CalMatters5h
Why sex abuse survivors and broke school districts are at odds in Legislature’s final days
California counties and school districts have been flooded since 2019 with lawsuits from people who say they were sexually abused as children in schools, foster care and juvenile detention facilities.
Reason Magazine6h
This YouTuber Got Kicked Out of the Flock Convention. So He Ran His Own Surveillance.
The surveillance contractor Flock Safety argues that police customers don't need a warrant to track drivers with its automated license plate reading cameras because drivers have "no reasonable expecta
Reason Magazine15h
Renaming Streets "Cesar Chavez Boulevard" Didn't Violate First Amendment
From 1 Community Compact v. City of Fresno, decided Friday by California Court of Appeal Justice Jennifer Detjen, joined by Justice Donald Franson:
Reason Magazine16h
Today in Supreme Court History: August 24, 1946
8/24/1946: Justice James McReynolds dies.
The Marshall Project17h
Nowhere Else to Go: One Man’s Perilous Journey in Jail to Understand Charges Against Him
A man’s time in a Missouri jail is a cautionary tale about the dangers of an overwhelmed system where vulnerable defendants and jailers await help.
Texas Tribune17h
Flock cameras face growing backlash across Texas counties, but getting rid of them is complicated
Drivers pass Flock cameras mounted next to the Southwest Freeway in Houston on Aug. 17, 2026.
ProPublica17h
His Research on Pregnant Opioid Users Was Widely Celebrated. Auditors and Experts Found Major Flaws.
When Dr. Craig Towers moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2010, the high-risk obstetrician encountered a crisis unlike anything he’d seen.
ProPublica18h
They Rebuilt After Texas’ Devastating Floods. Then Their Home Flooded Again.
When deadly flooding swept through the Texas Hill Country in July of last year, Joan Connor and her husband swam and waded out of their home, surviving only by clinging to a pergola in their front yar
Reason Magazine19h
Brickbat: What the Flock
Police in Brookfield, Wisconsin, made a high-risk traffic stop on Interstate 94 after a Flock Safety camera flagged a vehicle as being connected to a Milwaukee homicide investigation. Officers stopped
The Marshall Project1d
Two 17-Year-Olds in Custody Wrote a Love Song in an Arts Program. One Didn’t Survive.
The Radical Reversal program opens recording studios in youth correctional facilities. The work doesn’t come without heartbreak.
Reason Magazine1d
Ben & Jerry's Lawsuit Over "Social-Mission"-Related Contract Related to Its Earlier Sale
A summary from Reuters (Jonathan Stempel) Friday:
Reason Magazine1d
Today in Supreme Court History: August 23, 2007
8/23/2007: John Yates, aboard the Miss Katie boat, threw fish overboard to avoid an inspection. He was prosecuted for destroying property to prevent a federal seizure. In Yates v. United States (2015)
Reason Magazine1d
Post-9/11 Fear Grew the Surveillance State. 25 Years Later, It's Still Growing.
"Mom, why did he take your picture?" my preschooler asked. We were making our way through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint for a family trip.
The Marshall Project2d
How Trump and ICE’s Latest Tactics Target Immigrant Children
A woman and her child enter Federal Plaza Immigration Court in New York City while Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wait to detain noncitizens after their status hearings, in 2025.
Reason Magazine2d
Today in Supreme Court History: August 22, 1998
8/22/1998: On August 22, 1998, Barry Black led a Ku Klux Klan rally in Carroll County, Virginia. The Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of his prosecution for cross burning in Virginia v.
Reason Magazine3d
Intern (Actually a Project Veritas Undercover Plant) in Political Organization Didn't Have "Fiduciary Duty" to Organization
An excerpt from today's long decision in Democracy Partners, LLC v. O'Keefe by D.C. Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, joined by Judge Harry Edwards (read this post for more on the facts and on a
Reason Magazine3d
Damages Award Stemming from Project Veritas Project Set Aside by D.C. Circuit
From today's long decision in Democracy Partners, LLC v. O'Keefe by D.C. Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, joined by Judge Harry Edwards:
Reason Magazine3d
Harry and Meghan's Security Problem Is Really a Gun-Control Problem
Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle are reportedly moving back to the United Kingdom after living in the United States for over six years. While the return has already sparked conversatio
Reason Magazine3d
Trump Administration Plans New Facility To House 3,000 Migrant Kids. Many of Them Lack Legal Representation.
