Mesa County Clerk Sentence Violated First Amendment by Relying on "Her Protected Speech Regarding Allegations of Election Fraud"
Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was convicted of multiple felonies for using a security badge to grant a Mike Lindell associate access to Dominion voting equipment. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction but ruled that the trial court’s sentencing—six months in jail and 8¼ years in prison—violated her First Amendment rights by punishing her protected speech about alleged election fraud. The court clarified that President Trump’s pardon applies only to federal offenses and does not shield Peters from state prosecution. Consequently, the case was remanded for resentencing without considering her political beliefs.
$55K Sanctions Related in Part to AI-Hallucination-Filled Court Filings
U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer sanctioned Alabama attorney Franklin Eaton for filing pleadings riddled with fabricated citations and false legal statements, ordering a $55,597 fee award to the defense. The court detailed a pattern of incompetence, including missed jury demands,...
In One Day (Mar. 31), 17 U.S. Court Decisions Noting Suspected AI Hallucinations in Court Filings
On March 31, seventeen U.S. court decisions cited suspected AI hallucinations in submitted filings, according to Damien Charlotin's AI Hallucination Cases Database. The rulings, spanning both federal and state courts, highlight that AI‑generated text can produce inaccurate or fabricated statements...
Posts Such As "Every Ice Gestapo Needs Too Be Shot" May Be Constitutionally Unprotected True Threats
A federal judge in *U.S. v. Murfin* allowed the prosecution of a social‑media user who repeatedly called for ICE agents to be shot, finding the posts to be “true threats” under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The court emphasized that intent to act is...
Accusing Someone Who Called Police of "Blatant Racial Profiling" May Be Defamation
In Riera v. Central Washington University, faculty member Miguel Riera sued colleague Erin Erdman for defamation after she labeled his April 1 police call as an "incident of blatant racial profiling." The district court permitted the claim to proceed, finding...
Short Circuit: An Inexhaustive Weekly Compendium of Rulings From the Federal Courts of Appeal
The Institute for Justice’s weekly "Short Circuit" roundup highlights a diverse set of recent appellate decisions, from the D.C. Circuit rejecting the EPA’s delegation of endangered‑species enforcement to Florida, to the First Circuit’s unusually narrative opinion on the Ponzo brothers....
My Amicus Brief in the Geofence Warrant Case, United States V. Chatrie
Legal scholar Orin S. Kerr submitted an amicus brief in the Supreme Court’s United States v. Chatrie, a case that tests the Fourth Amendment’s reach over geofence warrants. The brief contends that a user’s Google Location History does not qualify...
Claim That "100% Real Chocolate" Can't Include "Soy Lecithin and Natural Flavors" "Is Half-Baked, and Is 100% Dismissed"
A federal judge in Illinois dismissed Stephanie Foster’s class‑action lawsuit against Nestlé, ruling that the phrase “100% real chocolate” on a bag of chocolate chips does not mislead consumers. The court relied on the FDA’s definition, which permits emulsifiers like...
If Chiles Was So Lopsided, Why Did The Court Deny Cert In Tingley?
The Supreme Court issued an 8‑1 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, with Justice Jackson dissenting alone and Justices Kagan and Sotomayor joining the majority to defend a broad view of commercial free speech. The opinion sparked speculation about internal tensions...
Edited Version of Chiles V. Salazar for Barnett/Blackman Supplement
The author finished editing the Supreme Court case *Chiles v. Salazar* for the Barnett/Blackman supplement, emphasizing its utility as a teaching tool. The 8‑1 decision, with Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion, offers a clear synthesis of content and viewpoint discrimination doctrine...
Accusation of "Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence" For Allegedly Nonconsensually Posting Bondage Pictures May Be Defamatory
A federal judge in Missouri allowed Leslie Sutton’s defamation and public disclosure claims to proceed against John Doe, who accused her of sexual abuse after she posted bondage photos of him online. Doe alleges the images were shared without his...
Conspiracy Lawsuit Against National Students for Justice in Palestine Parent Organization Can Go Forward
A federal judge in New York ruled that the plaintiff’s civil‑conspiracy allegations against American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and its student arm, National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss. The complaint alleges...
