Law & Government
The Supreme Court's 'Shadow Docket' Has Sprung a Leak
Plus: a credible new report on the Alito retirement rumors.
Judge Says DOJ and DHS Likely Coerced Tech Firms To Censor ICE-Tracking Platforms
The platform creators filed a lawsuit claiming their First Amendment rights were violated after the Trump administration convinced Apple and Facebook to remove their content.
Court Leaks and Attorney-Journalists
The professional-ethics implications of making court confidences public.
Jack Goldsmith on the NYT and the Leaked Supreme Court "Shadow Papers"
A critique of the New York Times "unfortunately tendentious reporting about the memoranda."
Don't Count on the 25th Amendment To Dethrone Donald Trump
Democrats can't muster the votes to impeach and remove Trump, or even to stop an illegal war. The 25th Amendment would be even more difficult.
"It Will Be Your Name and License on the Line, Not ChatGPT's"
A lawyer's duties "do not disappear solely because an attorney chooses to outsource his labor to AI."
"The Biggest Scandal Here Is In Fact the Leaks Themselves"
The leak of internal Supreme Court memos could affect how the Court operates.
Trump Signs Psychedelics Order
Plus: ship seizures, the best free bread in America, and more...
Report: High Taxes and Burdensome Regulations Are Killing California
California politicians’ policy choices are making the state unaffordable and unattractive.
One Thing Every Modern President Has in Common: They All Spent More Than the Last Guy
The vibe shift that really matters—a reduction in the size, scope, and spending of government—hasn't happened, and America is worse off for it.
Woodrow Wilson's War at Home
Silencing "Fighting Bob" details how the government targeted anti-war critics like Sen. Robert La Follette.
Leaked Supreme Court Memos Reveal Why Court Stayed Clean Power Plan (Setting Important "Shadow Docket" Precedent in the Process)
A New York Times scoop reveals that Chief Justice Roberts was concerned that the EPA would (again) get away with imposing unlawful burdens on utilities.
The Supreme Court Ruled Against 'Informal Censorship' 6 Decades Ago but Officials Are Still Jawboning
The Court's 1963 ruling in Bantam Books v. Sullivan is freshly relevant in light of recent efforts to restrict speech through government intimidation.
Pete Hegseth Wants the D.C. Circuit To Let Him Punish a Senator for Criticizing Him
The defense secretary's asserted authority to control the speech of retired military officers "would chill public participation by veterans," a brief supporting Mark Kelly warns.
Eric Swalwell, Pope Fight, Tax Day Woes
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss Eric Swalwell's fall from grace and how tax day radicalizes us every year.
Alabama Supreme Court to Cops: It's OK To Force a Pastor Watering Flowers To Show His ID
The court ruled that police can demand a physical ID under the state's stop-and-identify law.
California Progressives Want 'Big Oil' To Fix an Insurance Crisis Created by the State's Price Controls
Instead of confronting the problems with the state's heavily regulated insurance market, lawmakers are looking for a scapegoat.
Will the Eleventh Circuit Allow the Endangered Species Act to Commandeer the Florida Department of Environmental Protection?
A pending case will test whether courts are willing to enforce the anticommandeering doctrine in the context of environmental protection.
FISA Reform Blues
Plus: The House passes a short-term FISA extension, Ron Wyden urges fellow Senate Democrats to oppose a "clean" bill, and Norway gets robot buses.
Congress Declines Again To Rein in Trump's Iran War
Republicans can’t decide whether the war is too early to stop, too late to stop, or nonexistent in the first place.
Federal Judge Delivers Due Process Win Against DOJ Registry Overreach
The Justice Department is permanently blocked from prosecuting Californians who fail to register when the state no longer requires it.
Trump Administration Presents Update on its Tariff Refund Plan
The plan is not completely terrible. But many importers may still have difficulty getting the refund money owed to them.
In Poisoned Ivies, Stefanik Sees Censorship as a Cure for 'Anti-Americanism'
What is a greater rejection of America's founding ideals than an overreaching government trampling the First Amendment?
When the U.S. Censored a Movie About the American Revolution and Imprisoned Its Producer
Remembering the infuriating case of United States v. “The Spirit of ’76.”
"I Swear, if You Don't Drop Out of Miss Pennsylvania, I Will Come to Your Home and Set It on Fire"
"I don't even care if you or your mom are inside. I actually hope you are. You both deserve to die. I am going to kill you, Robyn. I don't understand why you don't get that. I will burn you. You will die."
Child Care Costs Over $13,000 a Year. Regulation Is a Big Reason Why.
Government rules have made it far more expensive for families.
State vs. Local, State vs. State
A popular revolt against state-led zoning reform in Colorado, Massachusetts' contradictory approach to housing supply, and how municipalities lobby to kill housing.
When SCOTUS Did Lasting Damage to the Bill of Rights
Plus: The Alito retirement rumors keep swirling.
Rupe Debate: Judging the Supreme Court's Emergency Docket
Adler v. Shugerman on the Supreme Court's handling of separation of powers concerns on the "shadow docket."
Report: Federal Regulatory Compliance Costs $2 Trillion Annually
Red tape issued by bureaucrats outstrips the impact of legislation.
Wisconsin Reined in Public Sector Unions. Now Those Reforms Are in Jeopardy.
Act 10 saved taxpayers billions and helped government run more efficiently. Fifteen years later, a questionable legal challenge may doom it.
Democrats and Republicans Both Want To Regulate AI. They Just Can't Agree on How.
As lawmakers of both major parties hustle to regulate their preferred villains, they're losing sight of the big picture. The possible gains to humanity from AI are enormous.
Thoughts on Today's Oral Argument in the Section 122 Tariff Cases
The outcome is unclear. But the judges seemed skeptical of the Trump Administration's claims that Section 122 grants them sweeping tariff powers.
A Maryland Hospital Held a Woman for Months Against Her Will. The Supreme Court Will Decide if She Can Sue.
The case will determine whether an unnamed plaintiff can take the hospital and its doctors to federal court.
In New Tariff Cases, Trump Asserts 'Unreviewable' Power To Invent a Balance-of-Payments Deficit
The Court of International Trade is weighing the legality of the import taxes that the president wants to impose under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Ninth Circuit Dismisses Kids Climate Case Against Discounting in Cost-Benefit Analysis
The kids climate cases continue to have standing problems in federal court.
Would U.S. Wildlife Laws Turn Greenland's Hunters Into Criminals?
Greenlandic hunters fear a U.S. takeover because Americans "think whales and seals are cute and shouldn’t be hunted."
What if Social Security Was Capped at $100,000 Annually?
One weird trick could extend Social Security's solvency while reducing payments to the wealthiest households. But it doesn't go far enough.
Trump's New Budget—Which Proposes $1.5 Trillion for Defense—Is Unserious. You Should Still Take It Seriously.
It would be easy to wave it away and move on. But that's how the U.S. got in such a dire fiscal situation.
Lindsey Graham Says the President Can Start a War, but Only Congress Can End It
The feeling is perfectly consistent: Graham feels it should be as easy as possible for the U.S. to start a war, and as hard as possible to end one.
The Supreme Court's Next Big Fourth Amendment Case
How the digital privacy rights of millions are at stake in Chatrie v. United States.
Active Military Spouse Faces Removal Proceedings
The newlywed couple thought they were doing “everything the right way” by reporting to the base to start their lives together.
Our Amicus Brief in the Section 122 Tariff Case
I submitted the brief on behalf of the Cato Institute and myself.
