress Itself Is the Target,' the Capitol Police Did Not Expect Anything Like Last Month's Riot
The agency also missed an FBI bulletin citing "specific calls for violence."
Progressives Say Good Riddance to Businesses Who Can't Afford a $15 Minimum Wage
Fewer low wage businesses also means fewer job opportunities for low wage workers.
There Has Been a Mind-Boggling Amount of Unemployment Fraud Since the CARES Act Passed
Enhanced unemployment benefits may have helped many Americans weather the pandemic, but they've also attracted the interest of some modern-day Willie Suttons.
Supreme Court Ducks Opportunity to Clarify Regulatory Takings Doctrine - Over a Strong Dissent by Justice Thomas
Thomas is right that the doctrine is a mess. But the Court may not be in any hurry to clean it up.
Lawmakers to Cable Providers: Why Are You Letting News Channels Say These Things?
This misguided effort to combat "misinformation" is a brazen assault on free speech.
Merrick Garland's Worrying Record on Criminal Justice Reform
What to expect from Joe Biden’s pick for attorney general.
Limiting Mail-in Voting Won't Make Elections More Secure
But it would continue the politicization of the means of voting and make it harder to vote.
Bringing Earmarks Back Won't Fix Congress
Eliminating earmarks didn't make the government smaller. But reinstating them would facilitate legislative corruption.
The Dark Underbelly of Equity Based Thinking
Also: What we learned from impeachment.
This Cop Wants Qualified Immunity for Fatally Shooting a Passenger in a Fleeing Vehicle
The unfolding legal saga of City of Hayward v. Stoddard-Nunez
Sotomayor Invokes Scalia on Fourth Amendment Protections
Does the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures include the right to be free from an unreasonable attempted seizure?
Can a Former President Be Prosecuted for Conduct for which He Was Impeached but not Convicted?
A 2000 OLC memo suggests the answer is "yes."
On This Presidents Day, Stop Worshiping the Imperial Presidency
Presidents aren't saints. They aren't monarchs. They aren't celebrities. And they aren't your friends.