April 1, 2026
The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the newly filed case Trump v. Barbara, in which the Trump administration argues that the Fourteenth Amendment does not guarantee birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants. The hearing was notable because a...
Justice Harlan's Lectures Gets A Shout-Out In Birthright Citizenship Case
The Supreme Court’s pending case Trump v. Barbara, which questions the scope of birthright citizenship, featured Justice Gorsuch quoting Justice John Marshall Harlan’s 1898 lecture on United States v. Wong Kim Ark. The citation comes from a 2013 scholarly article co‑authored by...
Judge Leon Blocked The East Wing Ballroom Based on Offended Observer Standing
Judge Leon issued an injunction halting construction of the White House East Wing ballroom after a National Trust member claimed an aesthetic injury, arguing she was an "offended observer" under Article III standing. The opinion cites Supreme Court precedents that require...
"There Is Evidence That This Particular Proceeding Before the Beijing Court Was Dominated by The" Chinese Communist Party,
A U.S. federal judge ruled that Stanford University retains clear title to the Li Rui archival materials donated to the Hoover Institution, rejecting a Chinese court judgment that sought to return the items to Zhang Yuzhen, Li’s second wife. The...
"Rising Wave of Antisemitism" Doesn't Justify Letting Jewish Plaintiff Sue Pseudonymolusly
The Eastern District of New York denied a Jewish plaintiff’s request to proceed under a pseudonym in Doe v. Life Time, Inc., citing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a)’s requirement for full party identification. Judge Dora Irizarry found the plaintiff’s...
A Fifth Circuit Bait-and-Switch to Ignore Crime Victims' Rights
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected two Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA) petitions filed by families of the 737 MAX crash victims, deeming the challenges to the Justice Department’s 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and 2025 non‑prosecution agreement (NPA) with...
What Took So Long In Chiles?
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Chiles v. Salazar on March 31, 2026, delivering an 8‑1 decision after a six‑month gap from oral arguments on October 7, 2025. Justice Gorsuch authored a roughly twenty‑page majority opinion, while Justice Kagan wrote a...
Justice Kagan's Arguments for "Relax[ing] Our Guard" As to Some Content-Based (But Viewpoint-Neutral) Speech Restrictions
In *Chiles v. Salazar*, Justice Kagan, joined by Justice Sotomayor, upheld that Colorado's ban on conversion‑therapy talk for minors is unconstitutional because it targets speech by viewpoint. She noted that a mirror law banning affirming therapy would face the same...
"Reckless, to Be Sure. Stupid." "But Mere Reckless Stupidity Does Not a Malicious Federal Arsonist Make"
A federal judge in Miami granted a judgment of acquittal for Ramirez, who was convicted of federal arson after throwing two flares at an Orlando City soccer match. The court held that the government failed to prove the malicious intent...
Lawyer's Defamation Claim Based on Sig Sauer's Press Release About Unintended Discharge Lawsuits Can Go Forward
A Connecticut federal judge ruled that attorney Michael Bagnell’s defamation lawsuit against Sig Sauer can proceed. The case stems from Sig Sauer’s March 2025 press release, which labeled plaintiffs’ claims that the P320 pistol can fire without a trigger pull as profit‑driven lies...
No Preliminary Injunction Over Residents' Claim That S.F. Failed to Adequately Police Tenderloin Sidewalks
A federal judge in Northern California denied a preliminary injunction sought by Tenderloin residents and businesses, finding they lacked standing to challenge San Francisco’s harm‑reduction policies. The plaintiffs could not demonstrate that the city’s distribution of drug‑related paraphernalia directly caused increased...
Former Fox Anchor Andrea Tantaros's Court Filings Contained Inaccurate Citations; Court Suspects AI Hallucinations
A Manhattan federal judge found that former Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros filed court documents containing numerous inaccurate and non‑existent citations. The judge attributed the errors to Tantaros’s reliance on artificial‑intelligence tools that produced hallucinated references without proper verification. Although...