Over 6,200 children have been detained since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term. But despite ongoing legal challenges over the poor conditions in which detained undocumented childre
Reason Magazine3d
Police in Atlanta Settle Eric André Lawsuit, End Airport Drug Searches
This week, a county police department in Atlanta settled a lawsuit brought by two comedians who were stopped and searched in the city's airport. As part of the settlement, police will no longer conduc
Reason Magazine3d
Exorcist Files vs. Jesus 911 Libel Suit Can Go Forward
From Martins v. Romero, decided today by Judge Kay Behm (E.D. Mich.) (for more on the Complaint, see this post):
Reason Magazine3d
Prof. Musa Al-Gharbi's "Jason Arday and Me"
A very interesting piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Here are two brief excerpts, but they can't do justice to the whole piece, which covers much more ground:
CalMatters3d
In California’s biggest cities, Turner’s Outdoorsman is a top source of crime guns
A new report from the California Department of Justice adds to concerning pattern documented in previous reporting by The Trace.
Reason Magazine3d
America Is Building a Surveillance State Like China's
One of the most prescient lines from George Orwell's 1984 the 1949 dystopian classic about Big Brother, regards that fictional society's endless surveillance: "You had to live—did live, from habit tha
Reason Magazine3d
$9.25M Verdict Against N.Y. Times, in Libel Case Brought by Alabama Basketball Player
The N.Y. Times (Katie Robertson) so reports, and adds that "The Times had not lost a defamation lawsuit brought in the United States over one of its articles in more than 50 years."
Reason Magazine3d
"Pussy Valley" Autobiography Appropriation Lawsuit over Starz' "P-Valley" Thrown Out
Wednesday, District Judge Mark Norris (W.D. Tenn.) accepted the July 30 recommendations from Magistrate Judge Annie Christoff in Johnson v. Hall:
Reason Magazine3d
Today in Supreme Court History: August 21, 1798
8/21/1798: Justice James Wilson dies.
ProPublica3d
Oregon Is Spending More Than Ever on Low-Income Housing. A State Law Keeps the Details Secret.
Oregon’s spending on low-income housing has exploded in the past five years. The state has given developers an unprecedented $1.4 billion, and the cost of developing each apartment has nearly doubled,
CalMatters4d
AI led to mistakes in Nevada County criminal cases. Should the DA be sanctioned?
A judge will investigate how AI-based errors affected criminal cases in Nevada County, where the district attorney has already acknowledged that mistakes appeared in four cases.
Reason Magazine4d
Suit Over Defendant Allegedly Yanking on Israeli Flag Plaintiff Had Tied Around Neck, Choking Her, Can Go Forward
Excerpts from Tuesday's long opinion by Judge Trevor McFadden (D.D.C.) in Sumrall v. Ali:
Reason Magazine4d
Censors Seize on Jason Arday's Death as Excuse To Demand More Censorship
Last week's death of Jason Arday—the youngest black professor in the University of Cambridge's history—who was accused of widespread plagiarism, has created a firestorm of reactions.
Reason Magazine4d
Jason Arday's Downfall, Lindsay Clancy Case, and the Surveillance State
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi kick off the episode by arguing against new proposed restrictions on the press in the wake of Jason Arday's death before turning to the Lindsay Clancy trial, the wa
Reason Magazine4d
Bad Reasons and Worse Reasons to Hate Data Centers
It's a tough time to be a data center. These buildings—which to be clear, are a vital part of the modern tech-based economy and will only grow in importance as the AI boom continues—have suffered a co
Reason Magazine4d
Suit Alleging Medical Establishment's Desire to Compel Doctors "to Toe the Line in All Matters Related to COVID …" Can Go Forward
From Chief Judge Lance Walker (D. Me.) today in Nass v. Maine Bd. of Licensure in Medicine:
Reason Magazine4d
"Yes, I'm with … Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad but up to a Point" Visiting Prof's Suit Against Columbia Dismissed
Some excerpts from Judge Kathleen Waterman-Marshall's longish decision filed Monday in Abdou v. Columbia Univ. (an appeal appears imminent):
Reason Magazine4d
Trump Is Taking Credit for D.C.'s Crime Drop. Here's What the Data Say.
"Washington D.C. went from High Crime to NO CRIME — Thank you President Trump!" reads a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump in July. The president has attributed the district's drop in crime
Reason Magazine4d
Justice Department Finds 'Unbroken Pattern' of Sexual Abuse in Two California Women's Prisons
The Department of Justice (DOJ) put California on notice last week that the state's decades-long failure to protect incarcerated women in two state prisons from rampant sexual abuse likely violates th
Reason Magazine4d
Tenn. S. Ct. Lets Stand Decision That Copyright Law Doesn't Bar Release of Covenant Shooter Manifesto
Last week, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the parents' application to review the Tennessee Court of Appeals' ruling, so that now goes into effect. Here's my post on the Court of Appeals ruling, fr
Reason Magazine4d
Court Partly Blocks Minnesota Law Restricting False Statements About "Restrictions on Voter Eligibility"
From Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Ellison, decided today by Eighth Circuit Judge David Stras, joined by Judges Raymond Gruender and Jonathan Kobes: