A Grand Jury Rejects Trump's Attempt To Prosecute 6 Legislators for Saying Something He Did Not Like
The president was offended by a video reminding military personnel of their duty to disobey unlawful orders.
Rule of law
Once Again, a Federal Judge Orders ICE To Stop Unlawful Warrantless Arrests
Another judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to follow federal law, even as the Trump administration argues it has broad authority to conduct warrantless immigration arrests.
How Thousands of Randos Like Me Landed in the Epstein Files
To make sense of the Justice Department’s latest documents, you have to understand what they actually are.
Judicial Retirements Are Not Always What They Seem
A judge blamed Trump for his decision to leave the bench, but it also terminated a misconduct inquiry.
Judicial Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Boasberg Dismissed
Judge Sutton concludes there was not much to the complaint submitted by the Department of Justice.
Is the Fourth the New Ninth? - 2026 Update
Another summary reversal of a Fourth Circuit AEDPA decision.
A Trump-Appointed Federal Judge Orders Lindsey Halligan To Stop 'Masquerading' As a U.S. Attorney
The lawyer, who delivered the grudge-driven indictments that the president demanded, refused to relinquish her job after another judge ruled that her appointment was illegal.
The Insurrection Act, Which Trump Keeps Threatening To Invoke, Is Alarmingly Vague and Broad
The antiquated statute arguably allows the president to deploy the military in response to nearly any form of domestic disorder.
Why the DOJ Has Stopped Describing Maduro as the Head of a Literal Drug Cartel
That embarrassing mistake highlights the slipperiness of Trump's attempts to justify legally dubious policies by invoking the specter of "foreign terrorist organizations."
Does the Supreme Court Favor the Rich?
The NYT profiles a sloppy and highly problematic empirical study of the Supreme Court.
3 Areas Where the Courts Pushed Back Against Trump's Attempts To Avoid Judicial Review in 2025
The president asserted broad powers to deport people, impose tariffs, and deploy the National Guard based on his own unilateral determinations.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
Refusing To Let Trump Deploy the National Guard in Chicago, SCOTUS Adds a New Wrinkle To the Debate
The justices suggested the president is misinterpreting "the regular forces," a key phrase in the statute on which he is relying.
Hegseth Won't Let Us See a Video That Might Undermine Support for Trump's Bloodthirsty Anti-Drug Strategy
The defense secretary claims the video, which shows a second strike that killed two floundering survivors, would compromise "sources and methods."
Trump's Word Games Can't Conceal the Murderous Reality of His Anti-Drug Strategy
Calling suspected cocaine smugglers "combatants" does not justify summarily executing them.
Trump Is Still Claiming He Saves '25,000 American Lives' When He Blows Up a Suspected Drug Boat
So far, by the president's reckoning, he has prevented 650,000 U.S. drug deaths—eight times the number recorded last year.
Hegseth Mulls Releasing a Video That Illustrates the Brutality of Trump's Murderous Anti-Drug Strategy
The footage shows what happened to the survivors of the September 2 attack that inaugurated the president's deadly campaign against suspected drug boats.
The 'Threat' That Supposedly Justified Killing 2 Boat Attack Survivors Was Entirely Speculative
The commander who ordered a second missile strike worried that the helpless men he killed might be able to salvage cocaine from the smoldering wreck.
Boat Attack Commander Says He Had To Kill 2 Survivors Because They Were Still Trying To Smuggle Cocaine
Adm. Frank M. Murphy reportedly told lawmakers a controversial second strike was necessary because drugs on the burning vessel remained a threat.
Hegseth's 'Fog of War' Is No Excuse for Summarily Executing Suspected Drug Smugglers
Regardless of what the defense secretary knew or said about the September 2 boat attack, the forces he commands are routinely committing murder in the guise of self-defense.
Trump Tries To Cut Congress Out of U.S. Attorney Appointments
The 3rd Circuit’s ruling against Alina Habba highlights a disturbing pattern of legal evasion.
The Law of War Was Not Designed for Trump's Bogus 'Armed Conflict' With Drug Smugglers
Instead of asking whether a particular boat attack went too far, Congress should ask how the summary execution of criminal suspects became the new normal.
