Chelsea Manning Freed Again, but Her Refusal to Testify Comes With a $256,000 Price Tag
She was imprisoned for a year as she resisted a grand jury's investigation of WikiLeaks.
Law & Government
A Qualified Immunity Case That the Federal Courts Got Right
Fatal police shootings and the Fourth Amendment
Over Objections From Privacy Advocates, Tame Surveillance Bill Sails Through the House
Some Republican senators are working hard to get Trump behind stronger fixes.
A Compromise Bill on Domestic Surveillance Reform Aims to Do Just Enough to Shut Trump Up
Privacy activists on the left and the right decry a limp set of proposed changes to the USA Freedom Act.
Will We See Real Surveillance Reform This Week?
The USA Freedom Act is about to sunset. Who will decide how and if it will be changed?
Senators Push Sneaky Anti-Privacy Bill
The EARN IT is an attack on encryption masquerading as a blow against underage porn.
Did Louisiana Enact a Bogus Health Law as a Pretext for Banning Abortion?
The Supreme Court weighs abortion regulation in June Medical Services v. Russo.
A Mississippi Woman Gave Diet Advice Without a License. The State Threatened To Throw Her in Jail.
Mississippi has a reputation for being one of the most obese states in the nation, as well as having one of America's highest incarceration rates. Neither will be improved by treating unlicensed dieticians like serious criminals.
Chuck Schumer's Trumpian Attack on the Supreme Court Threatens the Judicial Independence That Democrats Claim To Defend
The Senate minority leader threatened two justices by name, and then he lied about it.
Reviving Congressional Reauthorization
A Symposium at The Regulatory Review engages with "Delegation and Time," and the question of whether Congress is capable of addressing nondelegation concerns.
California's Gig Economy Is Under Attack
"Companies can simply blacklist California writers and work with writers in other states, and that's exactly what's happening."
SCOTUS Denies Certiorari in Bump Stock Case (But Justice Gorsuch Blasts Lower Court's Reasoning)
A high-profile gun case actually presents meaty questions of administrative law
Gorsuch Throws Shade at Trump Administration for Rewriting Federal Gun Laws Without Congressional Approval
“Why should courts, charged with the independent and neutral interpretation of the laws Congress has enacted, defer to such bureaucratic pirouetting?”
Red State Challenge to Affordable Care Act Goes to SCOTUS (But the Arguments Remain Incredibly Weak) (Updated)
Today's cert grant is based on the importance of the case, not the quality of the arguments
Interesting Official Privilege Case,
stemming from a dispute about picketing and open carry.
The National Interest, C'est Moi
This inability to agree on the nature of the national interest is endemic not just to the new nationalism, but to all of politics.
Court Concludes Ken Cuccinelli Not Lawfully Appointed Acting Director of USCIS
An important and thoughtful opinion that potentially invalidates Trump Administration refugee and asylum policies.
If Bloomberg's Arrogance Worries You, His Weaselly Positions on Presidential Power Won't Reassure You
The presidential candidate reserves the right to wage unauthorized wars, kill Americans in foreign countries, prosecute journalists, and selectively flout the law.
The Looming Supreme Court Showdown Over Sanctuary Cities
The legal battle over immigration, federalism, and executive power heats up.
Rand Paul Says Trump Is Backing Surveillance Reform
Plus: Who's using Clearview AI?, court rules against Joe Arpaio, and more...
Elizabeth Warren Adopts Cory Booker's Plan for a Better Presidential Clemency System
Shifting the process from the Justice Department to the White House can help eliminate bureaucracy and meddling from prosecutors.
Would a Presidential Pardon for Roger Stone Be Unconstitutional?
The argument requires several controversial assumptions and leaps of logic.
The Feds' Bulk Collection of Our Data Records Has Been Expensive and Useless. But That Doesn't Mean It's Going to Stop.
A congressional battle erupts over how much to reform the soon-to-expire USA Freedom Act—if they reform it at all.
Why Libertarian-Leaning Reps. Massie and Amash Voted Against the House's Anti-Lynching Bill
Lynchings are already illegal. But the law would give prosecutors more power—including what amounts to an expansion of the federal death penalty.
Trump White House Considering Limiting Justice Department Influence Over Pardons
Criminal justice reformers say federal prosecutors torpedoed clemency petitions in worthy cases.
On the Money: Presidential Portraiture and Power in D.C.
Kehinde Wiley's pre-presidential works criticized inequalities and hierarchies of power. His presidential portrait doesn't do the same.
Can Senseless Gun Regulations Be Constitutional?
Under New York's rules, licensed pistol and revolver owners were not allowed to leave home with their handguns unless they were traveling to or from a shooting range.
Trump's Continuing Commentary on Criminal Cases Reflects His Disdain for the Rule of Law
The president remains frankly puzzled by the distinction between can and should.
Trump Uses Clemency To Help Drug War Victims, Reward GOP Donors, and Spite James Comey
Plus: China boots three reporters, megacities are getting a smaller share of growth than they used to, and Dems gather to debate in Las Vegas..
Imprisoned Leaker Reality Winner Seeks Mercy From Trump
She’s nearly three years into a five-year sentence for releasing classified documents showing Russian attempts to hack U.S. election systems.
A Nondelegation Challenge to Trump's Travel Bans [updated to include some additional material]
Other possible legal challenges to Trump's expanded travel ban may be precluded by the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. Hawaii. This one is not.
Judge Napolitano on the Politics of Impeachment
"Each president has more authority than his predecessors."
Virginia Is About To Require a Government License for 'Art Therapy,' Because Glue and Scissors Are 'Potentially' Dangerous
The real motive for laws like this has nothing to do with scissors and glue. It's all about protectionism.
Even Without Trump's Tweets, the Attorney General's Intervention on Roger Stone's Behalf Would Have Looked Bad
If Barr is so concerned about the appearance of integrity, why did he insert himself into a high-profile case involving a presidential pal?
How the Government Is Using Nonsense Rules to Keep Out Immigrants
Plus: South Park, Fortnite currency, D.C. food trucks, and more...
Can the Criminal Justice System Be Fixed? The Jury's Still Out.
Under the law, prosecutors are supposed to pursue justice and not only seek convictions.
Senate Passes Bill Stopping Further Military Action Against Iran Without Approval
Eight Republicans join the vote, but that's not enough to overrule a likely veto.
Michael Bloomberg and the Imperious Presidency
Until we start denuding the Oval Office, we will continue getting the royals we deserve.
Republican Lawmakers Introduce Trillion Trees Act To Combat Climate Change
A real plan or just a "climate messaging exercise"?
America Has Given Up Trying To Define Success in Afghanistan
"Most of the [indicators] of measuring success are now classified, or we don't collect it," the special inspector general for the Afghanistan reconstruction told a Senate committee.
Joe Biden Blocked Robert Bork's Supreme Court Nomination. Now, Biden Is Getting 'Borked' Too.
Paradoxically, in the current moment—a moment Biden helped to create by blocking Bork—being unqualified for the presidency is the best qualification a candidate can have.
The Democrats' Miserable Week
From Iowa to impeachment, Biden burnout to Trump triumph, the opposition party had itself a rough 7 days.
This New Deal Precedent May Decide the Fate of Elizabeth Warren's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
What’s at stake in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Could President Trump Control the CFPB After He Leaves Office? (Updated)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could be completely independent of the next occupant of the White House.
Instead of Removing Trump From Power, Remove Power From the Presidency
After Watergate, Democrats rolled back executive power. Under Trump, they just want to be the ones who get to wield it.