Today in Supreme Court History: March 29, 1937
On March 29, 1937 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, upholding Washington State’s minimum‑wage statute for women and minors. The decision reversed the Court’s earlier Lochner‑era stance against economic regulation and signaled a broader acceptance...
Khan V. Yale University #TheyLied Case Dismissed Because of Plaintiff's "Egregious" Litigation Misconduct
A federal judge in Connecticut dismissed the libel suit Khan v. Yale University after finding the plaintiff’s litigation conduct egregious. The court highlighted a 70,000‑page document dump, false interrogatory answers, and deliberate concealment of privileged communications. Judge Kari Dooley granted...
Theranos Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes' Sentence Reduced by 1 Year
A federal judge reduced Elizabeth Holmes' prison term by one year, setting it at 10¼ years after finding she did not cause "substantial financial hardship" to any individual investor. The decision hinges on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines provision § 4C1.1, which...
Ex-FBI-Agents Alleging They Were Fired for Working on "Arctic Frost" Can Proceed Pseudonymously
A federal judge granted two former FBI special agents permission to proceed pseudonymously in a lawsuit alleging they were fired for working on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into a 2020 election‑interference conspiracy. The agents claim their terminations violated First and...
Sealed Charges Doesn't Mean Unmentionable-in-Court-Filings Charges
The District Court in Nebraska denied the plaintiff’s motion to strike paragraph 58 of the defendant’s amended answer, finding that the allegation of a sealed Iowa charge was not immaterial, scandalous, or prejudicial. The plaintiff argued that Iowa’s juvenile‑record confidentiality...
Court Upholds Injunction Against Disclosing Information Learned From Discarded City Documents
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed a preliminary injunction that bars a private citizen from publishing personal information he obtained from discarded City of Scranton personnel files. The boxes, marked "Shred 2033," were left at the curb, photographed, and partially disclosed...
From Justice Frankfurter in the Steel Seizure Case (1952)
Justice Felix Frankfurter’s 1952 remarks in the steel seizure case warned that executive power must be checked by a disciplined judiciary. He argued that courts should limit themselves to narrow, concrete disputes and avoid broad constitutional pronouncements unless no lesser...
No § 230 Immunity for Meta's AI-Generated Ads
A federal judge in Northern California denied Meta's bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company helped create fraudulent pump‑and‑dump ads for a Chinese penny stock. Plaintiffs claim Meta's AI‑driven tools—Flexible Format, Dynamic Creative, and Advantage+ Creative—generated and optimized deceptive...
Investigating FISA Abuses in Crossfire Hurricane
Senator Chuck Grassley disclosed documents suggesting the FBI obtained multiple FISA warrants to surveil Walid Phares, a conservative Middle‑East expert who advised the Romney and Trump campaigns. An FBI agent testified that corrections showing no corroborating evidence were blocked, and...
Additional Testimony Against the Proposed "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act"
An additional written testimony was filed with the House Judiciary Subcommittee to oppose the "Preserving a Sharia‑Free America Act," which would bar most Muslim immigration and deport non‑citizen Muslims. The testimony focuses on a 2024 Heritage Foundation survey of American...
Sam Altman Et Al. "May Not Inquire Into Musk's Ketamine Use" At Trial of Musk Suit Over OpenAI
A federal judge in Northern California granted Elon Musk’s request to bar questions about his alleged ketamine use in the ongoing Musk v. Altman lawsuit, deeming the evidence irrelevant and lacking supporting record. The court, however, denied Musk’s broader motion,...
Article Reporting on Jan. 6 as "Insurrection" Not Defamatory + Pardon Isn't "Acquittal"
A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed a libel suit filed by Shannon Bitzer against WBIR and Tegna, ruling that the outlet’s article describing his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 2021 Capitol events as an "insurrection" was substantially true and protected by...
Ex-Law-Student's Defamation Claim Against Howard University Can Proceed in Part
The D.D.C. court allowed two of Michael Newman's defamation claims against Howard University to proceed while granting summary judgment on the rest. Newman, a former law student expelled after academic and disciplinary issues, alleges Dean Holley made false, malicious statements...
