Even If Trump's Birthday Letter to Jeffrey Epstein Is 'Fake,' How Is It Defamatory?
The president claims The Wall Street Journal inflicted "billions of dollars" in reputational damage by confirming a well-established relationship.
Litigation
Florida Deputies Jailed Her for 3 Days Even Though She Was Obviously Not the Suspect Described in a Warrant
A federal judge cleared the way for Jennifer Heath Box's lawsuit against the cops who misidentified her as a fugitive, despite a "mountain of evidence" that they had the wrong woman.
The New Texas Ban on Cell-Cultured Protein Is an Unconstitutional Interstate Trade Barrier, a Lawsuit Says
The ban's supporters, whose motivation is plainly protectionist, claim they are defending freedom by restricting it.
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."
The Rationale for the Federal Circuit's 'Radical Left' Tariff Decision Is Fundamentally Conservative
Donald Trump's claim that the appeals court ruled against him for partisan or ideological reasons is hard to take seriously.
The Federal Circuit's Tariff Ruling Highlights the Audacity of Trump's Power Grab
Seven judges agreed that the president's assertion of unlimited authority to tax imports is illegal and unconstitutional.
Compensation for Legal Fees Is a Critical Protection Against Civil Forfeiture Abuses
A recent federal appeals court decision underlines the importance of that safeguard.
An Appeals Court Says the $464 Million Fine in Trump's Civil Fraud Case Violated the Eighth Amendment
The decision overturns a staggering "disgorgement" order that was based on dubious math.
The 11th Circuit Revives a Constitutional Challenge to the Federal Law That Disarms Medical Marijuana Patients
The appeals court concluded that the government had failed to show that policy is consistent with "this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
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.
Court Kills California's One-Gun-a-Month Law
There’s no historical precedent for trying to ration constitutionally protected rights.
A First Amendment Lawsuit Highlights the Chilling Impact of Speech-Based Deportation on Student Journalists
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is seeking an injunction that would protect noncitizens at The Stanford Daily from arrest and removal because of their published work.
Trump, Who Wants To 'Straighten Out the Press,' Sues The Wall Street Journal Over 'Fake' Epstein Letter
Whatever the merits of this particular defamation claim, the president has a long history of abusing the legal system to punish constitutionally protected speech.
Appeals Court Briefs Say Trump's Tariffs Are Based on a Statute That Does Not Authorize Tariffs at All
The Cato Institute and the New Civil Liberties Alliance urge the Federal Circuit to extend the logic of a decision against the president's far-reaching import taxes.
The Trump Administration Says Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy 'Does Not Exist'
The government’s lawyers also say that supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment.
A Broad Ruling Against Trump's Immigration Policies Illustrates Alternatives to Universal Injunctions
Class actions and Administrative Procedure Act claims can achieve much the same result as the nationwide orders that the Supreme Court rejected.
By Settling Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS, Paramount Strikes a Blow at Freedom of the Press
The company's surrender to Trump's extortion vindicates his strategy of using frivolous litigation and his presidential powers to punish constitutionally protected speech.
Trump's 'Giant Win' Does Not Validate His Unconstitutional Birthright Citizenship Order
Tellingly, the president avoided defending his dubious interpretation of the 14th Amendment at the Supreme Court.
Trump Says the Courts Have No Business Questioning His Dubious Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is considering whether the president properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for a Child-Snatching Texas Cop Who Falsely Alleged Abandonment
Alexandra Weaver argued that she could not reasonably have been expected to know her actions were unconstitutional.
The 9th Circuit Says California's One-Per-Month Limit on Gun Purchases Is Unconstitutional
The appeals court concluded that the restriction impinges on the right to arms and is not consistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation.
The 9th Circuit Rejects Trump's Audacious Claim That He Can Use the National Guard However He Likes
Although the appeals court said the president probably complied with the law he invoked to justify his California deployment, it emphasized that such decisions are subject to judicial review.
Trump Argues That He Can Take Over a State's National Guard Whenever He Feels Like It
The government's lawyer told a 9th Circuit panel the president's deployments are "unreviewable," so he need not even pretend to comply with the statute on which he is relying.
Federal Courts Shrug at Potentially Lethal Wrong-Door Raids
Cops should not be free to forgo the modicum of care required to make sure they’re in the right place.
17 Years Ago, She Lost Her Gun Rights for Passing a Bad Check. She Wants SCOTUS To Rectify That Injustice.
Melynda Vincent is asking the justices to decide whether it's constitutional to disarm people based on nothing more than a nonviolent criminal conviction.
