'I Relied on Others,' 'Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,' and Other Memorable Excuses
The year's highlights in blame shifting.
Litigation
Trump's Promise to 'Indemnify' Cops 'Against Any and All Liability' Is Absurd for 2 Reasons
Police officers already are routinely indemnified, and suing them for abuse is much harder than Trump claims.
Giuliani Never Puts Up, but He Never Shuts Up Either
The former Trump lawyer could have avoided a massive defamation verdict by presenting his "definitively clear" evidence of election fraud.
5th Circuit Reluctantly Rules Against Victim of a Prosecutor Who Was Also a Law Clerk
Ralph Petty's "conflicted dual-hat arrangement" as an advocate and an adjudicator was "utterly bonkers," Judge Don Willett notes.
'Everything I Said About Them Is True,' Giuliani Insisted Days Before a Jury Debated His Defamation Debt
The former Trump campaign lawyer re-upped his false claims about two Georgia election workers in the middle of a trial aimed at determining the damages he owes them.
State-Licensed Pot Suppliers Say Federal Prohibition Is Unconstitutional As Applied to Them
A federal lawsuit argues that it is time to reassess the Commerce Clause rationale for banning intrastate marijuana production and distribution.
The Bipartisan Urge To Control Online Speech
Democrats and Republicans are united in thinking their political agendas trump the First Amendment.
SCOTUS Will Decide When the Government's Social Media Meddling Violates the First Amendment
The justices agreed to consider whether the Biden administration's efforts to suppress online "misinformation" were unconstitutional.
California Quietly Repeals Restrictions on Doctors' COVID-19 Advice
Several federal judges had expressed skepticism about the constitutionality of penalizing physicians for departing from a government-defined "consensus."
Holding Protest Leaders Liable for Others' Violence Threatens First Amendment Rights
A lawsuit against a Black Lives Matter activist could have a chilling impact on constitutionally protected activity.
A Federal Judge Enjoins Several Maryland Restrictions on Carrying Handguns
The decision is another rebuke to states that have imposed broad, location-specific limits on the right to bear arms.
Trump's Absurd Property Valuations Confirm His Disregard for Reality
The former president's lawyers argued that even the square footage of his apartment was a "subjective" judgment for which he cannot be held accountable.
Arbitrary Restrictions Explain Why Trump Was Not Allowed To Buy That Glock
Before correcting the record, the former president's spokesman inadvertently implicated him in a federal crime.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's Unconstitutional Gun Edict Was a Huge, Bipartisan Flop
The governor's attempt to rule by decree provoked widespread condemnation instead of the applause she was expecting.
Seven Years Since He Died Under a Cop's Knee, His Mom Is Getting Her Day in Court
Tony Timpa's story shows how far the government goes to prevent victims of abuse from seeking recourse.
The 5th Circuit Agrees That Federal Officials Unconstitutionally 'Coerced' or 'Encouraged' Online Censorship
The appeals court narrowed a preliminary injunction against such meddling but confirmed the threat that it poses to freedom of speech.
Former Prisoner Can Sue Officials Who Illegally Detained Him for 2 Months, 5th Circuit Says
The case is just one example of miscalculations that routinely keep Louisiana prisoners behind bars after they complete their sentences.
A Ruling Against a Man Arrested for a COVID-19 Joke Highlights the Influence of a Pernicious Analogy
A federal judge compared Waylon Bailey’s Facebook jest to "falsely shouting fire in a theatre."
Arkansas Business Owner Sues Over Government Garbage Monopoly
X-Dumpsters owner Steven Hedrick rents roll-away dumpsters to people, but now his city forces residents to contract with the county.
'No Reasonable Officer' Would Have Arrested a Guy for a COVID-19 Joke, the 5th Circuit Says
The appeals court ruled that a Facebook post alluding to World War Z was clearly protected by the First Amendment.
The Arbitrary Ban on Gun Possession by Drug Users Invites Wildly Uneven Enforcement
Violators are rarely caught, while the unlucky few who face prosecution can go to prison for years.
5th Circuit Says Prosecuting a Cannabis Consumer for Possessing Guns Violated the Second Amendment
The decision casts further doubt on the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it a felony for illegal drug users to own firearms.
Giuliani Admits His Oft-Told Tale of Georgia Election Fraud Was Not True
Unlike calling Trump's stolen-election fantasy "the Big Lie," his lawyer's statements were demonstrably false assertions of fact.
Should Donald Trump and Hunter Biden Both Be Prosecuted?
Plus: A listener question concerning drug decriminalization and social well-being
Kansas Cops Have 'Waged War on Motorists' by Subjecting Them to Pretextual Traffic Stops, a Federal Judge Says
The ruling draws back the veil on routine police practices that victimize innocent drivers.
Here Is Why Trump's 'Contingent' Electors Say They Did Nothing Illegal
Republicans who participated in the scheme say they relied on legal advice grounded in historical precedent.
Critics of the Ruling Against Biden's Anti-'Misinformation' Crusade See No Threat to Freedom of Speech
The response to the decision illustrates the alarming erosion of bipartisan support for the First Amendment.
Disarming a Man Based on a Nonviolent Misdemeanor Was Unconstitutional, the 3rd Circuit Rules
The decision highlights the injustice of a federal law that bans gun possession by broad categories of "prohibited persons."
Even Pennsylvanians Can Now Buy Wine in Grocery Stores, but New Yorkers Still Can't
A bill that would expand wine sales in the Empire State is meeting familiar resistance from entrenched interests.
Supreme Court: Andy Warhol's Prince Prints Not 'Transformative' Enough for Fair Use
The case could have long-term implications for how broadly fair use can be applied.
New Jersey's Restrictions on Public Gun Possession Are 'Plainly Unconstitutional,' a Federal Judge Says
The state defied a Supreme Court ruling by banning guns from myriad "sensitive places."
Age Restrictions on Handgun Sales Are Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Robert Payne concluded that 18-to-20-year-olds have the same Second Amendment rights as older adults.
8 Reasons Why E. Jean Carroll Won Her Sexual Abuse and Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump
It is not hard to see why the jury concluded that the incident she described probably happened.
Government Waste Monopoly Pits Private Dumpster Business Against Garbage Bureaucrats
Steven Hedrick rents out roll-off dumpsters to people and hauls them away after. A new city ordinance is mandating that people use county services instead.
What Does Tucker Carlson's Sudden Schism With Fox News Mean?
Plus: Should committed libertarians be opposed to pro-natalist policies?
The Fox/Dominion Settlement Highlights the Importance of Discovery in Proving 'Actual Malice'
Critics argue that excessively strict pleading standards prevent plaintiffs with meritorious defamation claims from obtaining the evidence they need to support them.
Fox News Starts Its Dominion Defamation Trial With Several Strikes Against It
Pretrial rulings recognized the falsity of the election-fraud claims that the outlet aired and rejected three of its defenses.
Another Federal Judge Rejects the DOJ's Argument That Cannabis Consumers Have No Second Amendment Rights
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone was unimpressed by the Biden administration's argument that marijuana users are too "dangerous" to own guns.
Restraining Orders Do Not Prove That People Are 'Dangerous'
The Biden administration is defending a federal law that disarms Americans based on "boilerplate language" in orders that judges routinely grant.
The Ruling Upholding the Gun Rights of People Subject to Restraining Orders Is Not As Crazy As You Might Think
The 5th Circuit noted that such orders can be issued without any credible evidence of a threat to others.
The 5th Circuit Rebukes the FDA for Flouting the Law While Imposing a De Facto Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes
The appeals court says regulators violated the Administrative Procedure Act when they tried to pull menthol vapes off the market.
Hospitals Are Still Reporting New Mothers for Neglect Based on Drug Tests Triggered by Poppy Seeds
Two New Jersey women who gave birth last fall suffered harrowing ordeals thanks to their breakfast choices.
The DOJ Says Forbidding Pot Users To Own Guns Is Like Telling People Not To Carry Guns When They're Drunk
Defending a categorical ban on gun possession by cannabis consumers, the Biden administration cites inapt "historical analogues."
The Crusade Against 'Malinformation' Explicitly Targets Inconvenient Truths
The legal challenge to censorship by proxy highlights covert government manipulation of online speech.
A Class Action Reveals the Horrifying Truth: 'Boneless Wings' Are Breast Meat!
Lawyers representing an allegedly duped Buffalo Wild Wings customer demand that the company disgorge its ill-gotten gains.
The DOJ Says Marijuana Use, Which Biden Thinks Should Not Be a Crime, Nullifies the Second Amendment
Even as the president bemoans the injustice of pot prohibition, his administration insists that cannabis consumers have no right to arms.
Let Massholes Be Massholes, Says Bay State's High Court
Criticism of public officials doesn't have to be polite, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed.
Biden's Attack on 'Ghost Guns' Fits a Pattern of Lawless Firearm Regulation
The president and his predecessor both tried to impose gun control by executive fiat.
