We have another Castle Doctrine or Stand Your Ground controversy this week. In Whitestown, Indiana, Maria Florinda Rios Perez, 32, died in her husband’s arms after the couple went to the wrong address to clean a house. The unidentified homeowner reportedly shot through the door. A GoFundMe site has been set up for her family. She was the mother of four.
Continue reading “Housecleaner Shot and Killed in Indiana After Trying to Enter Wrong House”
There is a controversy at the BBC over a correction made by presenter Martine Croxall on air when she changed a reference to “pregnant people” to “women.” The network later received 20 complaints and agreed that Croxall had violated network policies. (For full disclosure, I previously worked as the legal analyst for BBC). Continue reading “BBC Finds Presenter in Violation of Network Standards in Correcting “Pregnant People” Reference on Air”
This week, we have another attack on a display by conservative students at a U.S. university. Student members of Turning Point USA watched as a student, Justice Calhoon, flipped over their table at the University of Iowa. Notably, Calhoon had previously tossed a table of the school’s Young America’s Foundation (YAF) just days before. Calhoon has now been arrested. Continue reading “Iowa Student Arrested After Two Attacks on Conservative Displays on Campus”
In a significant win for the Trump Administration, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion on Thursday afternoon on the Trump Administration’s requirement that passport holders use their sex assigned at birth and that such requirements do not violate equal protection guarantees. While a brief, unsigned opinion issued on the interim docket, it represents a major ruling on the constitutional protections afforded to transgender individuals. Continue reading “Supreme Court Issues Major Opinion on Transgender Identity and the Trump Passport Policy”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit just delivered a significant victory for President Donald Trump and his team by vacating the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, an Obama appointee, and ordering him to reconsider the motion to remove the case from New York to federal court. Hellerstein, now 91, twice rejected the claim, but, according to the Second Circuit, ignored major issues favoring removal. Continue reading “Second Circuit Remands Federal Hush Money Case in Stunning Ruling for President Trump”
The oral argument yesterday on the Trump tariffs was fascinating as justices struggled with the knotty question of whether a president has the sweeping authority claimed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The justices were skeptical and uncomfortable with the claim of authority, and the odds still favored the challengers. However, there is a real chance of a fractured decision that could still produce an effective win for the Administration.
Continue reading “The Supreme Court Hears the Trump Tariff Case: Time for Plan B?”
We have another incident of a student trashing a conservative table while expressing absolute impunity to do so. The Young America’s Foundation (YAF) at Oklahoma State University had a table supporting traditional marriage when a student tossed their material and claimed the absolute right to vandalize opposing views on campus. Continue reading ““You Do Not Deserve a Conversation”: OSU Student Trashes Conservative Student Table”
This week, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, formally introduced impeachment articles against U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg. It was a popular move with many after a series of controversial orders by Judge Boasberg. I have been highly critical of those orders, particularly the prior orders granting Special Counsel Jack Smith’s demand for the telephone records of Republican members of Congress in the “Arctic Frost” probe. However, I disagree that his order meets the standard for impeachment under the Constitution. Continue reading “No, The House Should Not Impeach Judge Boasberg”
We have seen a rise in both rage rhetoric and political violence. New polling shows a shocking level of support for political violence, even after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. A new poll shows roughly a quarter of voters believe political violence is justified with the highest percentage among younger voters.Continue reading “A Quarter of Americans Now Believe Political Violence is Justified”
This week, I ran a column on how many on the left have discovered the joy and release of unmitigated hate speech. Democratic Helena City Commissioner candidate Haley McKnight is under fire for messages left on the phone of freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., in which she hopes for him to get cancer and die. It comes on the day that voters are going to the polls in Virginia, where the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Jay Jones, admitted that he previously expressed a desire to kill a political opponent and his children. As a measure of the appeal of rage rhetoric, Jones remains the leading candidate in the race, with most Democrats planning to vote for him. Continue reading ““I Hope You Die”: Montana Race Rattled by Latest Example of Rage Rhetoric”
Below is my column in the Hill on how some on the American left have learned how to hate. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is actually leading in the polls after admitting that he wanted to see a political opponent and his children killed. It appears that many Democratic voters have now embraced the rage as leaders ratchet up violent rhetoric. Those who once demanded the criminalization of hate speech appear to relish it.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““We’re Coming After You” — How Some on the Left Found Peace Through Hate”
Illinois has now joined California and Connecticut in barring federal immigration agents from conducting “civil arrests” of illegal aliens in or around state courthouses. The sanctuary law appears largely performative since it also appears unconstitutional. It is difficult to see how a state can bar the exercise of federal jurisdiction, at least after the Civil War. Continue reading “Illinois Bars ICE Arrests in State Courthouses and Safe Zones”
The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit yesterday overturned a federal judge’s order requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chief Greg Bovino to give daily immigration enforcement reports. In a stinging order, the panel found that U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, an Obama appointee, had exceeded her powers and role as a federal judge in ordering the measures. Continue reading ““An Inquisitor Rather Than a Neutral Adjudicator”: Seventh Circuit Slams Judge Over ICE Order in Chicago”
“Something wicked this way comes.” Those words from William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” capture the approach of Halloween. For tort litigators, it is welcome news for a holiday that is a mix of slip-and-falls, food liability, and costume defects. Each year, we add to the list of Halloween torts.
So let us begin. Continue reading “Spooky Torts: The 2025 List of Litigation Horrors”
There is another bizarre filing from Mark Elias, the controversial Democratic lawyer who helped to secretly fund the infamous Steele Dossier. In a new filing, Elias is challenging the district in New York City with the lone Republican member as violating the state voting rights act. Elias is effectively arguing that voting Republican is evidence of racism.