Did Cassidy Hutchinson's Testimony Clinch the Incitement Case Against Trump?
The former president's recklessness is beyond dispute, but that is not enough to convict him while respecting the First Amendment.
Law & Government
Abortion Rights Under the 9th and 14th Amendments
Understanding what Justice Alito got wrong in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Stephen Breyer Officially Retires Tomorrow, Opening a Seat for Ketanji Brown Jackson
“My retirement from active service,” Breyer told the president, “will be effective on Thursday, June 30, 2022, at noon.”
Final Supreme Court Opinions Tomorrow, Followed by Justice Breyer's Retirement at Noon
There are only two argued cases left for decision -- the last two to be decided with Justice Breyer on the Court.
Maximalists Threaten a Federalist Compromise on Abortion
National legislation and extraterritorial application of state laws are inconsistent with the local leeway that the Constitution protects.
Alito's Junk History About Lochner
The conservative Supreme Court justice is wrong about economic liberty and the Constitution.
Conservatives Embrace Anti-Discrimination Principles
Anti-discrimination law was pioneered by the political left. But, in recent years, conservatives have increasingly tried to use it for their own purposes.
Marijuana Banking Legalization Gets Scrapped Again
Members of Congress keep saying they want to allow state-legal pot businesses to have access to the banking system, but they keep refusing to actually do it.
Utah Democrats Endorse Non-Democrat Evan McMullin To Face Mike Lee
McMullin ran a third-party campaign for president in 2016.
A New Jersey Town Wants To Charge This Woman $5,000 To Sell Cookies
Somerville still has costly regulations on the books even though New Jersey has legalized the sale of home-baked items.
Supreme Court Says High School Coach's Postgame Prayers Are Protected Free Speech
A 6–3 majority sees it as noncoercive and not a violation of the Establishment Clause.
Small Change Tolerance Slippery Slopes (Reposted)
[I originally erred in posting this, which kept comments from being available; I've therefore deleted the original and reposted it.]
My Deseret News Article on Carson v. Makin
The article explains why the Supreme Court was right to hold that state voucher programs can’t discriminate against “sectarian” religious schools and addresses various objections.
On Justice Thomas, Dobbs, Precedent, and Substantive Due Process
In his Dobbs concurrence, the senior associate justice reiterates his outlying views on precedent and his belief that all substantive due process decisions were "demonstrably erroneous."
Clarence Thomas Calls To 'Reconsider' Gay Marriage, Sodomy Rulings
The other justices declined to join him, but the future of the Supreme Court rulings on those matters remains unclear.
Alito's Abortion Ruling Overturning Roe Is an Insult to the 9th Amendment
The Constitution protects many more rights than it mentions, as James Madison explained.
Here Is a State-by-State Rundown of What Will Happen Now That SCOTUS Has Freed Lawmakers To Restrict Abortion
Most states are unlikely to enact bans, but 22 either have them already or probably will soon.
The Attitude-Altering Slippery Slope and Extremeness Aversion Behavioral Effects, Plus …
are attitude-altering slippery slopes good or bad?
Divorced Couple Dispute Over Pre-Embryos: One Wants Them Destroyed, the Other Wants Them Implanted
Colorado law says that ordinarily the decision is in favor of the person who doesn't want the embryos implanted; the Colorado Court of Appeals held that this applies even when the person has religious reasons for wanting to donate them to another couple.
Blame Congress for Pandemic Fraud
The inconvenient truth behind all the COVID-19 relief fraud and waste is that these government programs never should have been designed as they were.
'The Second Amendment Is Not Unlimited,' Brett Kavanaugh Stresses in SCOTUS Gun Case
“Properly interpreted, the Second Amendment allows a ‘variety’ of gun regulations,” Kavanaugh writes, invoking Antonin Scalia
SCOTUS Says You Can't Sue the Cops for Violating Your Miranda Rights
A 6–3 ruling undermines attempts to hold police accountable for misconduct.
In Landmark 2nd Amendment Ruling, SCOTUS Affirms Right 'To Carry a Handgun for Self-Defense Outside the Home'
“Nothing in the Second Amendment’s text draws a home/public distinction with respect to the right to keep and bear arms,” says New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
Alito's Leaked Abortion Opinion Misunderstands Unenumerated Rights
The Supreme Court justice is wrong when he says abortion rights aren't deeply rooted in American history.
Biden's Gas Tax Holiday Plan Already Running on Empty
Prominent Democrats including Joe Manchin oppose a bad idea whose time has seemingly not yet come.
The Bipartisan Senate Gun Control Bill Would Unjustly Deprive Americans of Their Second Amendment Rights
The legislation prohibits firearm sales based on juvenile records and subsidizes state laws that suspend gun rights without due process.
Sotomayor vs. Roberts on Religion, Schools, and the First Amendment
“A State violates the Free Exercise Clause when it excludes religious observers from otherwise available public benefits,” the Supreme Court held.
Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Pushes Back Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Regulations While Awaiting Supreme Court Ruling
No matter how the Supreme Court rules in West Virginia v. EPA, absent legislative action it is unlikely new power plant rules will be in force before 2024.
My NBC News Article on Today's Supreme Court Ruling Barring Discrimination Against Religious Schools in Maine School Choice Program
The decision is an important victory for both the principle of nondiscrimination and parents and students seeking better educational opportunities.
Federal COVID Aid to States and Localities Cost $855,000 Per Job Saved
A new paper reveals that the state and local bailout was not only unnecessary but incredibly wasteful.
Gorsuch and Alito Butt Heads in Another Criminal Justice Case
According to Alito, Gorsuch’s opinion “veered off into fantasy land.”
#TheyLied Prosecution Over Alleged Perjury and Faked Evidence
The defendant is one Rovier Carrington, who "sued Hollywood executives alleging that the executives had sexually assaulted him, and that they had defrauded him in connection with a decision to refuse to produce [his] reality television program."
School Choice and Religious Liberty Advocates Just Won Big at the Supreme Court
States may not "exclude some members of the community from an otherwise generally available public benefit because of their religious exercise,” says SCOTUS.
Exclusion of Religious Schooling from Generally Available School Choice Programs Generally Unconstitutional,
except for the training of the clergy, holds the Supreme Court.
