Texas
Texas Executes Man Using Expired Drugs
A last-minute injunction gets tossed, allowing the state to give Robert Fratta a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
Is Texas About To Use Expired Drugs To Execute Death Row Inmates?
Defendants say this practice violates the state’s own laws. The attorney general is pushing onward anyway.
Aaron Dean's Conviction Suggests What It Takes To Hold Cops Accountable for Wrongly Using Deadly Force
The former Forth Worth officer shot Atatiana Jefferson through a window of her home. He said he thought she was a burglar.
Will the Uvalde Shooting Prompt Texas To Finally Close a Police Secrecy Loophole?
Texas law allows police to withhold records of suspects who were never convicted. Police abuse it to hide records from families, reporters, and lawyers investigating deaths in custody.
Podcast on United States v. Texas
In this Federalist Society podcast on a major immigration case currently before the Supreme Court, I go over the issues at stake, and make some tentative predictions about the case's likely outcome.
Cop Fired for Offering a Homeless Man a Shit Sandwich Rehired by Nearby Town
San Antonio's city manager said the case illustrated how hard it is to fire employees, but it also shows how hard it is for them to stay fired.
This Mom Was Jailed for Leaving Her Teen Home Alone. Now, She's Suing.
An appeals court rejected a qualified immunity defense.
To Fight Human Trafficking, Police in Texas Town Endorse Zoning Restrictions on Massage Parlors
City officials in Nederland, Texas, are kicking around the idea of limiting new massage parlors to industrial areas of town.
Pot Prohibition Continues Collapsing, and Psychedelic Bans Could Be Next
Two more states legalized recreational marijuana on Tuesday, while decriminalization of five natural psychedelics looks like a winner in Colorado.
Anti-Lockdown Governors Ran on Their COVID Records and Cruised to Victory
Republican Governors Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp made a name for themselves opposing COVID mandates.
Houston Prosecutors Are Keeping Cash Seized From Defendants Whose Cases Were Compromised by Police Corruption
Even in cases that hinged on the trustworthiness of demonstrably untrustworthy cops, people are still waiting to get their money back.
This Court Case Could Make It a Crime To Be a Journalist in Texas
Priscilla Villarreal found herself in a jail cell for publishing two routine stories. A federal court still can't decide what to do about that.
Why Is Texas Requiring a Guy Who Stole a Car To Register as a Sex Offender?
When states misuse sex-offender registries and apply them to any crime that involves a child, individual rights are abused.
You Do Not Need To Store Your Kids' DNA in Case of Emergencies
Fearmongering about mass school shootings leads to some dumb, privacy-threatening ideas.
A Texas Woman Claims That She Nearly Died of Sepsis After Being Denied an Abortion
"It was a waiting game, the most horrific version of a staring contest: Whose life would end first? Mine, or my daughter's?"
Texas Pete Hot Sauce the Latest Victim in Exploding Trend of Cynical False Labeling Lawsuits
A handful of law firms are behind a spike in class-action lawsuits claiming consumers are harmed by opaque, half-full macaroni boxes and "all natural" fiber supplements.
Markets Aren't Perfect, but Government Is Worse
The free market allows people to cooperate, fix errors, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Ron DeSantis' Martha's Vineyard Stunt Might Help Migrants Stay in the U.S. on Special Visas
A Texas sheriff has certified that the migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard were the victims of a crime, which helps clear the way for them to apply for U visas.
FIRE Podcast on Free Speech and the Texas Social Media Law
The podcast is a debate between legal scholar Brad Smith and myself.
Migrant Kids in Biden Administration's Tent Camp Faced Distress and Panic Attacks Because of Dysfunction
An inspector general report found poor staff training led to children languishing for weeks in an emergency tent shelter inside an Army base in Texas last year.
Subreddit Gets Users To Call Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a 'Little Piss Baby' To Defy Content Moderation Law
Reddit users are protesting Texas' H.B. 20, which forces social media platforms to host speech they find objectionable.
Republican Governors and Attorneys General Think Every State Is a Border State
Some states that do not border Mexico have sought to play a role in immigration policy.
