Law & Government
$500 Million To Paint the Border Wall? 5 of Trump's Strangest, Most Expensive Vanity Projects
Donald Trump is no stranger to wasteful spending. But these examples are especially egregious.
Judge Orders Alligator Alcatraz To Wind Down Operations Within 60 Days
A federal district court judge granted environmentalist groups’ request for a preliminary injunction.
Judge Newman Loses Her Effort to Undo the "Temporary" Bar on Receiving Cases
The D.C. Circuit declines to reach the merits of many of the serious underlying constitutional questions.
Egypt's Land Grab Threatens the World's Oldest Christian Monastery
St. Catherine’s Monastery has been continuously inhabited for over 1,500 years. An Egyptian court ruling ended the monastery's longstanding separation from the government.
Natural Property Rights: A VC Preview
Property rights, public law, the police power, and the eminent domain power.
Few Americans Trust the Federal Government
Perversely, distrust may encourage the government to grow bigger and more intrusive.
Who Is Lawfully Exercising the Powers of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey?
A district court ruling that Ms. Habba has been unlawfully exercising the powers of the New Jersey U.S. Attorney ducks the critical question of who can exercise those powers ... which is strong reason for doubting the ruling's reasoning.
"After a Ten-Minute Bench Trial Held in Her Absence" …
defendant "was found guilty of criminal mischief and domestic violence"—yet the prosecution "presented no evidence that [she] damaged or destroyed the property of another—an essential element of criminal mischief, which was also the predicate offense for the domestic violence charge."
Is Gay Marriage Really Under Threat at the Supreme Court?
Asking SCOTUS to hear a case is not the same thing as convincing SCOTUS to hear a case.
Chip Roy on Why He Backed Trump's Spending Bill
Texas Rep. Chip Roy joins Nick Gillespie to talk about runaway spending, the uphill battle for health care reform, and where immigration fits into the liberty vs. sovereignty debate.
9 Years Ago, Marco Rubio Explained Why Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Is Unconstitutional
The 2016 brief defended the understanding of the 14th Amendment that the president wants to overturn.
Fifth Circuit Upholds Injunction Against NLRB Proceedings, Distinguishing Humphrey's Executor
The Court concludes that limitations on the removal of NLRB Board members and NLRB administrative law judges are both unconstitutional.
Sanctions Decision as to Rape Allegations Against Comedian Druski, in Case Also Involving Sean Combs (P. Diddy)
"After the lawsuit was filed, Desbordes' [Druski's] counsel sent Plaintiffs' counsel evidence, including debit card records and phone records, showing that it was virtually certain that Desbordes was in Georgia at the time of the alleged rape, and thus could not have participated in the assault." "Yet, at the hearing on the motion for sanctions, Plaintiffs' counsel expressly stated Plaintiffs 'have no desire to dismiss Mr. Desbordes' from the lawsuit."
Natural Property Rights: A VC Preview
Foxes, whales, and injustice toward the property claims of aboriginal tribes.
Do Cops Still Need a Warrant To Search Your Home in an 'Emergency'?
SCOTUS will soon decide.
Why Are There So Few Judicial Vacancies for President Trump to Fill?
There are fewer early-term vacancies than one might have expected.
Natural Property Rights: A Volokh Conspiracy Preview
An overview. (Or, what you can learn about property from John Locke and Monty Python's Flying Circus.)
Court Kills California's One-Gun-a-Month Law
There’s no historical precedent for trying to ration constitutionally protected rights.
Goldsmith's Sense and Edsall's Nonsense about the Supreme Court (Updated)
A New York Times column on the Supreme Court offers a misleading picture and errant analysis.
The Government Sent '20 Police Officers' With Riot Gear To Rearrest D.C. Sandwich Thrower, Says Attorney
A video by the White House corroborates that account, calling into question just how serious the president is about actually addressing crime.
D.C. Sues Pam Bondi and the Trump Administration for Replacing Police Commissioner
The latest escalation in the showdown between the Trump administration and D.C. elected officials
Colorado's AI Law Is a Cautionary Tale for the Nation
A rushed attempt to regulate artificial intelligence has left lawmakers scrambling to fix their own mistakes.
My New Bulwark Article on Trump's Unconstitutional Export Tax
The article explains why the policy is unconstitutional, but also why it is unlikely to be challenged in court in the near future.
Court Rejects Oklahoma Education Department's Lawsuit Over Letters from Advocacy Group
"How do Defendant's letters interfere with Plaintiffs' authority or ability to administer Oklahoma's public schools?"
Sanctions for Another Lawyer Filing AI-Hallucinated Material …
for "citing to fabricated, AI-generated cases without verifying the accuracy, or even the existence, of the cases" and "misrepresenting to the Court the origin of the AI-generated cases."
Was the Bill of Rights a Bad Idea? Some Founding Fathers Thought So.
Did they have a point?
Does the Congressional Review Act Bar the FCC's Data Breach Reporting Rule?
The Sixth Circuit wrestles with what it means for a regulation to be "substantially the same" as one disapproved by Congress.
Why the Supreme Court is Highly Unlikely to Overturn Obergefell in the Kim Davis Case
My Cato Institute colleague Walter Olson explains.
On the Status of Judicial Independence in the American Constitutional Order
My new paper on judicial independence as a constitutional construction.
Americans Misunderstand Social Security but Appear Open to Reform
Younger Americans seem ready to treat the program as a safety net, not a retirement plan.
Are Trump's Deportations Constitutional?
Glenn Greenwald debates Anna Gorisch on Trump's deportation policies.
Are Opinions Respecting En Banc Denials "Offensive to Our System of Panel Adjudication"?
The judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit split over whether they should write about the reasons for their splitting over en banc review.
Forget Obama: Trump's Pen and Phone Are Bigger Even Than FDR's
The president is on a record-shattering pace for executive actions.
After Another Delay, Trump's China Tariffs Look Even Less Like a Legitimate 'Emergency'
The words national emergency are not a magic spell that presidents can utter to unlock unlimited legislative powers for themselves.
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Bless Racial Profiling by Immigration Agents
The federal government has embraced unconstitutional tactics and now wants SCOTUS to do the same.
Tariff Rebate Checks Are a Bad, Inflationary Idea
If Sen. Josh Hawley and the Trump administration want to spare Americans the pain from tariffs, there is a far simpler solution.
Congress Spent At Least $27,500 on Poster Displays in 2 Months. Here Are 4 Ridiculous Examples and 1 Good One.
It's a drop in the bucket compared to the national debt, but any wasteful government spending should be eliminated.
Hotel Sex Trafficking Suit Can Proceed, Inviting Hotels to Profile and Harass Guests
Can a hotel be guilty of sex trafficking just because it didn't surveil its customers enough?
Justice Sotomayor on Supreme Court Term Limits
A bit of cold water on a popular Court "reform" from a justice on the left-wing of the Court
