Refusing To Show ID Is Not a Crime
George Wingate, who had pulled over on the side of the road to check an engine light, flatly refused to show his ID when a sheriff's deputy demanded it.
Topics
It's Too Bad We Can't Fire More Governors
Citizens should be able to punish elected officials who have done an extraordinarily bad job rather than be forced to count on elected legislators to do the heavy lifting.
Judges Stick Up for Asset Forfeiture Victim
When officers searched Jermaine Sanders' car, they found less than half an ounce of marijuana and seized $17,000 of his money.
When Fighting 'Misinformation' Is Really Fighting Free Speech
There is no "fake news" exception to the First Amendment.
When Politics Makes It Impossible To Plan
For more than a decade, politicians have moved toward seizing short-term wins through any mechanism available to them.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo Clings to His Pedestal
"Incompetent government kills people," he said in January.
'See Something, Say Something' Returns
A new bill repurposes the war on terror's pro-snitching mantra by requiring that tech companies share user data with the federal government.
Americans Overpay for Biden's 'Buy American' Plan
These rules drive up costs and distort markets while letting politicians claim credit for defending domestic industries from foreign competition.
A Phony Warrant, a Deadly Drug Raid, and a Barrel of Bad Apples in Houston
Did the city's "policies, customs or practices," invite Fourth Amendment violations?
Self-Destructing Mosquitoes
Oxitec has genetically engineered mosquitoes that pass a self-destruct code to all of their female offspring.
Can Schools Punish Kids for Off-Campus Snapchats?
"The notion that a school can discipline a student for that kind of...non-harassing expression is contrary to our First Amendment tradition."
Biden Chooses Cronyism Over Letting Puerto Rico Rebuild
The Jones Act shields the American shipping industry from foreign competition and harms both the environment and disadvantaged communities.
How Economists Learned to Love Minimum Wage Hikes
Would raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour cost jobs?
Hopes Dashed for Democracy in Myanmar
The nation's brief respite from military rule came to an abrupt end on February 1.
The No-Fly List Is a Civil Liberties Nightmare
Existing laws are more than adequate to handle the Capitol rioters.
Abolish the FDA
The role of the state is to protect rights and guard against fraud, not to prevent people from making risky choices.
Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic, and Zero About Jobs
Perhaps young people would be better served by having access to more job sampling opportunities.
Africa Tries Free Trade
Liberal ideas are beginning to gain traction on the world's poorest continent.
Say No to More COVID-19 Relief Spending
The scale of the current relief efforts means that many Americans received more income during this pandemic than they did before it.
Assange Avoids Extradition—For Now
Under the First Amendment, the question of whether Assange qualifies as a legitimate journalist is irrelevant.
A Health Care Haven No More
Despite its access to brainpower and financial backing, it had turned out to be harder than expected for Haven to disrupt the health care market.
New Hampshire Towns Turn Out Tiny-Home Dwellers
The regulatory pursuit of quality housing means some tiny-home residents actually end up with no housing.
The War on Free Speech Is About To Get a Lot Uglier
The awful events of January 6 accelerated trends in left-of-center circles, particularly within media and technology companies.
COVID-19 Spotlights the Problems With Health Care 'Certificates of Need'
Mississippi's CON law means that physical therapist Charles "Butch" Slaughter (and others like him) can't adapt to the changing circumstances created by the pandemic.
The FDA Stole Your Bucatini
Instead of blocking food imports during a pandemic in which supply chains are strained, the FDA should allow consumers to choose food that will fill them up.
The Great Vaccine Fiasco
Federal predictions that 20 million Americans would be vaccinated by the end of 2020 were off by an order of magnitude.
Biden Goes Big
Somehow, policy makers slid from "never waste a crisis" to "everything is a crisis," a development that is particularly irksome during an actual crisis.
Mexico and Israel Slowly Race To Legalize Pot
Uruguay legalized recreational marijuana in 2013, followed by Canada five years later. Two more countries will soon join their ranks.
Biden Should Nominate Judges Who Battled the Government in Court
More criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, and civil rights litigators may soon be appointed to the federal bench.
War Zone Washington?
More than 5,000 members of the National Guard descended on Washington, D.C., following the January 6 riot.
RIP Mark Schlefer, the Man Who Made FOIA Happen
"In the drafting, we were adamant that you didn't have to have an interest to have access. You could just be a citizen."
Legal Pot Doesn't Seem To Increase Teen Use or Addiction
Two studies published in November found that legalization has not been associated with increases in adolescent marijuana use or addiction.
Should Biden's Choice for Secretary of State Discourage Libertarians?
President Joe Biden's promised return to normality will unfortunately extend to his administration's foreign policy.
No Facial Recognition Tech for Cops
A sloppy panopticon is almost as dangerous as an effective one.
TikTok After Trump
TikTok may have outlasted the Trump administration, but whether it will find another enemy in Biden is unclear.
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?
New York City's Outdoor Dining Doom
Preserving the country's greatest restaurant scene in the midst of a pandemic feels like an afterthought.
Will Biden 'Listen to the Science' on GMOs?
The USDA under the Trump administration streamlined some outdated and scientifically unwarranted regulations of modern biotech crops.
The Not-So-Peaceful Transfer of Power
Our long record of peaceful transfers of power now has an asterisk on it.
Parents: Don't Be Boring, Relentless Teachers
No need to follow the stultifying advice from Parents magazine on how to "Supercharge Every Storytime."
Biden Says His Immigration Policy Will Be Better Than Obama's
President Barack Obama's government deported more people than any other administration in history.
Little Green Men Caught in Red Tape
When a metal monolith was discovered in the desert, all federal officials could see was a zoning violation.
Political Problems Are Policy Problems
The market's failure to produce an ideal outcome cannot alone justify activist policy, because governments can also fail to produce the ideal.
Preserve Your Sanity by Preserving Food
Canning is a hedge against uncertainty, an education in self-reliance, and a pocket of calm amid tumult.
The Silver Lining in Biden's Massive Housing Plan
A Democratic White House and a Republican Senate might be the best of all worlds when it comes to federal housing policy.
Will New York Lead the Way in Screwing Up School Reopening?
Remote learning continues to be the norm for more than three out of four New York City public school students.
What Amy Coney Barrett Got Wrong About Lochner
Justice Barrett should revisit her views on this wrongly maligned case.
It's Time To Fix Green Card Quotas
Current law caps the number of employment-based green cards that can be granted each year at 40,000, which doesn't meet demand.
