I’ve written an amicus brief on my own behalf in this case (here’s the PDF version). I’ll be filing it tomorrow, but I thought I’d preview it here, in case there are some corrections or criticisms that I should take into account. Please let me know if you have anything to suggest (though please recall […]
First the government seized Kenneth Michael Sikorsky’s home and all of its equity over a tax debt worth far less than what it took. Now a federal court has ruled that Sikorsky has successfully stated a claim for a taking—an early sign that the legal landscape is shifting since the Supreme Court weighed in on these […]
Nearly 20 percent of Iowans must obtain an occupational license before they can work. A new law is lowering barriers to employment in the Hawkeye State. Last week, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 711 into law, creating an apprenticeship program that allows unlicensed individuals to provide cosmetology and barbering services under the supervision of […]
Protests and unrest erupted in Los Angeles following federal immigration raids of a Home Depot parking lot and a clothing manufacturer. President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops, and later U.S. Marines, into Los Angeles against the wishes of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Downtown Los Angeles and the communities of Paramount and Compton have been […]
On Saturday, President Donald Trump instructed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to deploy “at least 2,000 National Guard personnel” in response to protests against immigration raids in California. But according to a federal lawsuit that California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed on Monday, that unilateral deployment is blatantly inconsistent with the statute that Trump cited to […]
Five years ago last Tuesday, The New York Times, after considerable internal turmoil, published an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R–Ark.) advocating that the federal government unilaterally send military troops to quell the riots ripping through the country in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. The piece led directly to the […]
I much enjoyed this conversation with Kayla Ann Toney (First Liberty Institute), who was the prevailing lawyer in S.E. v. Grey: Encinitas Unified School District required two fifth-grade boys and their assigned kindergarten buddies to read and watch My Shadow is Pink and do an activity, pressuring the kindergartners to choose a color to represent their […]
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. To start with a brief programming note, I’ll be off the rest of this week and early next week for some YIMBY-adjacent travel. That means there will not be a Rent Free newsletter next Tuesday. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the coming lack of […]
A Louisiana police officer who shot and killed a puppy in 2021 will now face trial, after a lengthy legal battle. On April 10, 2021, two New Orleans Police Department officers were called to Derek Brown and Julia Barecki-Brown’s home after receiving a noise complaint. According to legal documents, as the pair approached the house, […]
The White House is promising that the “Big Beautiful Bill” will provide a jolt to the economy—but those expectations fail to take into account three direct consequences of the bill that independent analysts believe will sap growth in the long run. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and others in the Trump administration have been […]