Too often, national security and personal liberties are portrayed as inversely related. This is simplistic, and also clearly wrong. After all, in the absence of security, it would be impossible to enjoy our freedoms at all. Nevertheless, some of the hardest national security choices are inevitably those that involve tradeoffs with civil liberties. The need to gather information on our enemies rubs up against expectations of privacy. The eroding line between war and law enforcement endangers principles of due process. And the need to keep secrets increasingly leads to tension with a robust free press.
Latest in Civil Liberties and Constitutional Rights
The cases will move forward through the normal appellate process with the ban against transgender servicemembers in place.
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Davidson v. Randall that a Virginia county official who blocked a constituent's access to the official’s Facebook page had violated the First Amendment. The court held that the official’s Facebook account amounted to a “public forum” and that blocking constituent access based on political viewpoints is unconstitutional. The full ruling is below.
An update in the ongoing litigation over the Trump administration's ban on military service by transgender people.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia declined on Nov. 30 to grant the government's motion for a stay of the court's preliminary injunction halting implementation of the ban on military service by transgender individuals. The court's order is available here and below.
On Nov. 23, the Trump administration filed petitions for a writ of certiorari before judgment in three lawsuits challenging its ban on military service by transgender people, preempting rulings by the courts of appeals.
The government notified two federal circuit courts that it may take its appeal of a preliminary injunction straight to the Supreme Court.
While the president can’t unilaterally revise the Constitution and overturn Supreme Court precedent, he can still create an enormous mess by trying.
The Knight Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act that seek records that about various agencies’ prepublication review policies and practices.
A federal judge’s order barring the publication of blueprints for 3D-printed guns will not eradicate the threat posed by the weapons—but it’s an important step.
A summary of significant litigation developments in Doe v. Trump, Stone v. Trump, Karnoski v. Trump, and Stockman v. Trump.