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States Look to Their Own Constitutions for Guidance on Racial Equality May. 13, 2025
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that held racial segregation laws did not violate th... Read More
The Dubious Origin of "Three Strikes Law" Mar. 11, 2025
The rising tide of urban violence during the 1980s and 1990s caused lawmakers to consider ways to up... Read More
Did Congress Give the CDC More Authority Than the President? The Agency's Legal Defense of Its Eviction Moratorium Implies It Has Vast Powers to Order Americans Around Jun. 30, 2021
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have argued about the merits of guidelines i... Read More
What's Wrong with FISA? Dec. 12, 2019
Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 1978 in response to the unlawful surve... Read More
Who Cares What the Government Thinks? Sep. 12, 2019
In 1791, when Congressman James Madison was drafting the first 10 amendments to the Constitution ... Read More
Sex Offender Registry Afoul of Constitution Jan. 28, 2019
Michigan lawmakers seem keen on making important reforms to the state's criminal justice system, whi... Read More
March Madness, Washington-Style Mar. 22, 2018
For the past few days, the nation's media and political class have been fixated on the firing of the... Read More
President Trump and the Freedom of Speech Mar. 15, 2018
When James Madison drafted the First Amendment — "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the... Read More
Why Suspects May 'All Look Alike' to an Eyewitness Jan. 20, 2018
How fair are criminal trials in America? How confident should we be that prosecutors have the right ... Read More
Did Donald Trump Change His Mind on Domestic Spying? Jan. 18, 2018
Late last week, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Inte... Read More
Congress Plotting to Cut a Hole in the 4th Amendment, Again Jan. 11, 2018
Hidden beneath the controversy stirred up last week by the publication of a book called "Fire and Fu... Read More
Here We Go Again Dec. 14, 2017
For the second time in two months, someone who has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State has plott... Read More
Can the Feds Prosecute Foreigners if Their Actions Are Legal Where They Are? Oct. 26, 2017
I am in Switzerland this week interacting with and lecturing to students and faculty at the Universi... Read More
Democrats Yelp as Trump Upholds Constitution Oct. 20, 2017
Donald Trump is criticized, often justly, for misstatements of facts and failure to understand the d... Read More
Trump and Obamacare Oct. 19, 2017
Late last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the secretaries of the tr... Read More
Here's a Tip Oct. 09, 2017
Dispatches from America these days tend to be either soaked in tragedy or soaked in Trump, which mea... Read More
Congress Steps Up to Control Court-Ordered Guardianships Oct. 07, 2017
Finally, Washington is taking steps to protect older Americans who have fallen into an exploitation ... Read More
Immigrant Children and the Rule of Law Sep. 07, 2017
Earlier this week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that in six months, the Department of Ju... Read More
The Sadly Public Last Days of Charlie Gard Jul. 27, 2017
Charlie Gard's parents were working on the last major decision they will make for him: how he will d... Read More
Trump, Immigration and the Supreme Court Jun. 29, 2017
Earlier this week, after nearly uniform rejections by judges all across the country, President Donal... Read More
