Lawsuit: Prosecutors Filed Bogus Charges Against Detroit Man in Retaliation for Challenging Seizure of Car

The Institute for Justice says Robert Reeves’ First Amendment rights were violated when prosecutors filed and refiled baseless felony charges against him after he sued to get his car back.

“They’ve taken my car and tried to throw me in jail, but I’m still standing,” Reeves said in the Institute for Justice press release. “I’m not going to take the county’s threats sitting down. This isn’t about money or payback. This is about making sure the county can’t do this to anyone else.”

https://reason.com/2023/03/10/lawsuit-prosecutors-filed-bogus-charges-against-detroit-man-in-retaliation-for-challenging-seizure-of-car/

Massachusetts’ Tobacco Ban Went as Badly as You’d Expect

And now the state thinks it needs to crack down even more.

States that wish to avoid making the same mistake should view Massachusetts as a warning, not a role model.

https://reason.com/2023/03/09/massachusetts-tobacco-ban-went-as-badly-as-youd-expect/

Justice Gorsuch’s Dissent from Denial of Review in an Excessive Fines Clause Case

We have held that “[p]rotection against excessive punitive economic sanctions” is “‘fundamental'” and “‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.'” And all that would mean little if the government could evade constitutional scrutiny under the Clause’s terms by the simple expedient of fixing a “civil” label on the fines it imposes and declining to pursue any related “criminal” case.

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/01/23/justice-gorsuchs-dissent-from-denial-of-review-in-an-excessive-fines-clause-case/

How the CDC Became the Speech Police

Secret internal Facebook emails reveal the feds’ campaign to pressure social media companies into banning COVID “misinformation.”

The platforms may have thought they had little choice but to please the CDC, given the tremendous pressure to stamp out misinformation. This pressure came from no less an authority than President Joe Biden himself, who famously accused social media companies of “killing people” in a July 2021 speech.

https://reason.com/2023/01/19/how-the-cdc-became-the-speech-police/

Supreme Court Decides to Hear Case Challenging State Law Empowering Government to Seize Entire Value of a House to Pay Much Smaller Property Tax Debt

Minnesota law allowed Hennepin County to seize a $40,000 home owned by a 93-year-old widow to pay off a $15,000 tax debt.

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/01/14/supreme-court-decides-to-hear-case-challenging-state-law-empowering-government-to-seize-entire-value-of-a-house-to-pay-much-smaller-property-tax-debt/

Freedom Denied Part 1: How the Culture of Detention Created a Federal Jailing Crisis

In 1987… just 29% of people charged with federal crimes were jailed before trial; the rest were released back to their families. But today, pretrial jailing has become the norm, and we conclude that “the culture of detention” is to blame:

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/01/09/freedom-denied-part-1-how-the-culture-of-detention-created-a-federal-jailing-crisis/

New Jersey Town That Sued a Woman for Public Records Requests Now Wants Lawyer Prosecuted for Same Thing

Irvington made national headlines last year when it filed a lawsuit against an 82-year-old woman for filing too many public records requests. Now it says a lawyer for FIRE should be prosecuted.

https://reason.com/2023/01/06/new-jersey-town-that-sued-a-woman-for-public-records-requests-now-wants-lawyer-prosecuted-for-same-thing/