Cato on Law

Cato on Law Links and commentary from the Cato Institute about law, constitutional and otherwise. Carrying on th Carrying on the work of law blog Overlawyered (1999-2020).

11/30/2023

To learn more about our work in law, sound governance, individual liberty and many other topics, follow Cato's main page.

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When lawmakers wag their fingers in the faces of tech companies, when does mere expression of opinion shade into pressur...
11/27/2023

When lawmakers wag their fingers in the faces of tech companies, when does mere expression of opinion shade into pressure backed by government force? David Inserra helps us draw the lines on "jawboning" at the Cato Daily Podcast.

Featuring David Inserra and Caleb O. Brown

Cato is hiring a research fellow in the Center for Constitutional Studies.
11/27/2023

Cato is hiring a research fellow in the Center for Constitutional Studies.

The Cato Institute is looking to hire a research fellow in the Center for Constitutional Studies. (I am an adjunct...

The First Amendment protects our right to support social causes in private. Some government leaders want to change that....
11/24/2023

The First Amendment protects our right to support social causes in private. Some government leaders want to change that. Luke Wachob of People United for Privacy Foundation joined the Cato Podcast to discuss.

Featuring Luke Wachob and Caleb O. Brown

Writing before the fact, Walter Olson previewed some of the season's notable ballot measures, including a Maine bid to h...
11/24/2023

Writing before the fact, Walter Olson previewed some of the season's notable ballot measures, including a Maine bid to have the state take over the electric utility business (it failed), proposals in three Michigan communities to adopt ranked choice voting (they passed), and a Louisiana bill to ban nonprofit grants to election administrators (it passed).

Voters in many states and cities across the country will decide on ballot measures that will make a difference in the size of government, fiscal responsibility, and democratic governance.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases on the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, Devillier v. United States ...
11/20/2023

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases on the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, Devillier v. United States and Sheetz v. County of El Dorado. In both, Cato had filed a brief urging the Court to grant review. Cato's Ilya Somin, an expert on takings, writes that Devillier in particular "threatens to create a new Catch-22" preventing property owners from vindicating their federal rights against uncompensated state takings.

The badly flawed lower court ruling defies the Supreme Court's landmark 2019 decision forbidding such Catch-22 traps, and threatens the property rights of large numbers of people.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill passed by the California legislature that would have allowed possession of small quantit...
11/20/2023

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill passed by the California legislature that would have allowed possession of small quantities of certain psychedelics. Dr. Jeffrey Singer, discussing the issue before the veto, tells Caleb Brown the measure would have helped physicians who believe the substances can be effective in some indications.

Featuring Jeffrey A. Singer and Caleb O. Brown

The Eighth Circuit held that President Obama could appoint an acting officer *after* he had left office. Cato is urging ...
11/17/2023

The Eighth Circuit held that President Obama could appoint an acting officer *after* he had left office. Cato is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision, writes Thomas Berry. Post-presidency appointments evade accountability and violate the Constitution.

An appeals court held that a president can appoint acting officers long after that president has left office. The Supreme Court should reverse that decision.

At Cato Audio, Caleb Brown interviews Clark Neily and Walter Olson on how prosecutors, both Georgia and federal, use RIC...
11/17/2023

At Cato Audio, Caleb Brown interviews Clark Neily and Walter Olson on how prosecutors, both Georgia and federal, use RICO and racketeering law. Former President Donald Trump and a number of co-defendants face charges in Fulton County, Ga. under Georgia's version of the law.

Featuring Walter Olson, Clark Neily, and Caleb O. Brown

The Supreme Court long ago erred in gutting a key provision of the 14th Amendment. Anastasia Boden says a case the court...
11/13/2023

The Supreme Court long ago erred in gutting a key provision of the 14th Amendment. Anastasia Boden says a case the court could take up this term gives them an opportunity to repair that mistake.

Featuring Anastasia P. Boden and Caleb O. Brown

Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, a case on so-called tester standing, is bringing before the Supreme Court this term a phenomen...
11/13/2023

Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, a case on so-called tester standing, is bringing before the Supreme Court this term a phenomenon it has never squarely faced: the growth of lawsuit mills that file cookie-cutter Americans With Disabilities Act complaints against Main Street businesses and then settle them for cash.

The Supreme Court is finally taking a look at the phenomenon of ADA filing mills, in which lawyers for a single disabled complainant can tag hundreds of businesses with cookie‐​cutter complaints and demand cash settlements.

Cato has filed an amicus brief urging the Second Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling holding unconstitutional a New Y...
11/10/2023

Cato has filed an amicus brief urging the Second Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling holding unconstitutional a New York law requiring social media platforms to publish official policies on "hate speech" and create mechanisms for users to report it. The requirement violates the First Amendment rights of both social media sites and their users by chilling free expression, given that most of the speech falling under New York’s mandated definition of that term is itself lawful speech protected by the First Amendment.

New York wants to force social media sites to adopt a hate speech policy even if they don’t want to. That violates the First Amendment.

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