Major Unanimous Supreme Court Victory for Property Rights in Tyler v. Hennepin County

The Supreme Court ruled that home equity theft qualifies as a taking, and that state law is not the sole source for the definition of property rights. The ruling is imprecise on some points, but still sets an important and valuable precedent.

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/05/25/major-unanimous-supreme-court-victory-for-property-rights-in-tyler-v-hennepin-county/

Maine Legalizes the Sale of Prostitution Services

Maine’s policy is a step in the right direction, but as with laws that legalize drug possession but not production or sale, removing criminal penalties from only one side of the market is a minor step that can be worse than no legalization at all.

https://www.cato.org/blog/maine-legalizes-sale-prostitution-services

A New Underground Market in E‑Cigarettes Will Soon Begin Flourishing in Australia

As with all black markets, consumers will be less sure about the purity and quality of the products they buy or whether they contain deadly compounds. This will make vaping more hazardous.

https://www.cato.org/blog/new-underground-market-e-cigarettes-will-soon-begin-flourishing-australia

Texas School District Threatens to Seize 79-Year-Old Man’s Home for Stadium Parking Lot

The Houston-area Aldine Independent School District is considering the use of eminent domain to seize a one-acre property owned and occupied by Travis Upchurch.

In April, the Aldine Independent School District voted to authorize the use of eminent domain to seize the home and surrounding acre of land currently owned and occupied by 79-year-old Travis Upchurch, reported the Houston Chronicle in July.

https://reason.com/2023/08/18/texas-school-district-threatens-to-seize-79-year-old-mans-home-for-stadium-parking-lot/

Beyond the Fourteenth Amendment: Protecting the Right to Earn a Living

Most people would be hard‐​pressed to define the “American Dream” without some reference to economic freedom. From Benjamin Franklin’s dozens of inventions (bifocals! A flexible catheter!), to self‐​made man Frederick Douglass, to serial inventor Joy Mangano’s miracle mop, Americans believe that with a good idea and enough hard work, anyone can enjoy economic success—no matter the circumstances of their birth.

https://www.cato.org/blog/calling-papers-beyond-fourteenth-amendment-protecting-right-earn-living

Federal Appeals Court Rules Detroit’s Asset Forfeiture Violates Due Process Rights of Drivers

A federal circuit judge writes that Detroit’s vehicle seizure scheme “is simply a money-making venture—one most often used to extort money from those who can least afford it.”

Under civil asset forfeiture laws, police can seize property suspected of being connected to criminal activity, even if the owner is not charged with a crime. Law enforcement says civil asset forfeiture is a vital tool for disrupting drug trafficking and other organized crime by targeting illicit revenue.

However, civil liberties groups like the Institute for Justice say police often target innocent owners or petty offenders—not cartel lords—and force them to bear the cost of challenging the seizure in court.

https://reason.com/2023/09/01/federal-appeals-court-rules-detroits-asset-forfeiture-violates-due-process-rights-of-drivers/

Issue 1 aims at the heart of Ohioans’ citizen initiative powers. Here’s how we won them

Despite Ohioans’ good judgment, today’s legislative supermajority – already drunk on power – seeks to amass more power by stripping voters of their most potent tool for holding lawmakers accountable.

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2023/07/issue-1-aims-at-the-heart-of-ohioans-citizen-initiative-powers-heres-how-we-won-them-mike-curtin.html

The wild desperation of the lobbyists and politicians attacking voters and the Ohio Constitution

Issue 1 is asking Ohio voters to go to the polls, put our hands around our own necks, and strangle away our own power to hold out-of-control Statehouse lobbyists and lawmakers accountable… Republicans and their lobbyist friends are attempting to execute the largest, most anti-democratic, Big Government power grab in state history.