The CFTC Velociraptor Has Escaped the Fence That Dodd–Frank Built to Contain It
“Can an independent federal agency that is supposed to regulate commodity futures assert power over every single purchase or sale of a commodity?”
Supreme Court
Making Sense of the Wisconsin Election Supreme Court Decision(s)
Marquette University law professor Chad Oldfather offers a helpful explainer laying out the issues in the SCOTUS and SCOWIS decisions on the Wisconsin primary elections.
Sotomayor Upbraids SCOTUS for a Decision That 'Destroys Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence That Requires Individualized Suspicion'
The justice filed a lone dissent in Kansas v. Glover.
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.”
Can Police Task Forces Play Jurisdiction Games To Avoid Liability for Misconduct?
An innocent man was beaten up by a local police detective and an FBI agent. No one wants to take responsibility.
This Business Is Suing the Government Over a Coronavirus Closure Order
"These uncompensated seizures violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment."
Don't Let Temporary COVID-19 Restrictions Become Permanent
Emergency restrictions should always be lifted as soon as the crisis has sufficiently abated.
Supreme Court Upholds State Law Limiting the Use of the Insanity Defense
Kansas “will not wholly exonerate a defendant on the ground that his illness prevented him from recognizing his criminal act as morally wrong.”
These Churches Refuse To Close Over COVID-19. Does the Constitution Protect Their Right To Remain Open?
Religious liberty, public health, and the police powers of the states
Supreme Court Postpones Oral Arguments Over COVID-19, Some Justices Will Work From Home
The coronavirus upends business as usual at SCOTUS.
Police Powers During a Pandemic: Constitutional, but Not Unlimited
Weighing the state and local response to COVID-19
Supreme Court Postpones Oral Arguments Due to COVID-19
Like many federal appellate courts, the Supreme Court is putting arguments on hold.
A Qualified Immunity Case That the Federal Courts Got Right
Fatal police shootings and the Fourth Amendment
Did Louisiana Enact a Bogus Health Law as a Pretext for Banning Abortion?
The Supreme Court weighs abortion regulation in June Medical Services v. Russo.
A Mississippi Woman Gave Diet Advice Without a License. The State Threatened To Throw Her in Jail.
Mississippi has a reputation for being one of the most obese states in the nation, as well as having one of America's highest incarceration rates. Neither will be improved by treating unlicensed dieticians like serious criminals.
Chuck Schumer's Trumpian Attack on the Supreme Court Threatens the Judicial Independence That Democrats Claim To Defend
The Senate minority leader threatened two justices by name, and then he lied about it.
Obamacare Returns to the Supreme Court—Yet Again
My take on today's decision to consider the Obamacare severability case.
SCOTUS Denies Certiorari in Bump Stock Case (But Justice Gorsuch Blasts Lower Court's Reasoning)
A high-profile gun case actually presents meaty questions of administrative law
Gorsuch Throws Shade at Trump Administration for Rewriting Federal Gun Laws Without Congressional Approval
“Why should courts, charged with the independent and neutral interpretation of the laws Congress has enacted, defer to such bureaucratic pirouetting?”
Red State Challenge to Affordable Care Act Goes to SCOTUS (But the Arguments Remain Incredibly Weak) (Updated)
Today's cert grant is based on the importance of the case, not the quality of the arguments
The Looming Supreme Court Showdown Over Sanctuary Cities
The legal battle over immigration, federalism, and executive power heats up.
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.
Supreme Court: Mexican Family Can't Sue Border Patrol Agent in Cross-Border Shooting
"A cross-border shooting claim has foreign relations and national security implications."
Can a City Refuse To Use a Foster Agency That Discriminates Against Same-Sex Couples?
The Supreme Court is about to tackle the issue.
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.
The First Amendment Right To Encourage Illegal Immigration
What’s at stake in United States v. Sineneng-Smith.
A Michigan Police Task Force Is Playing Jurisdiction Games To Avoid Compensating an Innocent Man Cops Put in the Hospital
The Institute for Justice calls on the Supreme Court to put a stop to it.
A Nondelegation Challenge to Trump's Travel Bans [updated to include some additional material]
Other possible legal challenges to Trump's expanded travel ban may be precluded by the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. Hawaii. This one is not.
The Government Says These Men Have No Recourse Against FBI Agents Who Used the 'No Fly' List To Punish Them
The Supreme Court will decide whether three Muslims who refused to be informants can sue for damages under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Supreme Court Tackles Police Shootings, Excessive Force, and the Fourth Amendment
What’s at stake in Torres v. Madrid
Bernie Sanders' Alternative to Court-Packing is Almost as Bad
It may be better only in so far as it is much more likely to get invalidated by the courts.
A Proposal for a New Federal Clerkship Hiring Plan (When The Current One Collapses)
It's time to stop trying to cartelize the market for law clerks
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.
This Crackdown on a Jury Nullification Activist Violates the First Amendment
What’s at stake in Michigan v. Wood
In Trump Subpoena Fight, the Supreme Court Weighs Executive vs. Congressional Power
A major constitutional clash is unfolding at SCOTUS.
Sanders Wants More Supreme Court Justices Like Sotomayor. That's Not a Bad Idea.
The presidential hopeful weighs in on the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Weighs School Choice and Religious Liberty
What’s at stake in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Can Courts Consider Severability Before Other Questions?
An interesting amicus brief by Professor John Harrison in Seila Law LLC v. CFPB
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.
Supreme Court Leaves Obamacare Trapped in Legal Limbo
The justices declined a Democratic request to fast track a decision on the law.
Does Letting Police Enter Your House Give Them Permission To Wreck It?
The Institute for Justice asks the Supreme Court to clarify a doctrine that shields cops from responsibility for outrageous conduct.
Precedent Matters at the Supreme Court—Until It Doesn't
A new abortion case raises an old question.
What If a Citizenship Question Doesn't Meaningfully Reduce Census Response Rates After All?
Newly released data suggests Census analysts dramatically over-estimated the extent to which a citizenship question would discourage responses.
Lawson on Conservatives versus Constitutionalists
Is the Rule of Law a Law of Rules or a Law of Law? Some conservatives seem to prefer the former. Should they?
Rudy Giuliani Wants the Supreme Court To Nullify Trump's 'Unconstitutional' Impeachment
The legal basis for such a ruling is hard to find.
Now That It's Toothless, Obamacare's Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional
The shifting understanding of the requirement to buy health insurance elevates form above substance.