Law & Government
Trump's New York Indictment Was Just the Beginning of His Legal Woes
The Manhattan case stinks of partisan politics, but Trump faces more serious legal jeopardy on at least three other fronts.
The Debt Ceiling Deal Does Not Go Nearly Far Enough
Projections of huge savings are making the rounds. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Police Almost Beat Him To Death. After His Conviction Was Dismissed, Prosecutors Are Recharging Him.
Joseph Zamora spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted of assaulting police officers. The Washington Supreme Court overturned his conviction, but local prosecutors want to charge him again to show him the "improperness of his behavior."
Permitting Reforms in Debt Ceiling Bill Will Accomplish Little
The Fiscal Responsibility Act falls well short of solving America's permitting crisis.
The A.I. Defamation Cases Are Here: ChatGPT Sued for Spreading Misinformation
Plus: Age-verification laws threaten our First Amendment right to anonymity, New York bill would set minimum prices for nail services, and more...
Lawyer Explains How He Used ChatGPT to Produce Filing "Replete with Citations to Non-Existent Cases"
"Can you show me the courts opinion in Varghese v China Southern Airlines"? "Certainly! ... I hope that helps!"
Socialism Is Bad for the Environment
"All the time we hear socialists say, 'Next time, we'll get it right.' How many next times do you get?"
One Reason for New York's Pitiful Rollout of Legal Pot: License Preferences for Victims of Prohibition
More than two years after legalizing recreational use, the state has just a dozen licensed retailers.
Is Encouraging Illegal Immigration Protected by the First Amendment?
Criticizing the law by calling for people to break it is an American tradition.
Should Libertarians Be Noncombatants in the Pride Wars?
Plus: A listener question considers the pros and cons of the libertarian focus on political processes rather than political results.
The New York Times Thinks Preempting Local Control Is Bad—When Republicans Do It
The paper's editorial board is happy to endorse the centralization of decision making when it supports their liberal policy preferences.
Trump-Appointed Judge Rules Tennessee's Anti-Drag Law Unconstitutional
Plus: Librarians take on Arkansas book restrictions, another migrant stunt may have originated in Florida, and more...
More on Federal Power Over Immigration and James Madison's Report of 1800
My response to Rob Natelson's argument that Madison's Report is largely irrelevant to the constitutional debate over immigration.
He Spent a Decade in Jail Without Being Convicted. Now His Lawyer Says His Case Should Be Dismissed.
Maurice Jimmerson has spent 10 years in jail awaiting trial for a 2013 murder charge.
The Supreme Court Is Not in a 'War on Science'
The Supreme Court is agnostic on questions of science, but clear and resolute on questions of law.
On Religious Divisiveness and the Judicial Role
Justice Breyer thought the Establishment Clause authorizes judges to improve the tone of political discourse. It does not.
Congress Warned About Abuses of Presidential Emergency Powers
Legislators from both parties worry about unilateral power, but they use it when it’s convenient.
Justice Breyer's Establishment Clause Particularism
Justice Breyer saw church-state controversies as highly and inevitably fact-bound, solvable only through a judicial balancing exercise.
District Court Judge Revives Kids Climate Case
Years after the Ninth Circuit ordered the case dismissed, it is brought back to life with a surprising trial court order.
Roy Moore Is (Still) Constitutionally Illiterate
A lesson in how to ensure you lose a case in court.
Congressional Commission's Taiwan Plan Is a Mixed Bag for U.S. Interests
The bipartisan plan encourages greater involvement by the U.S. military than past policy.
In Virginia, No Degree Is No Problem
The state is the latest of several in recent months that have moved to eliminate college degree requirements for the vast majority of state government jobs.
CBO: Debt Ceiling Deal Means 78,000 More Able-Bodied, Childless Adults Could Get Food Stamps
New work requirements will target those over age 50, but the debt ceiling deal also loosens existing work requirements for those under age 50.
NIMBY Cities Are Using Your Tax Dollars To Lobby Against New Housing
Publicly funded leagues of cities are fighting zoning reforms in state capitals across the country.
Josh Hawley Wants the Government To Silence A.I.
The Missouri senator is once again pursuing misguided tech regulation.
Does a Footnote in Sackett II Indicate How SCOTUS Will Resolve the Affirmative Action Cases?
Could the Court treat Justice Powell's Bakke opinion the way it treated Justice Kennedy's Rapanos opinion?
France's Ban on Short-Haul Flights Will Kill People
You're 2,200 times more likely to die when traveling by car as opposed to by airplane.
The Source of Law in Tyler v. Hennepin County
a sub silentio invocation of the general law and positive law approaches
Even Pennsylvanians Can Now Buy Wine in Grocery Stores, but New Yorkers Still Can't
A bill that would expand wine sales in the Empire State is meeting familiar resistance from entrenched interests.
Childproofing the Internet
How online “child protection” measures could make child and adult internet users more vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves, and snoops.
Social Security and Medicare Are Ticking Time Bombs
Even taking all the money from every billionaire wouldn't cover our coming bankruptcy.
Senators Want To Declare Fentanyl a National Security Threat
Plus: SCOTUS won't hear Reddit sex trafficking case, debt deal would increase spending on SNAP benefits, and more...
"Appeasement"? Or, Avoiding Error?
Justice Breyer did not always vote with the Court’s strict-separationist justices. Good for him.
Federal Judge Requires All Lawyers to File Certificates Related to Use of Generative AI
The certificates must "attest[] either that no portion of the filing was drafted by generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey.AI, or Google Bard) or that any language drafted by generative artificial intelligence was checked for accuracy, using print reporters or traditional legal databases, by a human being."
How To Restrain the A.I. Regulators
A more flexible model of oversight avoids hyper-cautious top-down regulation and enables swifter access to the substantial benefits of safe A.I.
Conservatives Rage Against Debt Ceiling Bill: 'Not One Republican Should Vote for This'
But a lot of Republicans probably will.
Banging Our Heads on the Debt Ceiling
Plus: A listener question cross-examines prior Reason Roundtable discussions surrounding immigration, economic growth, and birthrates.
DOJ Says That Cops Who Killed Autistic Teenager May Have Violated His Civil Rights
Eric Parsa died after police placed him in a "prone position" for over nine minutes. Now, the DOJ says that the officers' actions likely violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
DeSantis Says He Would Seek Repeal of FIRST STEP Act if Elected President
DeSantis calls the bill a "jailbreak," a gross misrepresentation of the criminal justice reform bill.
Debt Ceiling Bill 'Locks in the Inflated Spending Levels of Recent Years'
Plus: Artificial intelligence and jobs, how government caused a lifeguard shortage, and more...