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Civil Law

“Solitary Confinement, Human Dignity, and the Eighth Amendment”

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Laura Rovner now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:

The harms of solitary confinement have been well-documented for centuries, yet the practice persists. Despite recent efforts to reform the use of solitary confinement in certain states and localities, over 120,000 people are currently confined in solitary conditions in American prisons and jails. In part, America’s addiction to solitary remains incurable because the doctrine governing whether

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Supreme Court

Kentucky man says police violated Fourth Amendment by searching his backpack during arrest

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The Fourth Amendment generally bars police from searching people or their property without a warrant. The Supreme Court has made an exception for searches made during an arrest. But although that exception applies to arrestees themselves, it only extends to their nearby possessions if there is a risk they can … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Major Second and First Amendment cases headline November sitting

With just over a year to go until the 2024 presidential elections, the shadow of former President Donald Trump – who is once again the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination – hovers over three of the seven cases in the court’s November argument session, which begins on Oct. 30. Trump once asked the justices to take up the same question that they will now consider in two cases on Oct. 31, involving liability for public officials who block … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate Missouri Second Amendment law

The Supreme Court on Friday refused a request by Missouri to reinstate a state law that bars police officers from enforcing federal restrictions on the sale and ownership of firearms that the state believes violate the Second Amendment. A federal judge ruled earlier this year that the state law is itself unconstitutional and blocked the state from enforcing the law. In an unsigned order on Friday, the justices left that decision in place while the state’s appeal continues in … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Once-suspended Twitter user argues California violated his First Amendment rights

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Last week the federal government encouraged the justices to review a pair of petitions involving two nearly identical laws in Florida and Texas that seek to regulate how large social media platforms can block, remove, or demonetize user content. Lawmakers in both states passed the bills to address what they … Read the rest

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Former candidates say New Jersey’s “slogan statutes” violate the First Amendment

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Laws governing elections and the right to participate in the political process receive varying degrees of scrutiny when challenged in court. The Supreme Court has held that election laws restricting “core political speech” trigger a high degree of suspicion under the First Amendment. By comparison, laws that simply regulate the … Read the rest

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Colorado man’s First Amendment challenge will test the scope of protection for threatening speech

There is no dispute that the Facebook messages Billy Raymond Counterman sent to local Colorado musician Coles Whalen made her feel afraid. For years, Counterman sent increasingly menacing messages in which he suggested that he had seen Whalen – who is identified only by her initials in court documents, but who has discussed the case on her website – while driving and made comments such as “Die” and “Fuck off permanently.” Whalen told a family member that she was

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From constitutional orphan to treasured heirloom: The Second Amendment is no longer a second-class right

This article is part of a symposium on the court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Theresa Inacker, an attorney, is the New Jersey state director for The DC Project, a coalition of female gun owners dedicated to protecting and preserving Second Amendment rights.

After more than a decade of unsuccessful challenges post-Heller and McDonald, gun owners finally rejoice that the Second Amendment is no longer the “constitutional orphan” of the Supreme … Read the rest