Let States Issue Immigration Visas - a Federalist Response to GOP Governors' Migrant Busing Stunts
GOP governors' ploy highlights the value of giving states the power to issue their own migration visas. It can simultaneously ease labor shortages, reduce disorder at the border, enable more migrants to escape poverty and oppression, and help restore the original meaning of the Constitution.
The Government Can't Fix Social Media Moderation and Should Not Try
Democrats and Republicans both demand solutions that are inconsistent with the First Amendment.
Texas Sheriff Opens Criminal Investigation Into Migrants 'Lured Under False Pretenses' to Martha's Vineyard
Plus: Pentagon investigating U.S. propaganda on social media, 1,648 books banned last school year, and more...
Federal Judges Uphold Texas Law Regulating What Social Media Platforms May Censor
It’s a terrible ruling that misunderstands years of First Amendment precedents. And it’s increasingly likely that the Supreme Court will have to intervene.
Spending Down $12 Million in Pandemic Relief Money on an Immigration Stunt Isn't 'Responsible Fiscal Policy'
Ron DeSantis paid for the Martha's Vineyard migrant flights through interest earned on American Rescue Plan money, which he's said was designed "to bail out the poorly governed states.”
Why the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws Violate the Takings Clause
They mandate occupation of private property without the consent of the owner.
DeSantis and Abbott Are Wrong To Treat Migrants as a Punishment
Plus: How students learn best, insurers drive police reforms, and more...
Marvin Guy No Longer Faces Death Penalty for Allegedly Shooting, Killing Cop in Botched No-Knock Raid
An unannounced SWAT team invaded a Texas man’s home in failed pursuit of drug evidence. They’ve blamed him for the violence they incited.
Incarcerated Children in Texas Left Without Bathroom Access for 22 Hours
"This is inhumane," one child told state inspectors.
Despite State Injunctions, Parents Say Texas Is Still Investigating Trans Kids for Potential 'Abuse'
When it comes to gender identity issues, some conservatives make a mockery of liberty and parental rights.
Courts Split on Whether the Feds Can Overturn These State Abortion Bans
Plus: "Reparations" for the news industry, the disappearance of starter homes, and more...
Most Texans Want To Legalize Marijuana. Why Doesn't Greg Abbott Listen to Them?
The governor, like Republican politicians in other red states where support for legalization is surprisingly strong, does not seem to think it is risky to defy public opinion.
The 'Motherfucker' Who Enraged Beto O'Rourke Laughed at His Claims About the Rifles He Wants To Confiscate
The Texas gubernatorial candidate's interpretation reflects his assumption that opponents of "assault weapon" bans don't care about murdered schoolchildren.
The Ballad of Rachel Maddow, Eddie Chiles, and J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs
Friday A/V Club: One cable host's capacity for unearned smugness
Whole Foods' John Mackey: 'I Feel Like Socialists Are Taking Over'
The 'conscious capitalism' innovator on overregulation, COVID mandates, and why he will be speaking his mind much more freely when he retires.
Judicial Rubber-Stamping of Search Warrants Can Be Deadly
Lethal drug raids in Louisville and Houston were based on fishy police affidavits that turned out to be fraudulent.
Texas Residents Sue After Police Allegedly Hold Them at Gunpoint and Break Man's Dialysis Port
The lawsuit says police in Rosenberg, Texas, have a history of excessive force and unlawful searches, especially against those with medical vulnerabilities.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Candidate Says 'Vouchers Are for Vultures'
Despite such attacks, school choice programs find broad support from American parents.
California Enacts Gun Control Law Modeled on Texas' SB 8 Anti-Abortion Law
Both laws seek to evade judicial review by delegating enforcement exclusively to private parties.
One Civilian With a Gun at an Indiana Mall Offered Better Protection Than 376 Cops in Uvalde
Taking personal responsibility turns out to be a better idea than putting faith in the state.
Uvalde Shooting Report Undermines Calls To Ban Guns and 'Back the Blue'
Only you can be relied upon to protect you and your loved ones. Ignore anybody who claims otherwise.
