Professor's #TheyLied Defamation Case Against National Academy of Sciences (Related to Sexual Harassment Allegations) Can Go Forward
The D.C. Circuit Court ruled that archaeology professor Luis Jaime Castillo Butters can move forward with defamation and false‑light claims against the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and its president, Marcia McNutt, over the academy’s 2021 rescission of his membership. The court found the academy’s statements that Castillo violated Section 4 of its Code of Conduct – which prohibits sexual harassment – were capable of a defamatory meaning. However, the judges held that Castillo had not sufficiently alleged defamation by implication regarding McNutt’s quoted remarks in a ScienceInsider article. The case is sent back to the district court to assess whether Castillo plausibly alleged negligence in publishing the statements.
Law School Recommended Against Student's Bar Admission, Partly for Alleged "Celebration" Of Charlie Kirk Assassination in Law School Clinic
Texas Tech University Law School’s dean recommended denying Ellen Fisher’s admission to the Texas Bar after the school concluded she celebrated the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk in a clinical office. The school reprimanded Fisher, reported her to the...
No Pseudonymity for Parent Suing Over School Vaccination Mandate
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s refusal to grant pseudonymity to a parent suing over California’s compulsory vaccine law. The majority held that the plaintiff, Jane Doe, did not demonstrate a reasonable fear of severe harm for herself or...
Lawsuit Against Virginia Tech Alleging Anti-Male Bias in Title IX Proceedings Can Go Forward in Part
A federal judge ruled that a male‑bias claim under Title IX against Virginia Tech can proceed, while dismissing the university officials' qualified‑immunity defense for monetary damages. The plaintiff, a former Corps of Cadets student, alleges the school’s Title IX process...
There Is No Equitable Constitutional Cause Of Action To Challenge The Presidential Record Act Policy
The American Historical Association sued over a new Presidential Records Act (PRA) policy, and Judge Bates ruled the policy likely unconstitutional while inventing an equitable constitutional cause of action. The decision leans on Youngstock and Armstrong cases, despite the article’s argument...
Court Rejects First Amendment Claims Against NYPD Commissioner Brought by "Most Wanted CEOs" Card Makers
A federal judge dismissed the First Amendment retaliation lawsuit filed by the creators of a "Most Wanted CEOs" playing‑card deck against NYPD Commissioner Tisch. The court found the cards and related social‑media statements did not constitute a true threat or incitement,...
"Instead, Claude Just Made Up More Stuff"
In the Brooks v. Lowes Home Centers case, attorney Mark Wilkins used the AI model Claude to draft a brief. The AI generated fabricated citations, which a law clerk uncovered. Wilkins submitted the corrected AI output without further review, prompting...
Plaintiff's Immigration Concerns Don't Justify Pseudonymity
Magistrate Judge JoAnna Gibson McFadden denied Jane Doe’s request to proceed pseudonymously in her employment‑discrimination suit against Amazon.com Services. The judge held that Doe’s immigration‑status concerns do not outweigh the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s presumption that parties must be...
The Missing Part of the State Court Mangione Suppression Ruling?
A New York state appellate court partially suppressed the contents of Luigi Mangione’s backpack, allowing the red notebook but excluding the magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip. The court applied New York’s constitutional search‑seizure standards to Pennsylvania officers, even...
Plaintiff Can Sue Pseudonymously Because She's a Criminal Defense Lawyer with a Gambling Addiction
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington provisionally allowed plaintiff E.B., a criminal‑defense lawyer with a diagnosed gambling addiction, to proceed under a pseudonym. The judge found a sufficient showing that revealing her identity could cause significant...
Notre Dame Pro-Abortion-Rights Professor Ordered to Pay $200K in Fees in Failed Libel Lawsuit Against Student Newspaper
Notre Dame professor Dr. Tamara Kay’s defamation lawsuit against the student newspaper The Irish Rover was dismissed by an Indiana judge, who also ordered her to pay roughly $200,000 in attorney fees. The court found the newspaper’s articles, which quoted...
