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.
Supreme Court
Two 15-Year Sentences Illustrate the Ugly Interaction of Drug and Gun Laws
The Supreme Court mulls how to apply a mandatory minimum for gun possession by people convicted of drug felonies.
SEC v. Jarkesy and the Future of Agency Adjudication
An important challenge to the use of agency adjudication to enforce federal regulations.
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 4th Circuit Says Maryland's Handgun Licensing Law Is Unconstitutional
Before buying a handgun, residents had to obtain a "qualification license," which could take up to 30 days.
Our Amicus Brief in Devillier v. Texas - an Important Takings Case Before the Supreme Court
The amicus brief is on behalf of the Cato Institute and myself.
He Lost His Gun Rights Because of a Misdemeanor DUI Conviction. That Was Unconstitutional, a Judge Says.
The case highlights the broad reach of a federal law that bans firearm possession by people with nonviolent criminal records.
The Supreme Court Should Not Let Bureaucrats Invent Crimes by Rewriting the Law
The Trump administration’s unilateral ban on bump stocks turned owners of those rifle accessories into felons.
Supreme Court Adopts Ethics Code
The provisions seem sensible, though there are legitimate concerns about enforcement.
Civil Forfeiture Defendants Have the Right to a Jury Trial, Says the Indiana Supreme Court
That prosecutors in the Hoosier State successfully denied people this due process is a reflection of how abusive civil forfeiture can be.
Only 'Dangerous Individuals' Lose Their Gun Rights Because of Protective Orders, the Government Says
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar falsely claims a federal gun ban "requires individualized findings of dangerousness."
Due Process Demands Stricter Standards for Restraining Orders That Negate Gun Rights
In an upcoming Supreme Court case, the Cato Institute argues that the "threadbare procedures" required by federal law provide inadequate protection for constitutional rights.
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.
Dobbs Is Reshaping American Politics
A wave of ballot measures reminds us most Americans are moderate on abortion.
These Public Officials Blocked Critics on Social Media. Was That Constitutional?
The Supreme Court considers whether and when banishing irksome constituents violates the First Amendment.
Several Justices Express Dismay at Long Delays in Returning Seized Cars to Innocent Owners
Without a prompt post-seizure hearing, people can lose their property for months or years even when they ultimately get it back.
New Article: The General Law Right to Bear Arms
with implications for the pending Supreme Court case of United States v. Rahimi
It's Hard To See How the 9th Circuit Can Manage To Uphold California's 'Assault Weapon' Ban
The appeals court is reviewing an injunction by a judge who concluded that the law is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's Second Amendment precedents.
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 Bipartisan Urge To Control Online Speech
Democrats and Republicans are united in thinking their political agendas trump the First Amendment.
How To Yell 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater
Aside from narrowly defined exceptions, false speech is protected by 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.
Supreme Court Will Hear This Texas Woman's Challenge to a Politically Motivated Arrest
Sylvia Gonzalez, an anti-establishment politician, spent a day in jail for allegedly concealing a petition that she organized.
Is the Fifth Circuit Becoming the New Ninth?
The Court is taking more cases from the Fifth Circuit, and its decisions do not appear to be faring well.
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.
Supreme Court Denies Review of Social Cost of Carbon Challenge
The Court saw no reason to consider the Eighth Circuit's conclusion that the states lacked standing.
Forgive Us Our…Loans?
Plus: House speaker battles, a Jesus-themed Trump courtroom sketch, Eric Adams' travel plans, and more...
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.
Is It Unamicable to Reject the Argument of a Friendly Amicus Brief?
The Solicitor General rejects an academic argument offered in defense of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Defenders of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws Contradict Themselves
If Facebook et al. are pushing a "radical leftist narrative," why don’t they have a constitutional right to do that?
Justice Kavanaugh Really Wants to Hear More (Patent) Cases
Not all of the justices are happy about the Court's stingy approach to certiorari.
Supreme Court Will Hear Case on Whether there is a "Legislative" Exception to the Takings Clause
The case will consider whether the government is exempt from takings liability for imposing exactions as a condition of development rights in situations where the exaction is imposed by legislation. Unlike many Supreme Court cases, this one can be resolved very easily by applying a basic principle of constitutional law.
Supreme Court Will Review Fifth Circuit Ruling that Creates a Catch-22 for Takings Claims Against State Governments
The badly flawed lower court ruling defies the Supreme Court's landmark 2019 decision forbidding such Catch-22 traps, and threatens the property rights of large numbers of people.
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.
California's 10-Round Magazine Limit Is Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules (Again)
"There is no American tradition of limiting ammunition capacity," U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez says, calling the state's cap "arbitrary," "capricious," and "extreme."
Trump's Abortion Triangulation Makes Political Sense but Belies His 'Pro-Life' Pose
The former president is right to worry that supporting restrictions on abortion could hurt him in the general election.
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.
Interstate Travel to Get Abortions has Prevented the Dobbs Decision from Significantly Reducing the Number of Abortions in the US
Some estimates suggest the number of abortions has even increased.
A Blatantly Unconstitutional Gun Edict Highlights the Hazards of Emergency Powers
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham thinks violent crime gives her a license to rule by decree.
New Mexico's Governor Suspends the Right To Bear Arms, Saying the Second Amendment Is Not 'Absolute'
Local police officials are leery of enforcing Michelle Lujan Grisham's ban on public carry, which gun rights groups have challenged in federal court.
How Affirmative Action Lost at the Supreme Court
Preferential college admissions violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
Jared Polis: Democrats Are 'More Pro-Freedom Than Republicans'
The Colorado governor finds common ground with many libertarians. But does he really stand for more freedom?
The Sticky Spaghetti School of Constitutional Law
Politicians are throwing laws at the wall and seeing what sticks.
SCOTUS' Ruling in Gay Wedding Website Case Was a Defeat for Compelled Speech
"The opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion.
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."
'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.
