The Twisted Logic of Greg Abbott's Border Policy
Undocumented immigrants aren’t the same as an invading army, but the Texas governor keeps acting like they are.
Constitution
Federal Judge Questions 'Evolving Standards' Test for Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The Supreme Court judges Eighth Amendment cases with "evolving standards of decency." Some conservative jurists don't like it.
Trump Wouldn't Be the First Non-Confederate Barred From Office by the 14th Amendment
The weird story of Victor Berger, the Espionage Act, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
FBI Seized $86 Million From People Not Suspected of Any Crime. A Federal Court Will Decide if That's Legal.
On Thursday, a federal appeals court will hear about the FBI's "blatant scheme to circumvent" the Fourth Amendment.
Laws Requiring Permission to Obtain Guns Look Vulnerable
The 4th Circuit’s rejection of Maryland’s handgun licensing system suggests similar schemes in other states are unconstitutional.
Do You Still Have the Right to a Jury Trial?
The Supreme Court will consider whether federal agencies’ administrative judges violate the Seventh Amendment.
The Best Hope to Rein in Rent Control Is Lurking on the Supreme Court's Docket
The U.S. Supreme Court keeps putting off deciding whether to take up a challenge to New York's rent control scheme.
Tennessee to Pay $125,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Man Arrested for Posting Meme Mocking Dead Cop
Joshua Garton spent nearly two weeks in jail for "manufacturing and disseminating a harassing photograph on social media." A First Amendment lawsuit quickly followed.
Louisiana Mother of Autistic Child Hit by Teacher Files Supreme Court Petition
School officials in three states are effectively immune from lawsuits over excessive corporal punishment. A Louisiana mother is asking the Supreme Court to step in.
The Original Meaning of the Privileges or Immunities Clause
What Swift v. Tyson has to say to The Slaughter-House Cases
California Environmental Regulations Are Driving Truckers Out of Pennsylvania
The Golden State's new rules—which Pennsylvania's Environmental Quality Board opted to copy—will increase the cost of a new truck by about one-third.
Lawsuit: Mississippi Town Declared Houses 'Blighted' Without Notice
Mississippi only gives property owners 10 days to challenge a blight finding that could lead to their house being seized through eminent domain.
Can a Marylander be the Senator from California?
Why Article I's residence requirement applies to appointees.
Is Sen.-to-be Butler Eligible to Represent California?
The residence question is closer than it might appear.
Federal Judge Rules Texas Anti-Drag Law Violates the First Amendment
The judge ruled that the law was unconstitutionally overbroad, vague, and viewpoint discrimination.
Federal Judge Declines To Stop Drag Show Ban at Texas College
The judge ruled that drag performances are not inherently expressive and that schools could regulate "vulgar and lewd" conduct.
New Light on the ERA?
A long history of amending resolutions with legal effect.
How Hippies Saved the Fourth Amendment
The Nixon administration did everything it could to curb antiwar activism. Then the courts said it had gone too far.
How Affirmative Action Lost at the Supreme Court
Preferential college admissions violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
The Sticky Spaghetti School of Constitutional Law
Politicians are throwing laws at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Penis Squeezing Not Protected by Qualified Immunity
Plus: FIRE fights college's vague "greater good" policy, Biden administration pushes double talk on tariffs, and more...
The Biden Administration's Antitrust Changes Would Be Great for Bureaucrats—and Bad for Consumers
The guidelines would ignore decades of academic findings about how firm concentration can have a positive impact on consumers' welfare.
'This Is Not an Emergency'
How Florida prison officials let a man's prostate cancer progress until he was paralyzed and terminally ill.
Law Profs Tout Qualified Immunity for Unconstitutional Gun Restrictions
Promoting impunity for violating rights as a policy tool? What could go wrong?
Police Seized Innocent People's Property and Kept It for Years. What Will the Supreme Court Do?
Civil forfeiture is a highly unaccountable practice. The justices have the opportunity to make it a bit less so.
A 2007 Debate Provoked by Richard Posner Illuminates the Current Clash Over Judicial Power in Israel
The appeals court judge argued that the Israeli Supreme Court had usurped the role of legislators.
AALS Online Symposium on New Books in Constitutional Law
Presenters include Kermit Roosevelt (UPenn), Samantha Barbas (U. of Buffalo), Michael Mannheimer (Northern Kentucky Univ.), and myself.
Colorado Can't Force a Graphic Designer To Create Same-Sex Wedding Websites, Supreme Court Rules
The decision reverses a terrible previous decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Supreme Court Confirms That State Legislatures Can't Ignore the Constitution When Writing Election Rules
Chief Justice John Roberts decisively rejected the independent state legislature theory.
Did Trump Break a Law That Shouldn't Exist?
Plus: A rundown of recent nonsensical proposals for constitutional amendments
Gavin Newsom Wants To 'Permanently Enshrine' Gun Control in the U.S. Constitution
California’s governor insists his “28th Amendment” would leave the right to arms “intact.”
Hunter Biden, Second Amendment Warrior?
Plus: Flaws in studies linking teen social media use to depression, debt ceiling deal passes Senate, and more...
Montana Sets Itself Up for First Amendment Lawsuits With TikTok Ban
Plus: Americans are increasingly changing religions, court pauses rejection of "free" preventative care mandate, and more...
Ron DeSantis Confirms (Again) That His Attack on Disney Was Political Retribution
He either doesn't understand or won't admit why this violates the First Amendment.
Interesting New Book on Unenumerated Rights in State Constitutions
Baby Ninth Amendments, by Anthony Sanders
Federal Zoning Bill Would Preempt Local Parking Mandates
The legislation would give property owners "sole discretion" in deciding how many parking spaces they want to build.
Newly Released Government Records Reveal Horrible Neglect of Terminally Ill Woman in Federal Prison
The records confirm medical neglect in a federal women's prison that Reason first reported on in 2020.
No Constitutional Right To Honk Your Car Horn, Court Says
Plus: DeSantis does better than Trump in swing-state poll, majority say abortion pill should remain available, and more...
Is Proportional Representation On the Way?
If Congress wants to stave off such far-reaching demands, it should start behaving in ways that inspire more public confidence.
Federal Courts Clash Over Financial Watchdog's Constitutionality
The CFPB funding scheme is constitutional, the 2nd Circuit says.
This College President Knows the First Amendment Protects the Drag Show He Canceled. He Just Doesn't Care.
"I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it," he wrote.
James Madison's Decentralized Republic
The Constitution was intended to preserve state sovereignty, not create an all-powerful central government.
The Supreme Court Tackles the First Amendment Right To Encourage Illegal Immigration
Understanding what’s at stake in United States v. Hansen
Rampant Plea Bargaining Is a Raw Deal for Defendants
A new report details how plea bargaining can hurt defendants and warps the justice system.
Congress Should Not Give Any Government Agency Financial Free Rein
Lawmakers should proactively retake the power of the purse from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, regardless of how the Supreme Court rules.