8½-Year Sentence for American Who Fought for ISIS Is Too Lenient, Says Sixth Circuit
The Sixth Circuit upheld an 8½‑year (101‑month) prison term for Mirsad Ramic, a naturalized U.S. citizen who traveled to Syria, fought for ISIS, and aided its propaganda and recruitment. The appellate panel rebuked the district court for downplaying ISIS’s atrocities,...
Secret Recording at Pretend Date by O'Keefe Media Wasn't Tortious, Court Holds
James O'Keefe's O'Keefe Media Group staged a sting by posing as a liberal on a dating app, secretly recording a top‑secret‑cleared consultant during two dates and later publishing the footage. The consultant sued for misrepresentation, defamation and violations of the...
No Discovery Into Alleged "Actual Malice" In Trump's Lawsuit Against WSJ Over Jeffrey Epstein Birthday Letter Story
A federal judge in Florida dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, finding his complaint failed to allege actual malice. Trump’s subsequent motion to conduct limited discovery on the alleged malice was also denied. The ruling...
Court Orders Reinstatement of Untenured Professor Allegedly Non-Renewed for Speech About "the Palestinian Resistance"
A federal judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction ordering Texas State University to reinstate Dr. Idris Robinson, a tenure‑track philosophy professor whose contract was not renewed after a controversial speech on the Palestinian resistance. The court ruled that the...
Large Libel Models Strike Again? Google AI Allegedly Hallucinates Sex Crime Allegations Against Utah Man
A Utah man, Michael Murray, has filed a federal lawsuit against Alphabet alleging that Google’s AI "Overview" feature fabricated false sex‑crime accusations. The complaint says the AI-generated statements never appeared in any external source and were solely invented by the...
Starting Statement with "LOL" Doesn't Keep The Assertion in It From Being Potentially Libelous
The U.S. District Court in San Diego ruled that a defendant’s Instagram comment beginning with "lol" does not shield the false factual assertion that the plaintiffs were "locked up for some f*cked up stuff" from being potentially libelous. The court...
Injunction Against Referring to Ex-Wife and Children in Online Media Violates First Amendment
The Washington Court of Appeals reversed a domestic‑violence protection order that barred a father from mentioning his ex‑wife and children in any media. The court held the blanket prohibition was a content‑based restriction that failed the narrow‑tailoring test, violating the...
No First Amendment Violation in Ohio Closing DEI-Related Offices and Committees
A federal judge in Southern Ohio ruled that Miami University’s shutdown of multiple DEI offices and programs, mandated by the state’s Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, does not violate professor Darryl Rice’s First Amendment rights. The court emphasized that Rice’s...
Justice Alito Extends Administrative Stay of Mifepristone Order
Justice Samuel Alito extended the administrative stay on the Fifth Circuit's order halting telemedicine prescriptions of the abortion medication mifepristone, setting a new deadline for Thursday. The extension maintains the status quo while the Supreme Court considers whether to issue...
Court Strikes Allegations About Israeli History From Lawsuit Alleging Anti-Semitism at CUNY
A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed 13 paragraphs of historical background from Avraham Goldstein’s Title VII lawsuit against CUNY, ruling the content immaterial to his discrimination claims. Goldstein, an Israeli‑born assistant professor, alleges retaliation for criticizing a campus “Palestinian Solidarity Series.”...
"New York Recognizes No Tort of 'Misgendering'"
A Manhattan trial court rejected a plaintiff’s request to treat deliberate misgendering as a civil tort in Garlington v. Austin. Judge Gerald Lebovits held that New York recognizes no tort of misgendering and found no legally cognizable injury. The court...
Upcoming Cato Institute Event on "Trump V. Barbara: Birthright Citizenship at the Supreme Court"
The Cato Institute will host a free online event on May 20, 2‑3 PM ET titled “Trump v. Barbara: Birthright Citizenship at the Supreme Court.” The panel features immigration law scholar Gabriel Chin, legal historian Paul Finkelman, and moderator Dan Greenberg, discussing the Supreme Court’s...
