3 Areas Where the Courts Pushed Back Against Trump's Attempts To Avoid Judicial Review in 2025
The president asserted broad powers to deport people, impose tariffs, and deploy the National Guard based on his own unilateral determinations.
Supreme Court
Did Brett Kavanaugh Just Apologize for Butchering the Fourth Amendment? Maybe.
Puzzling over a curious omission from the conservative justice
If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
These Progressives Seek to 'Disempower' the Courts
Is unfettered majority rule actually a good idea for the left to embrace?
Innocent Man Sues for Over $60,000 After Police Blew Up His Business. A Court Says He's Entitled to Nothing.
It is yet another ruling that shields the government from liability for damages caused by law enforcement.
The Fourth Amendment's Erratic Year at the Supreme Court
The right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure had a rocky 2025.
The DOJ Assails D.C.'s 'Assault Weapon' Ban As an Arbitrary, Historically Ungrounded Gun Law
The department's lawsuit notes that the prohibited firearms are "in common use" for "lawful purposes," meaning they are covered by the Second Amendment.
Refusing To Let Trump Deploy the National Guard in Chicago, SCOTUS Adds a New Wrinkle To the Debate
The justices suggested the president is misinterpreting "the regular forces," a key phrase in the statute on which he is relying.
Trump's Economic Adviser Says Tariff Refunds Would Be 'Very Complicated' and Unlikely
Oh, so now the Trump administration is worried about the complexity of its tariff polices?
What If Congress Limited Birthright Citizenship and Nobody Noticed?
A new study further undermines revisionist claims about birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, noting a dog that did not bark.
The 9th Circuit Upholds a University of Washington Professor's Right to Mock 'Land Acknowledgments'
The appeals court ruled that administrators violated Stuart Reges' First Amendment rights when they investigated and threatened to punish him for constitutionally protected speech.
Yes, the First Amendment Applies to Non-Citizens Present in the United States
A conservative federal judge questions the reach of free speech.
A Texas News Vlogger Asks SCOTUS To Decide Whether Criminalizing Journalism Is 'Obviously Unconstitutional'
This is Priscilla Villarreal’s second trip to the Supreme Court, which last year revived her First Amendment lawsuit.
When Originalism Undermines Trump
From birthright citizenship to tariffs, many of the president’s key policies run counter to the Constitution’s original meaning.
A Judicial Solution for Presidential Overreach and Congressional Abdication
The Supreme Court should take a page from its own history.
The DOJ Says It Will Challenge Unconstitutional Gun Policies. Maybe It Should Stop Defending Them.
The Justice Department's litigation positions are at odds with its avowed intent to protect Second Amendment rights.
SCOTUS Sounds Ready To Let Trump Fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter
Plus: It's the final day of Reason's webathon.
Our Amicus Brief in the Pung v. Isabella County Home Equity Theft Takings Case
I wrote it (with help from others) on behalf of the Cato Institute and a group of takings and property scholars.
Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Birthright Citizenship (This Time for Real)
The justices grant certiorari before judgment in one of the two cases challenging the Trump Administration's attempt to narrow birthright citizenship via executive order.
The Supreme Court Should Hear Case Seeking to Overturn Gonzales v. Raich
Raich is one of the Court's worst federalism decisions, holding that Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce allows it to ban possession of marijuana that never crossed state lines, and was never sold in any market.
SCOTUS Tackles Illegal File Sharing, Internet Music Piracy, and Copyright Law
Plus: It’s webathon time.
Solicitor General Urges Review of FIFRA Preemption
The Department of Justice sides with Monsanto on whether federal law preempts state-law duty-to-warn suits against pesticide manufacturers, setting up an important test of the Court's view of federal preemption.
No, SCOTUS Did Not 'Invent' Judicial Review in Marbury v. Madison
The Supreme Court’s power to nullify legislative and executive acts is inherent in the Constitution.
The Pentagon and the FBI Are Investigating 6 Legislators for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights
The Trump administration is desperately trying to criminalize a video noting that service members have no obligation to follow unlawful orders.
Trump's Habitual Charges of 'Treason' Reflect His Authoritarian Impulses
The president’s reaction to a supposedly "seditious" video illustrates his tendency to portray criticism of him as a crime.
A Case That Briefly United Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor
Plus: Jimmy Cliff, RIP.
Is the Fourth Circuit the New Ninth?
Could today's summary reversal be a sign of things to come?
Mike Johnson Wanted Congress To Reclaim Power Over Tariffs—in 2019
Now, under Johnson's leadership, the House has changed its rules to make it even harder for lawmakers to signal their opposition to Trump's tariffs.
The Supreme Court's Next Big Immigration Case
Plus: Ken Burns’ The American Revolution is worth your time.
The Forgotten Classical Liberal Who Fought Jim Crow and Championed Immigration
Remembering the legacy of a principled legal activist.
This Gun Case Harks Back to Constitutional Concerns About the Limits of Federal Power That Now Seem Quaint
Congress justified that National Firearms Act of 1934 as a revenue measure—a rationale undermined by the repeal of taxes on suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
Why Does SCOTUS Hear So Few Second Amendment Cases?
The right to keep and bear arms occupies a curious place in American legal history.
This Foreign Policy Precedent Might Aid Trump's Tariffs at SCOTUS
For the justices, the question is just how much deference the president deserves.
Will SCOTUS Resolve the Circuit Split on a Law That Disarms People With Nonviolent Criminal Records?
Steven Duarte is one of several petitioners who are asking the justices to address the constitutionality of that absurdly broad gun ban.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Seeking to Overturn Obergefell
This result is unsurprising, and was predicted by most analysts, including myself.
You Can Thank This Ohio Klansman for Expanding Your Freedom of Speech
Brandenburg v. Ohio established the "imminent lawless action" standard. More than 50 years later, partisans keep trying to apply it selectively.
Trump's Lawyer at the Supreme Court Cites a Letter from James Madison That Says Tariffs Are Taxes
During oral argument at the Supreme Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer cited a letter by James Madison that completely undermines the administration’s case that its tariffs are legal.
The Justices Are Skeptical of the Trump Tariffs, But Are They Skeptical Enough to Strike Them Down?
Some observations from yesterday's argument in Learning Resources v. Trump.
Justices Don't Buy Tariff Argument
Plus: Outrage at Heritage, air traffic might get throttled, and more...
On Tariffs, It Was Gorsuch vs. Trump at SCOTUS
The legal challengers to Trump's tariffs had a good day in court.
Trump's Attorney Concedes: His Legal Theory Would Let a President Tax Foreign Cars To Combat Climate Change
Justice Neil Gorsuch got Solicitor General D. John Sauer to admit one "likely" outcome, if the Supreme Court upholds Trump's tariffs.
Trump's Economic Fallacies Are Legally Relevant in His Tariff Case
Trade deficits are not a "national emergency," and the president's import taxes won’t reduce them.
New Jersey Cops Took His Guns Because They Were Worried About His Wife's Mental Health
Elsid Aliaj says the seizure violated state law and the Second Amendment.
As Tariff Case Heads to the Supreme Court, Trump's Strongest Argument Has a Fatal Flaw
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't grant the president the power to regulate imports with tariffs. Even if it did, these tariffs would still be unconstitutional.
Trump's Tariffs and John Roberts' Credibility
Learning Resources v. Trump will test both executive power and judicial fidelity.
Will a Mamdani Victory Push the Democrats Further Left?
Plus: Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, a court ruling extending SNAP funding during the shutdown, and Trump’s tariff fight reaches the Supreme Court
