2+ hour, 38+ min ago (56+ words) NEXT: Federal Judge Dismisses Comey and James Indictments, Saying Trump's U.S. Attorney Appointment Was Illegal Charles Oliver | 11.25.2025 4:00 AM Jacob Sullum | 11.24.2025 5:20 PM Ronald Bailey | 11.24.2025 4:55 PM Christian Britschgi | 11.24.2025 3:20 PM Jacob Sullum | 11.24.2025 2:25 PM...

3+ hour, 38+ min ago (62+ words) What's on your mind? Eugene Volokh | 11.25.2025 3:00 AM NEXT: Upcoming Speaking Engagements in Mexico and Israel Jacob Sullum | 11.24.2025 5:20 PM Ronald Bailey | 11.24.2025 4:55 PM Christian Britschgi | 11.24.2025 3:20 PM Jacob Sullum | 11.24.2025 2:25 PM Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 11.24.2025 2:00 PM...

13+ hour, 17+ min ago (353+ words) Comey and James argued that their indictments were invalid because Halligan's appointment violated 28 USC 546, which addresses vacancies in U.S. attorney's offices. That law authorizes the attorney general to appoint a temporary replacement, who can then serve no more than 120 days unless the judges of the district authorize an extension. Jessica Aber, who served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia during the Biden administration, resigned on January 20. She was replaced by Siebert, whose temporary appointment would have expired on May 21. But on May 9, the district's judges voted to let him remain in that position pending the appointment of a permanent U.S. attorney. After Trump pressured Siebert to resign, Attorney General Pam Bondi tried to restart the clock by appointing Halligan as another interim U.S. attorney. That maneuver, Comey's lawyers argued, was clearly inconsistent with the constraints imposed by Congress. James' lawyers…...

13+ hour, 41+ min ago (360+ words) I will be giving multiple talks in these two countries, in December. Ilya Somin | 11.24.2025 4:56 PM This December, I will be doing multiple speaking engagements in Mexico and Israel. In the latter country, I will be serving as a visiting professor at the law faculty at Uriel Reichman University (the former IDC Herzliya). Unless otherwise noted, these events are open to the public. I am potentially open to doing additional speaking engagements in Israel during my time there (Dec. 14-26). Dec. 3, 12-1:30 PM, Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), Barcelo Hotel, Guadalajara, Mexico: "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom" (tentative title), Panel on Migration in the 21st Century. Other panel participants will be Eileen Truax (journalist covering immigration issues), and Christopher Dominguez. More information about the FIL book fair available here. Dec. 4, 3:15-4:30 PM, Law Faculty, University of Monterrey,Rm. A6-206, Monterrey, Mexico, : "Political…...

14+ hour, 55+ min ago (572+ words) Eugene Volokh | 11.24.2025 3:42 PM An excerpt from today's long opinion by Chief Judge Allen Winsor (N.D. Fla.) in Damsky v. Summerlin, which I think is likely correct: Damsky has been a controversial figure at the law school since he enrolled. He seems to enjoy pushing boundaries and provoking others. He achieved that and more with two seminar papers and one social media exchange that ultimately became the basis for his expulsion. In the fall semester of his second year, Damsky wrote two seminar papers that generally argue the United States was founded as a race-based nation and should be preserved as such. He concluded each paper with what some perceived as extralegal calls to violence. In American Restoration, Damsky offered this view: [T]he semester continued without incident'at least until Damsky's March 21 X post: My position on Jews is simple: whatever Harvard professor…...

15+ hour, 17+ min ago (1077+ words) Few would disagree with the notion that President Donald Trump is rather malleable on issues of policy and political alliances. Friends and enemies swap places with surprising regularity. Must-pass initiatives become rejected agendas just as quickly. As visual evidence of this, consider two scenes. Back in February 2025, the president hosted a chummy joint press conference in the Oval Office with the world's richest man, Elon Musk, who outlined his plans to slash the federal government to the bone via his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Then, just last week, Trump hosted another amicable joint press conference where his guest was the self-described socialist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, who plans on making New York City great again with tax hikes on billionaires like Musk to fund billions in new social spending. The president was rather unembarrassed when pressed…...

16+ hour, 12+ min ago (240+ words) Sen. Mitch McConnell (R'Ky.), who championed hemp legalization, was dismayed to discover that the bill also authorized these marijuana substitutes. "My 2018 hemp bill sought to create an agricultural hemp industry," he'said'during a hearing last July, "not open the door to the sale of unregulated, intoxicating, lab-made, hemp-derived substances with no safety framework." The USHR is holding out hope that Congress can be persuaded to regulate psychoactive hemp products instead of banning them. "We have until November 13, 2026 to help [the] federal government understand how to regulate hemp and protect Americans," it says. Last week, Rep. Nancy Mace (R'S.C.) introduced a bill that would repeal the redefinition of hemp. The USHR says Rep. Morgan Griffith (R'Va.) "plans to soon introduce a bill that would replace a total ban with robust regulation of hemp products." In September, the attorneys general of 39 states urged…...

16+ hour, 38+ min ago (1009+ words) Are abortions poisoning us all? That's the latest line of attack from Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere, with lawmakers arguing that women who take abortion pills must prevent their'blood and fetal tissue from contaminating the water supply. You are reading Sex & Tech, from Elizabeth Nolan Brown. Get more of Elizabeth's sex, tech, bodily autonomy, law, and online culture coverage. Women who take abortion drugs to terminate a pregnancy'but not to treat a miscarriage, if I'm reading correctly'would be instructed to use the bag to collect any "medical waste or infectious waste" produced by the process and then return it to the doctor's office. It's hard to look at legislation like this and imagine that it's actually about anything but punishing women who have abortions. The measure "has been sent in for introduction, but does not yet have an official bill…...

17+ hour, 15+ min ago (303+ words) Religion and the Law Eugene Volokh | 11.24.2025 1:22 PM From Friday's Report and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Michael Ambri (D. Ariz.) in Grossenbach v. Arizona Bd. of Regents: Grossenbach was employed as an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona. On November 30, 2023, he was informed that his teaching contract would not be renewed. Grossenbach believes that his employment was discontinued because the University received complaints about his advocacy with SaveCFSD. Grossenbach sued on Aug. 22, 2025, and defendants argued (among other things) that his Title VII religious discrimination claim was brought too late. No, the Magistrate Judge concluded: [I]n Arizona a prospective plaintiff must file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory employment action. The court does not agree. Assuming without deciding that Grossenbach's Title VII charge accrued on November 30, 2023, when he was told his contract would not be…...

17+ hour, 34+ min ago (354+ words) With Trump, "flattery is ultimately counter-productive. In the short term, it avoids a public clash and may even help limit punishment in the form of tariffs or public criticism. In the longer term, far from buying respect, it earns his disdain and encourages the assumption that allies will cave on policy," former Biden administration official Philip Gordon wrote in the Financial Times last week. Humiliation begets humiliation. Over and over again, Trump has insulted Europe and made it clear that negotiations for the future of Ukraine will happen over the Europeans' heads. He has demanded a cut from Ukraine's natural resources and pushed the European Union to take a lopsided trade deal that puts tariffs on European products while exempting American ones. "If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything, including cutting off their energy'with a…...