$5K Sanctions for Repeated Mis-Citation in Coomer V. Lindell / My Pillow Election-Related Libel Suit
A Colorado federal judge imposed a $5,000 sanction on attorney Matthew Kachouroff and co‑counsel Jennifer DeMaster for repeated mis‑citations in the defamation case Coomer v. Lindell, which involves alleged election‑related libel by My Pillow’s Mike Lindell. The sanction follows earlier...
Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Alvin Roth on Organ Markets
Nobel laureate Alvin Roth argues in a Washington Post op‑ed that the United States should legalize payments for kidney donors. He cites roughly 130,000 new kidney‑failure cases each year, a $55 billion Medicare burden, and a waiting list of 90,000 patients...
Virginia Supreme Court Voids Virginia Gerrymander
The Virginia Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, invalidated a 2026 ballot initiative that would have authorized partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts. The majority held that the General Assembly’s process violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution, rendering...
US Court of International Trade Rules Against Trump's Section 122 Tariffs
The U.S. Court of International Trade issued a 2‑1 decision striking down the Trump administration's Section 122 tariffs, which imposed a uniform 10% duty on a broad swath of imports. The majority held that the government failed to demonstrate the...
Second Amendment Roundup: A Tale of Two Waiting Periods
The First Circuit upheld Maine's 72‑hour firearm waiting‑period law in Beckwith v. Frey, while the 10th Circuit struck down New Mexico's seven‑day waiting period in Ortega v. Grisham. Both cases stem from the 2023 Lewiston, Maine mass shooting and the...
Content Moderation and the First Amendment
The Supreme Court’s recent rulings, most notably Moody v. NetChoice, treat algorithmic content curation on social‑media platforms as protected speech under the First Amendment. Critics argue this leaves substantive moderation unchecked and propose reclassifying platforms as state actors or common...
Restricting Speech By Purportedly Protecting Children
Governments worldwide are invoking child‑protection arguments to impose speech restrictions, from Russia's 2012 website blacklist to recent U.S. and U.K. legislation. In Utah, the Minor Protection in Social Media Act—requiring age verification and restrictive defaults for minors—was halted by a...
Second Amendment Roundup: How a Fake Citation Misled Courts to Uphold "Sensitive Place" Gun Bans
The Second Circuit’s *Antonyuk v. James* upheld New York’s “sensitive place” gun bans by citing a supposed 1792 North Carolina statute that never existed. The decision misread colonial law, treating a privately‑published collection as binding authority, and the reasoning was adopted by...
Vanderbilt Student's Lawsuit Over Suspension for Alleged False Accusations Can Go Forward
A federal judge in Middle District Tennessee allowed several of Vanderbilt University student Poe's claims to proceed, including negligence, Title IX selective‑enforcement, and breach‑of‑contract allegations related to his year‑long suspension for alleged false accusations. The court found genuine issues of material...
NAACP Seek To Recall Callais Judgment So It Can Seek Reconsideration
On April 29 the Supreme Court issued a rapid judgment in the Callais case, prompting the NAACP to request an immediate issuance of the opinion. Hours later the civil‑rights group filed a motion asking the Court to recall that judgment...
Elite Panic and the Push to Regulate "Misinformation"
The article examines repeated elite panic over online misinformation surrounding the 2024 global elections, especially in the EU, and the subsequent regulatory push. Despite warnings that AI‑driven disinformation could sway billions of voters, analyses by EDMO and the Alan Turing...
How Bad Facts Make Good First Amendment Law
The Supreme Court’s 1931 decision in Near v. Minnesota struck down a Minnesota law that allowed prior restraint of a scandal‑filled newspaper, establishing that the First Amendment forbids government bans on publications before they appear. Publisher Jay Near’s anti‑Jewish, anti‑corruption...
Just "Felonious Peccadillos"; I'm "Overqualified for Oklahoma"; Bar Association, "Bring It on Bitch": Surprisingly Ineffective in Fighting Disbarment
The Oklahoma Supreme Court disbarred former legislative candidate and attorney Barlean after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor domestic‑assault charges and repeatedly violated court‑ordered probation conditions. The court highlighted his pattern of violence, failure to complete anger‑management, and abusive communications...
