Tag: law
The Misuse of Social Media Act: a threat to freedom of expression in Uganda
February 27, 2023 | Post
The provisions in the Misuse of Social Media Act passed by Uganda’s Parliament are highly restrictive and pose a direct threat to digital freedom. Here’s a quick breakdown of how and why…
Boris Johnson and Partygate: when politicians think they’re above the law
June 21, 2022 | Post
There’s a reason why Partygate, involving senior British politicians such as PM Boris Johnson, hits a particularly raw nerve with the public
Stop saying that! Limited liability does not mean what you think it means.
September 25, 2017 | Post
The next time someone starts explaining to you how government regulation is needed because corporations have the special privilege of limited liability, please channel Count Rugen.
Do government employees have a right to religious liberty?
April 1, 2017 | Post
Religious liberty is a fundamental right, but what should happen if the law asks bureaucrats to choose between their religion and their job?
Remembering the forgotten women, victims of government
March 17, 2017 | Post
in honor of Women’s History Month, I want to highlight three stories of women you probably have never heard of — victims of government.
Why don’t humans kill each other like we used to?
March 16, 2017 | Post
Pinker claims — but fails to prove — that early states significantly increased human welfare by reducing the rate of war death.
The revised “travel ban” is much better legally
March 8, 2017 | Post
If this new executive order had been what was was signed initially—combined with the normal interagency process and briefing of border officials as to how to implement it—President Trump wouldn’t have provoked the type of political response he did or the legal quagmire he entered. This order is much more narrowly tailored, providing exemptions not […]
“Social justice lawyers” won’t save law school
March 4, 2017 | Post
It’s easy to spout high-minded rhetoric about idealistic young people, but that doesn’t change the cold, hard fact that law school is a bad deal for most students.
Donald Trump: The avatar of democracy
February 22, 2017 | Post
In his first month as President, Donald Trump has been the epitome of democracy.
Why even mass-murdering white supremacists, like Dylann Roof, should not receive the death penalty
February 16, 2017 | Post
If ever there were a strong candidate for the death penalty, it would seem to be Dylann Roof.
Obama’s constitutional legacy
January 27, 2017 | Post
Obama deserves credit for helping to push the struggle for same-sex marriage to a successful conclusion, for appointing some highly capable judges (despite flaws in their judicial philosophy), and for causing the Supreme Court to establish some valuable precedents protecting federalism, property rights, and religious freedom (albeit, often unintentionally). On the other hand, we may well have occasion to rue his overly expansive approach to executive power, particularly when it comes to initiating wars without congressional authorization.
11 key facts about Americans’ attitudes toward the Police
December 20, 2016 | Post
The Cato Institute has released Policing in America—an extensive national public opinion report that explores Americans’ attitudes toward the police based on an original Cato Institute/YouGov national survey of 2,000 Americans.
Why police brutality laws don’t seem to matter in America
November 30, 2016 | Post
We’re learning that while laws against police brutality exist, they don’t seem to be enforced.
Healing through decentralization
November 27, 2016 | Post
I argue that freedom of association is absolutely critical to sustaining relations of social trust across difference, even if it allows people to retreat further into their echo chambers.
Election 2016: politics when government becomes a weapon
November 4, 2016 | Post
As Hayek long argued, a free society is governed by general, abstract rules that are equally applicable to all persons, including government actors.
Did the Ancient Greeks Believe in Freedom?
October 3, 2016 | Post
To answer this question we must first learn the distinction between contemporary conceptions of freedom and “The Freedom of the Ancients.”
Quote of the Day: David Friedman on the Infantile State
January 19, 2016 | Post
This quote comes from David Friedman’s book, “The Machinery of Freedom,” in which he makes the case for private markets in law enforcement, courts, and other conduct typically defined as the exclusive realm of the state.
What is the total number of federal laws on the books? Hint: Googling won’t help.
December 3, 2015 | Post
That’s because nobody has been able to count the total number of federal laws on the books. A post at the Library of Congress’s blog put it this way: At the reference desk, we are frequently asked to estimate the number of federal laws in force. However, trying to tally this number is nearly impossible. […]
Do States Have the Power to Bar Syrian Refugees?
December 2, 2015 | Post
The following post by Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, appeared at the Volokh Conspiracy on November 25, 2015. Below is an excerpt. Do they have the legal authority to do so? Under current Supreme Court precedent, the answer is a clear “no,” though things might be different under the […]