Virginia Judge Rules Automated Collection Of License Plate Data Illegal

A Virginia Judge has ruled that automated license plate collection systems violate state law.

Trump Emoluments Suit Moves Forward

200-odd Congressional Democrats are taking an odd route to go after corruption.

Wittes: The President Committed Crimes

A cautious analyst makes a strong claim.

Tire Chalking And The Fourth Amendment

A Federal Appeals Court recently found that chalking the tires of a car parked in a public place is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. It’s not at all clear that this decision is correct.

Kamala Harris Disqualified Because She Owns A Gun?

One opinion writer says that Senator Kamala Harris should be disqualified as a Democratic candidate because she owns a handgun.

Census Constitutionally Required to Ask Citizenship Question?

A novel argument, untested in court, suggests that it might.

Trump Claims He’d Take Impeachment To The Supreme Court, But He Can’t

President Trump claims that he’d challenge any effort to impeach him in court, but the law makes clear that he can’t.

Supreme Court Appears Poised To Uphold Census Citizenship Question

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears poised to uphold the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

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6th Circuit Rules Tire Marking Unconstitutional

A Federal appeals court says the traditional means of parking enforcement violates the 4th Amendment.

The War On Yemen, Congress, And The Constitution

The Wall Street Journal tries, and fails, to defend President Trump’s indefensible veto of the Congressional resolution regarding the war on Yemen.

Lanham Act is FUCT

The Supreme Court is likely to finish striking down restrictions on offensive trademarks.

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Politicians Blocking Citizens on Social Media

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez edition.

Democrats and the Death Penalty

California Governor Gavin Newsome may have put the issue front and center for 2020.

Trump Fighting Congress’ Demand for His Tax Returns

The law is not on the President’s side.

Congress Passes Resolution to End Support for War in Yemen

The Constitution’s invitation to struggle over foreign policy continues.

No, the Electoral College Wasn’t About Slavery

Princeton historian Sean Wilentz lays to rest a pernicious idea propagated by . . . Princeton historian Sean Wilentz.

Justices Divided on Partisan Gerrymandering

Oral argument hints that we may have a 5-4 ruling allowing state legislatures to continue stacking the deck.

Pentagon Diverts $1 Billion for Illegal Wall Funding

The (Acting) Secretary of Defense has issued an unconstitutional order.

Harvard Sued Over Ownership of Slave Photos

A racist scholar took some fascinating photos of an enslaved man in 1860. Now, his descendants want the rights to them.

Florida Republicans Working to Gut Restoration of Felon Voting Rights

Last November the state voted overwhelming to amend its constitution. The lawmakers they elected at the same time are sabotaging it.

Media, Free Speech, and Violent Extremists

Free expression sometimes enables horrible crimes. How does a free society deal with that tension?

Congressman: Abolish Filibuster and Electoral College

Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton makes an argument familiar to OTB readers.

Despite Donald Trump, America’s Institutions Are Prevailing

It’s been a rough two years under Trump, but America’s institutions are surviving.

Reforming the Supreme Court

A novel proposal for making SCOTUS appointments more responsive to election outcomes.

Senate Appears Poised To Block Trump’s National Emergency

There appear to be enough votes in the Senate to pass the resolution disapproving President Trump’s border wall “emergency,” but there’s not enough Republican support to override an expected veto.

Supreme Court Appears Likely To Let ‘Peace Cross’ On Public Property Stay In Place

The Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward letting a war memorial on public property stay in place.

Federal Court Upholds Trump Administration’s Bump Stock Ban

A Federal Judge in Washington, D.C. has upheld the Administration’s ban on bump stocks.

Separation Of Church And State Back Before The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in a case involving a World War I Memorial in the form of a cross on public land in Suburban Maryland.

Republicans Face A Choice: Do They Support The Constitution, Or Trump?

Republicans face a choice in the coming days. Do they support the Constitution, or do they support Donald Trump? You can count on them making the wrong choice.

Congress Poised to Block Trump’s Emergency Declaration

While not subject to filibuster, it’s still subject to Presidential veto.

Former National Security Officials Oppose Emergency Declaration

A bipartisan group of foreign policy luminaries says there is no factual basis for President Trump’s claim.

Solving The District Of Columbia Problem

There’s only one solution to the D.C. statehood issue. It’s called retrocession.

Majority Of Americans Oppose Overturning Roe v. Wade

A new poll shows that most Americans believe the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision should remain the law on the land. Opinion on other abortion-related issues is more divided.

Florida Student Charged With Creating Disturbance Over Pledge Of Allegiance

A student in Florida has been charged with creating a disturbance after declining to recite the Pledge Of Allegiance in class.

Supreme Court Places Limits On Civil Asset Forfeiture

The Supreme Court issued a ruling that places new limits on civil asset forfeiture by state and local government.

Sixteen States, Other Groups, Sue Trump Over Border Wall ‘National Emergency’

The lawsuits against President Trump’s “national emergency” have begun. Except more.

Failures In Gun Laws Tied To Illinois Mass Shooting

The shooter who killed five people in a factory in Illinois on Friday should not have had a gun to begin with.

Trump’s ‘National Emergency’ And The Law

President Trump’s impending decision to declare a national emergency to get funding for his border wall will quickly face serious legal challenges. It may be more vulnerable than the White House suspects.

Trump To Sign Funding Bill, Declare ‘National Emergency’ At Border

The President will sign the bill to fund the government and avert another government shutdown, but in doing so he’ll also lay the groundwork for another showdown with Congress.

McCabe Claims DOJ Discussed Ousting Trump

The former #2 official at the FBI is trying to sell a book.

Religious Liberty For Christians Only?

A death penalty case from Alabama raises First Amendment issues that the Supreme Court chose to brush aside.

Alabama Executes Domineque Ray Under Questionable Circumstances

Critics on both the Left and the Right rightly see an injustice here but the US Supreme Court allowed it to happen.

The Constitution Makes A Successful Third-Party Presidential Run Unlikely

The way we elect Presidents make it unlikely that a third-party candidate like Howard Schultz could ever actually win the the Presidency.

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Second Amendment Case

For the first tine in nearly ten years, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Second Amendment rights.

Supreme Court Lifts Injunction Barring Trump’s Transgender Military Ban

In what amounts to a setback, the Supreme Court has lifted an injunction barring the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender service in the military to go forward pending further legal proceedings.

Justices Appear Skeptical Of Residency Requirements In Alcohol Sales Laws

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that could make it easier for consumers to buy and ship wine and other adult beverages across state lines.

Political Temper Tantrums and the Constitution

The efforts by Speaker Pelosi and President Trump to leverage their institutional powers raise interesting questions.

SCOTUS To Hear Case That Could Make It Easier To Buy Wine From Out Of State

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that could make it easier to order and ship wine from out-of-state retailers.

Using A ‘National Emergency’ To Build A Border Wall Would Be Illegal

President Trump is claiming that he could use authority to declare a “national emergency” to build his wall even if Congress doesn’t authorize it.

New Washington State Law Bars ‘Assault Weapons’ Sales To People Under 21

Washington has become the latest state to ban the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles to persons under 21.