Posting Video of 10-Year-Old Hockey Player's "Tantrum" Isn't Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
The Illinois Appellate Court reversed a lower‑court ruling and held that posting a YouTube video of a 10‑year‑old hockey player’s on‑ice outburst does not meet the legal threshold for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). The court stressed that conduct...
Today in Supreme Court History: May 4, 1942
On May 4, 1942 the Supreme Court heard arguments in Wickard v. Filburn, a landmark New Deal case. The dispute centered on an Ohio farmer’s wheat surplus and whether the federal government could limit production under the Commerce Clause. The Court’s eventual...
"Martial Home"
Eugene Volokh points out a recurring typo in U.S. case law where "marital home" is mistakenly written as "martial home." A quick Westlaw search reveals the error appears in more than 600 judicial opinions. Volokh jokes that the mistake may...
Jacob Mchangama & Jeff Kosseff Guest-Blogging About "The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential...
Professors Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff are launching a three‑day guest‑blog series on Reason.com to promote their new book, *The Future of Free Speech*. The book argues that free expression, once a hallmark of liberal democracies, is now facing coordinated...
"Punctuation Matters. At the Heart of This Case Is the Placement of a Comma"
The D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Remus Enterprises 1, LLC’s lawsuit after finding that a misplaced comma in the company’s name created a distinct legal entity, Remus Enterprises, 1 LLC, which owned the disputed 16th Street property....
Court Upholds Ban on Military Retirement Home Residents' Wearing Political Clothing in Public Spaces
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi upheld the Armed Forces Retirement Home‑Gulfport’s ban on political apparel worn by residents in common areas. The court classified the retirement home as a limited public forum, allowing viewpoint‑neutral restrictions...
"Multi-Figure Verdicts"
A lawyer’s website displayed a "Multi-Figure Verdicts" graphic that suggested massive payouts, but the only settlement cited was a low eight‑figure $11 million case. The same attorney was recently sanctioned after an AI‑generated filing contained hallucinated facts, raising questions about the...
Court Finds AI Hallucinations in Filing by Former State Senate Candidate
The Southern District of New York magistrate sanctioned former state Senate candidate‑turned‑attorney Tricia S. Lindsay $2,500 after finding that dozens of citations in her memoranda were completely fabricated, likely generated by an AI feature in LexisNexis. The court noted her...
5th Circuit Panel Blocks 2023 Mifepristone Telemedicine Approval
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay that blocks the FDA's 2023 rule allowing mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine. The stay reinstates the requirement that patients receive an in‑person medical evaluation before receiving the abortion pill. Louisiana,...
First Circuit Stays Court Order Commandeering New Hampshire (Though Doesn't Rely on Anti-Commandeering Arguments)
The First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on a district court injunction that would have forced New Hampshire to maintain a vehicle emissions inspection program under the Clean Air Act. The panel found New Hampshire likely to win...
The Major Questions Doctrine Constrains Presidential Power Over Elections
The article argues that the major questions doctrine (MQD) blocks President Trump’s attempt to expand executive control over federal elections via Executive Order 14399, which directs the USPS to compile voter‑mail lists and block non‑listed mail‑in ballots. It cites an...
Trump's Iran War Continues to Violate the Constitution - and Now Also the War Powers Act of 1973
President Trump’s 60‑day deadline under the War Powers Act expired today, making his ongoing Iran campaign unlawful without congressional approval. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claim that the ceasefire pauses the clock is contradicted by the Act’s language on imminent hostilities....
"Gaslighting" Isn't "Abuse" For Child Custody Law Purposes
The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s finding that a mother’s alleged gaslighting constituted abuse in a child‑custody case. The appellate panel held that Oregon statutes define abuse narrowly—requiring physical injury, threats of imminent bodily harm, or sexual...
Gov. Newsom's Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News Over "Gavin Lied About Trump's Call" Claim Can Go Forward
A Delaware Superior Court judge ruled that Governor Gavin Newsom's defamation lawsuit against Fox News can proceed. The case centers on Fox's on‑air claim that Newsom "lied" about a phone call with President Trump, which the court says could be...