Trump's Bump Stock Ban Is Under Fire From His Own Judicial Appointees
This unilateral executive action has been scrutinized by both Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr.
Constitution
Roberts Accuses Kavanaugh of Judicial Activism in Coronavirus Church Closure Case
"Although California's guidelines place restrictions on places of worship," Roberts wrote, "those restrictions appear consistent with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment."
Are the COVID-19 Lockdowns Constitutional?
Several courts have invalidated elements of state shelter-in-place orders. Constitutional law Professor Josh Blackman says that the longer they continue, the less legal they become.
State Supreme Courts Stand Up for Economic Liberty While SCOTUS Falls Down on the Job
"We have long interpreted the Georgia Constitution as protecting a right to work in one's chosen profession free from unreasonable government interference."
Supreme Court Can Put a Stop to Rule Compelling Anti-Prostitution Speech From Anti-HIV/AIDS Groups
The anti-prostitution pledge is unconstitutional when applied to U.S. nonprofits. But the feds say it's still OK to compel speech from these groups' foreign affiliates.
Coronavirus Cases Pit Constitutional Rights Against Public Health Authority
The federal courts start to grapple with COVID-19 shutdown orders.
Supreme Court Justices in Texas and Pennsylvania Emphasize That COVID-19 Lockdowns Require Judicial Scrutiny
Not everything that states do in the name of protecting public health is consistent with the Constitution.
When Are COVID-19 Control Measures 'Arbitrary' and 'Unreasonable'?
Courts so far have not been inclined to ask that question.
Masks Can Be a Symbol of Privacy and Personal Responsibility, Not Tyranny
Plus: Family Dollar guard murdered over mask enforcement, doctors see "multisystem inflammatory syndrome" in kids with COVID-19, and more...
When the Supreme Court Upheld a Compulsory Vaccination Law
Infectious disease, public health, and the Constitution
The Executive Order on Meat Processing Doesn't Compel Companies With Sick Workers to Stay Open
Plus: Justin Amash seeking L.P. nomination, pandemic hasn't halted FDA war on vaping, and more
The Attorney General Defends Civil Liberties Against Overreaching COVID-19 Control Measures
While denying Donald Trump's dictatorial impulses, William Barr notes that public health emergencies do not give governments unlimited powers.
The Late Murray Rothbard Takes on the Constitution
A lost volume of American history finds the light of day.
Can Trump Order Congress Home and Unilaterally Fill Vacancies Via the Recess Appointment Power?
The president contemplates a sweeping exercise of executive authority.
No, Trump Cannot Open the Country Back Up Whenever He Wants
The president again insisted that the federal government can open the country by fiat. It cannot.
Abortion Providers Plead With Supreme Court To Allow Abortion Pills in Texas
"Delaying abortions by weeks does nothing to further the State's interest in combatting COVID-19," they say.
Religious Freedom Clashes With Public Health Enforcers
Plus: Signal will leave the U.S. market if EARN IT passes, Justin Amash blasts Michigan shutdown orders, and more...
The Constitutional Case Against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Will the Supreme Court question the underpinnings of the modern administrative state?
Trump Has Secret Emergency Powers?
"Presidential emergency action documents” concocted under prior administrations purport to give him such authority, according to a New York Times op-ed.
Another Trump-Appointed Judge Benchslaps the Trump Administration for Rewriting Federal Gun Laws
“The federal government forgot the Tenth Amendment and the structure of the Constitution itself.”
Will COVID-19 Kill the Constitution?
Politicians and the public are alarmingly willing to violate civil liberties in the name of fighting the epidemic.
This Business Is Suing the Government Over a Coronavirus Closure Order
"These uncompensated seizures violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment."
Tear Up Your Census Form for a Better America
The government is perfectly capable of counting heads in a less-intrusive and more-hygienic way.
Massie, and That Pesky Constitution, Hold Up COVID-19 Bailout Bill
Plus: civic dynamism on display, Justice Department embraces home detainment of federal prisoners, and more...
Justice Department Reportedly Asks Congress for Indefinite Detention Powers To Fight Coronavirus
Congress should loudly and unanimously reject this insanity.
Police Powers During a Pandemic: Constitutional, but Not Unlimited
Weighing the state and local response to COVID-19
Would Italian-Style Lockdowns to Curtail the Spread of Coronavirus Pass Legal Muster in the U.S.?
The extent of state and federal quarantine powers is surprisingly unsettled.
The Looming Supreme Court Showdown Over Sanctuary Cities
The legal battle over immigration, federalism, and executive power heats up.
Would a Presidential Pardon for Roger Stone Be Unconstitutional?
The argument requires several controversial assumptions and leaps of logic.
Bivens Liability and Its Alternatives
If the Court is going to abolish the 20th century remedies, can we at least have the 19th century remedies back?
Supreme Court Weighs Free Speech and the Right to Encourage Illegal Immigration
The justices heard oral arguments this week in United States v. Sineneng-Smith.
Can Senseless Gun Regulations Be Constitutional?
Under New York's rules, licensed pistol and revolver owners were not allowed to leave home with their handguns unless they were traveling to or from a shooting range.
Yes, the Constitution Means Your Political Opponents Get Due Process Too
Americans are so locked into their political sides that many of them seem willing to cast aside some of the nation's long-established constitutional protections.
The Supreme Court Tackles Police Shootings, Excessive Force, and the Fourth Amendment
What’s at stake in Torres v. Madrid
This New Deal Precedent May Decide the Fate of Elizabeth Warren's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
What’s at stake in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Coronavirus and the Constitution
From Louisiana State University law professor Ed Richards.
Did Republicans Buy the Argument That Impeachment Requires a Crime?
While some senators seemed to endorse that misbegotten claim, others explicitly rejected it.
This Crackdown on a Jury Nullification Activist Violates the First Amendment
What’s at stake in Michigan v. Wood
This Is the Executive War-Making the Founders Tried To Prevent
The framers of the Constitution were quite right that wars should be difficult to start and easy to end.
Trump Lawyer Alan Dershowitz Abandons His Position That Impeachment Requires a Crime
He says "criminal-like behavior akin to treason or bribery" is enough, even if it's not "a technical crime with all the elements."
Forthcoming Article on "Overturning a Catch-22 in the Knick of Time: Knick v. Township of Scott and the Doctrine of Precedent"
The article explains why the Supreme Court was justified in overruling longstanding precedent in this important recent constitutional property rights case.
Donald Trump's Costanza Defense
The president’s lawyers argue that abuse of power is not impeachable unless it breaks the law.
The Return of the "Faithless Elector"
The Supreme Court agrees to hear two cases on the scope of presidential elector discretion
By Withholding Funds to Ukraine, Trump Broke the Law
The Government Accountability Office says Trump's spending delay was illegal.