Federal Trade Commission Staff Endorses Proposal to End American Bar Association Monopoly on Law School Accreditation
FTC staff support the proposal by the Texas Supreme Court to allow for alternative means of accreditation.
Hegseth's Alleged Order To 'Kill Everybody' Complicates Trump's Defense of His Murderous Anti-Drug Campaign
Even if you accept the president's assertion of an "armed conflict" with drug smugglers, blowing apart survivors of a boat strike would be a war crime.
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Trump v. Clinton and Affirms Sanctions Against Trump (Updated)
A rare instance in which courts were willing to impose sanctions upon sanctionable conduct.
Trump's Habitual Charges of 'Treason' Reflect His Authoritarian Impulses
The president’s reaction to a supposedly "seditious" video illustrates his tendency to portray criticism of him as a crime.
Trump Says Legislators Committed Treason by Noting That Soldiers Are Not Obligated To Obey Unlawful Orders
The president's authoritarian response to a video posted by six members of Congress, who he says "should be arrested and put on trial," validates their concerns.
Trump Pardons Mountain Runner Michelino Sunseri, Who Was Prosecuted for Using an Unapproved Trail
The decision is consistent with the president's avowed concerns about "overcriminalization in federal regulations."
Trump's Economic Fallacies Are Legally Relevant in His Tariff Case
Trade deficits are not a "national emergency," and the president's import taxes won’t reduce them.
Trump Says His 'Armed Conflict' With Drug Traffickers Does Not Involve 'Hostilities'
The government is tying itself in knots to cast murder as self-defense and avoid legal limits on the president's use of the military.
According to Trump, He Has Already Saved 350,000 Lives by Murdering Suspected Drug Smugglers
There are several problems with the president's math, which suggests he has accomplished an impossible feat.
Trump's Appeal of His New York Convictions Highlights the Absurdity of Alvin Bragg's Convoluted Case
The Manhattan district attorney converted a hush payment into 34 felonies via a chain of legal reasoning with several conspicuously weak links.
Trump Allegedly Misidentified a Colombian Fisherman as a Venezuelan 'Narcoterrorist'
The potential for deadly error underlines the lawlessness of the president’s bloodthirsty anti-drug strategy.
Trump Erroneously Thinks Killing Suspected Smugglers Is the Key to Winning the Drug War
Until now, the president concedes, interdiction has been "totally ineffective." Blowing up drug boats won't change that reality.
Forum Shopping in the First Circuit
An interesting Reuters report on the new locus of lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration.
Do Federal Judges Believe We Are in the Midst of a "Judicial Crisis"?
Thoughts on the New York Times' Selective Survey of District Court Judges
Trump Won't Invoke the Insurrection Act—As Long As He Can Use the National Guard However He Wants
If the courts try to enforce legal limits on the president's military deployments, he can resort to an alarmingly broad statute that gives him more discretion.
Why a Trump Appointee Ruled That His National Guard Deployment in Portland Was Illegal
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut concluded that the president's description of "War ravaged Portland" was "simply untethered to the facts."
Judge to Mangione Prosecutors: Not All Political Murder Is Legally 'Terrorism'
The latest ruling reminds us that terrorism statutes are mostly redundant.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Trump's Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act
The appeals court blocked the removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members under that law "because we find no invasion or predatory incursion."
Judge Orders Alligator Alcatraz To Wind Down Operations Within 60 Days
A federal district court judge granted environmentalist groups’ request for a preliminary injunction.
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.
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.
A Terrible Environmental Law Finally Did Something Good: It Paused Construction of Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against any additional construction at the immigration detention center amid plans to increase the facility’s capacity to 4,000 detainees.
Divided D.C. Circuit Panel Nixes Judge Boasberg's Criminal Contempt Order Against Trump Administration
Judge Katsas and Judge Rao disagreed on the reasons, but both agreed that Judge Boasberg overstepped; Judge Pillard dissented.
Justice Kavanaugh on the Peril of Writing Shadow Docket Opinions
Rushing out opinions can lock in erroneous conclusions and create problematic precedent.
Mistaking Adherence to Formalist Principle for Appeasement
The Supreme Court's critics are too quick to assume the Court's orders are motivated by political considerations as opposed to principle.
Universal Injunctions Are Dead; Long Live Universal Remedies?
Trump v. CASA was important, but it is not clear district courts have gotten the message.