Brief Challenging California Law Banning Publication of Information About Sealed Arrests
The amicus brief challenges California’s anti‑dissemination statute that criminalizes publishing sealed arrest records, arguing it violates the First Amendment. The court granted a special motion to strike, finding the plaintiff’s claims were protected by anti‑SLAPP law and lacked merit. An...
Possible $5K Sanctions for Repeated Mis-Citation in Coomer V. Lindell / My Pillow Election-Related Libel Suit
The federal court in Denver has taken a firm stance against careless use of generative AI in litigation. In the defamation suit Coomer v. Lindell, Judge Nina Wang issued an Order on Post‑Trial Motions compelling the defense to show cause...
What Is The Original Meaning of "Sectarian"?
The article examines the original meaning of “sectarian,” tracing its 19th‑century roots as a label for specific denominational doctrines rather than all religion. It highlights the Supreme Court’s *Town of Greece v. Galloway* decision, which allowed non‑generic prayers, and contrasts...
Trump Administration Agrees to Consent Decree in Missouri V. Biden Social Media Case
The Trump administration entered a 10‑year consent decree in Missouri v. Biden, prohibiting federal agencies from pressuring major social‑media platforms to censor protected speech. The decree bars the Surgeon General, CDC, and CISA from threatening legal, regulatory, or economic sanctions...
Court Dismisses Suit Against N.Y. Times & Serial Productions over The Idiot Podcast
A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed Allen Gessen’s lawsuit against The New York Times and Serial Productions over their upcoming "The Idiot" podcast. The court found no proper venue for Gessen’s promissory‑estoppel and Lanham Act claims and rejected his requests...
$14K Sanction for Local Counsel's Not Meaningfully Supervising Out-of-Jurisdiction Counsel
The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon sanctioned local counsel Mr. Murphy $14,205.66—15% of the defendants’ awarded fees—for willfully violating Local Rule 83-3 by not meaningfully supervising out‑of‑jurisdiction attorney Mr. Brigandi. The court found Murphy failed to review...
Court Dismisses Libel Claim by Ex-Hunter-Biden Business Partner Tony Bobulinski Against Ex-Trump-White-House-Aide Cassidy Hutchinson
A federal judge in Washington dismissed Tony Bobulinski’s defamation lawsuit against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. The court held that Hutchinson’s description of a folded paper or envelope handed to Bobulinski at a November 2020 Trump rally was an...
Trump Administration Trying to Pressure Broadcasters Not to Schedule Football Game Broadcasts for Same Time as Army-Navy Game
The White House issued an executive order, “Preserving America’s Game,” directing the FCC and Commerce Department to create an exclusive broadcast window for the Army‑Navy football game. The order seeks to prevent any college football postseason game, including College Football...
Felon Gun Possession Bans, the Commerce Clause, and the Second Amendment
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the constitutionality of the federal ban on firearm possession by felons in U.S. v. Williamson, but Judge Don Willett, joined by Judge Cory Wilson, issued a concurrence questioning the ban’s basis in the Commerce Clause. Willett...
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Making Broadcast Content Regulation Aggressive Again," By Stuart Minor Benjamin
Stuart Minor Benjamin’s article examines the United States’ broadcast‑regulation trajectory, noting that the FCC’s content rules have been largely dormant since the Reagan era. He argues the second Trump administration is poised to revive aggressive oversight, leveraging the public‑interest licensing...
It's Elementary, My Dear Watson
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in *Watson v. RNC*, a case asking whether Mississippi may count ballots that arrive after Election Day. The hearing echoed the Court’s lingering anxiety from the 2020 election, with justices probing the risk that...
Court Rejects Women Inmates' Objections to California Law Related to Housing of "Transgender, Nonbinary, or Intersex" Inmates
A federal district court in California dismissed a lawsuit by six women inmates challenging Senate Bill 132, which requires prison officials to consider gender identity when addressing and housing transgender, nonbinary, or intersex inmates. The judge ruled the court lacks...
Court Refuses to Block Continued Distribution of DOGE Witness Deposition Videos
The Southern District of New York denied the government’s motion for a new protective order to block further distribution of four deposition videos featuring senior federal officials in the DOGE litigation. Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the videos are not...