Law & Government
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.
After Voting to Acquit Trump, Mitch McConnell Explains Why He Was Guilty
The Senate minority leader's triangulation does not bode well for the GOP's ability to stand for something other than a personality cult.
Trump Acquitted in Second Impeachment Trial Despite 7 Republicans Voting To Convict
Whether the reality-show-star-turned-first-president-to-be-impeached-twice has a future in American politics, however, sadly remains an open question.
Trump's Second Acquittal and the Limits of Impeachment
The outcome shows that it is almost impossible to convict a president in an era of severe polarization. But Trump's second impeachment still served some useful purposes..
GOP Congressman Peter Meijer on Why He Voted To Impeach Trump
The 33-year-old lawmaker, who occupies Justin Amash's old seat, on how his party needs to reclaim the mantle of limited government, capitalism, and individualism.
Maryland's Legislature Just Imposed a New Tax on Digital Advertising by Overriding Gov. Larry Hogan's Veto
The first-in-the-nation tax is an expensive and regressive policy that's also possibly unconstitutional.
Leaving Aside Trump's Role in Provoking the Capitol Riot, His Reaction to It Was Enough To Justify Impeachment
He betrayed his oath and duties as president by hesitating to intervene and refusing to unambiguously condemn the violence.
This D.A. Is Trying To Prosecute a Doctor for Vaccinating Unauthorized People Instead of Letting Supplies Expire
Kim Ogg ran for district attorney as a criminal justice reformer. Maybe she should think about what that entails.
The Trouble With Mitt Romney's Family Security Act
The plan would redistribute wealth, create distortions, and grow government.
Impeachment Evidence Leaves Republicans Cold, Dems Hot, and America Tired
Plus: Dems ask FDA to change abortion pill prescribing rule, Vice targets Clubhouse, and more...
Ted Cruz on Impeachment Trials of Former Officers
He gets to the right answer, but botched the execution.
New York Never Built a Good System for Scheduling Vaccine Appointments, so a Random Software Engineer Did It in His Spare Time
Why didn't Cuomo and De Blasio build a decent, user-friendly website?
Rep. Peter Meijer: Only GOP Freshman Who Voted To Impeach Trump Tells All
The 33-year-old successor to Justin Amash's House seat says his party has abandoned limited government, economic freedom, and individualism.
Trump's Impeachment Lawyers Try To Deconstruct the Link Between What He Said and What His Followers Did
No amount of parsing can obscure his responsibility for the deadly attack on the Capitol.
Trump's Attorneys Misrepresent Kalt's Scholarship on Late Impeachments
The former President's attorneys repeatedly (mis)cite the work of Professor Brian Kalt on late impeachments.
Trump's Dubious First Amendment Defense Against Impeachment
He is on firmer ground in arguing that the Senate does not have the authority to try a former president, although that issue is highly contested.
Legal Scholars' Letter on Impeachment of Former Officials Makes Appearance in Trump's Senate Trial
The letter was signed by some 170 legal scholars across the political spectrum, including several VC bloggers.
An Unconstitutional Arrest for Refusing To Show ID to the Cops
Fourth Amendment advocates prevail in Wingate v. Fulford.
My Washington Post Op Ed on Impeachment and the First Amendment
The op ed, published today, explains why the First Amendment doesn't protect Trump against impeachment and conviction for his role in the attack on the Capitol.
How Did Impeachments Become So Partisan?
Alas, the precedent for partisan votes on impeachment was set before Donald Trump.
Can the Secretary of Education Really Wave a Magic Wand and Erase All Our Student Loans?
This is probably not what Lyndon B. Johnson had in mind.
In First Tie-Breaking Vote, Kamala Harris Helps Senate Dems Pass Budget Resolution
Plus: Pandemic housing prices are overvalued, U.S. will withdraw support for war in Yemen, and more...
'School Shootings Are Absolutely Real,' and '9/11 Absolutely Happened,' Says Marjorie Taylor Greene
Under fire for endorsing wacky conspiracy theories, the Georgia representative blames the internet.
Issue-Voting and Impeachment
Why Republican Senators can vote on the merits of Trump's impeachment even if they believe the Seante has no power to impeach ex-officers.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Presents Republicans With a Sadly Familiar Choice Between Blind Loyalty to Trump and a Basic Respect for Reality
The Georgia representative has embraced nearly every crazy conspiracy theory that is popular on the right.
McConnell and Schumer Agree to Senate Power-Sharing Deal
Senate Democrats will now take (partial) control of the Senate chamber.
Ramming a $15 Minimum Wage Bill Through the Senate Using Reconciliation Would Be a Norm-Busting Mistake
The reconciliation process exists for a reason. Discarding it for political expediency should be viewed with skepticism.