'Don't You Want To Confirm Who I Am?' a Mistakenly Arrested Grandmother Asked the Marshals. They Did Not.
Penny McCarthy is suing the federal agents who insisted she was a fugitive despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent
Even if the president was joking in both cases, he already has used his powers to punish people whose views offend him.
Gavin Newsom Defends Federalism Against Trump's Unilateral National Guard Deployment
In a federal lawsuit, California's governor argues that the president's assertion of control over "the State's militia" is illegal and unconstitutional.
Denver Case Highlights the Potentially Deadly Hazards of Police Raids Based on Secondhand Information
Michael Mendenhall wants the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that allows home invasions based on nothing but hearsay.
A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm
The president's crusade against attorneys whose work offends him, which defies the First Amendment and undermines the right to counsel, has provoked several judicial rebukes.
Trump's Mass Cancellation of Student Visas Illustrates the Lawlessness of His Immigration Crackdown
A federal judge blocks the administration's "Student Criminal Alien Initiative," which targeted foreign students who had no criminal records.
A Federal Judge Says New Mexico Cops Reasonably Killed an Innocent Man at the Wrong House
U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia rejected the argument that the officers "recklessly created the need to apply deadly force by going to the wrong address."
The Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects a 'Very Narrow Approach' to Deadly Force by Police
The decision revives a lawsuit against a Texas officer who shot a driver after endangering himself by jumping onto a moving car.
Defenders of Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Offer an Implausible Take on a 127-Year-Old Precedent
Briefs urging the Supreme Court to stay injunctions against the order challenge "the conventional wisdom" about the meaning of an 1898 decision interpreting the 14th Amendment.
Rumeysa Ozturk's Op-Ed Is Still the Only Public Justification for Her Arrest
"It is unthinkable that a person in a free society could be snatched from the street, imprisoned, and threatened with deportation for expressing an opinion the government dislikes," says FIRE.
Trump's Tariffs Usurp the Legislature's Tax Power
The president’s sweeping import levies have no basis in the statute he cites.
Trump's Understanding of Due Process Is Just As Farcical As His Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
A new ACLU lawsuit argues that the government still is not giving alleged gang members the "notice" required by a Supreme Court order.
By Openly Retaliating Against Disfavored Law Firms, Trump Attacks Free Speech and the Right to Counsel
Two of his targets are seeking permanent injunctions against the president's blatantly unconstitutional executive orders.
Trump's Actions Contradict His Avowed Commitment to First Amendment Rights
The president has launched a multifaceted crusade against speech that offends him.
Treating Journalism As Consumer Fraud, Trump Claims Coverage of a Presidential Poll Was Not 'News Reporting'
The president's lawyers also conflate fraud with defamation, misconstrue the commercial speech doctrine, and assert that false speech is not constitutionally protected.
On Remand, the 5th Circuit Again Blocks a Lawsuit by a Texas Reporter Arrested for Newsgathering
Even if Laredo cops punished Priscilla Villarreal for constitutionally protected speech, the appeals court says, they would be protected by qualified immunity.
Joe Rogan Is Right: It Is 'Kind of Crazy' To Deport Innocent People Mistakenly Identified As Gang Members
The Trump administration says it is shameful even to suggest that immigration agents could make such errors.
Texas A&M's Drag Ban Shows the Threat to Campus Free Speech Is Bipartisan
Conservatives are picking up the unconstitutional weapons that intolerant progressives have deployed against them.
FIRE Says the Law Trump Is Using To Deport Mahmoud Khalil Is Unconstitutional. Trump's Sister Agreed.
As a federal judge, Maryanne Trump Barry said the provision is unconstitutionally vague. That's especially problematic when it is used to punish speech.
Trump's Reading of the Alien Enemies Act Defies the Usual Meaning of Its Terms
To justify the immediate deportation of suspected Venezuelan gang members, the president is invoking a rarely used statute that does not seem to apply in this context.
A Federal Judge in Utah Orders Local Officials To Return a Religious Group's Psychedelic Sacrament
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish emphasizes that religious freedom must protect "unpopular or unfamiliar religious groups" as well as "popular or familiar ones."
A Nevada Math Professor Who Was Disciplined for Criticizing Curriculum Changes Will Get His Day in Court
The 9th Circuit revived a First Amendment lawsuit by Lars Jensen, who says his community college punished him for complaining about dumbed-down courses.
Mexico Aims To Reshape the U.S. Firearm Industry by Suing Gun Makers
The Supreme Court will decide whether this threat to the Second Amendment is legally viable.
