Cato on Campus - Law

Drinking Age Revisited

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:49:00 EDT

By Brandon Arnold: "Yesterday, over a hundred college presidents called for a reexamination of the current minimum drinking age and suggested it should be lowered. This is great news and could serve as an opportunity to begin an intelligent national dialogue on improving alcohol policies."

C.S.Oy

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:24:00 EDT

By Radley Balko and Roger Koppl: "But as forensic evidence becomes more and more important in securing convictions, the need for monitoring and oversight grows exponentially. Every other scientific field properly requires peer review, statistical analysis, and redundancy to ensure quality and accuracy. It's past time we applied the same quality-control measures to criminal forensics, particularly given the fundamental nature of what's at stake."

What Next for D.C.'s Gun Laws

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:36:00 EDT

By Robert A. Levy and David Kopel: "The Supreme Court ruled in June that provisions of Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the city has responded with new regulations that are a flagrant attempt to circumvent the court's decision."

Why California Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Charlie Lynch Was Found Guilty in Federal Court of Selling Drugs

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

"In this latest reason.tv video, we talk to Lynch's lawyers and the forewoman of the jury to find out precisely how Lynch got convicted and what happens next. It's a disturbing, provocative video that should make even the hardiest drug warrior wonder just what the hell we're doing locking up businessmen who play by the rules and give aid and comfort to sick people."

Elevator Arguments for Drug Policy Reform

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:25:00 EDT

By Pete Guither: "So you�ve been studying hard and you�re starting to amass an incredible amount of data supporting drug policy reform. You�re ready to make a difference.
And then opportunity presents itself. Somebody actually asks you a question about drugs... just as you get on the elevator. But here�s the problem � he�s getting off at the 12th floor and you�re going to 14. What do you do?"

Consenting to Be Abused

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:47:00 EDT

By Steve Chapman: "In a nation founded on respect for the rights of every person, these searches give all priority to the power and convenience of the government, while mocking the liberties we are supposed to have. Why would we consent to that?"

Criminal Justice Unfairly Ignored on Trail

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:32:00 EDT

By Radley Balko: Given that enforcing federal law is one of the few presidential powers explicitly prescribed the Constitution, here are some criminal justice policy questions for John McCain and Barack Obama:

District of Columbia V. Heller: What's Next?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:02:00 EDT

By Robert A. Levy: "Following a victory that some thought impossible, the advocates of the right to bear arms are asking themselves where to go next. None are more qualified to answer that question than Robert A. Levy, co-counsel in District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark case that has permanently changed the shape of gun rights jurisprudence." - Dr. Jason Kuznicki

The Second Amendment Goes to Court

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:23:00 EDT

Alan Gura, Glenn Reynolds, Randy Barnett, Brian Doherty, Sanford Levinson, Jacob Sullum, and Dave Kopel respond to D.C. v. Heller

D.C. Gun Ban Struck Down

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:04:00 EDT

"On Thursday, the Court rediscovered the Second Amendment. More than five years after six Washington, D.C. residents challenged the city�s 32-year-old ban on all functional firearms in the home, the Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the law is unconstitutional. Heller is merely the opening salvo in a series of litigations that will ultimately resolve what weapons and persons can be regulated and what restrictions are permissible. But because of Thursday�s decision, the prospects for reviving the original meaning of the Second Amendment are now substantially brighter." - Robert A. Levy, Co-counsel to Mr. Heller

Democrats Capitulate on FISA

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:45:00 EDT

By Julian Sanchez: "Democrats are trying to rationalize capitulating on surveillance and telecom immunity in the new FISA bill by calling it a compromise. It isn't."

In a Class Of Your Own

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:05:00 EDT

By Roger Pilon: "When the Supreme Court affirms a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, that's news, especially when nearly every other circuit has gone the other way. That's what happened last week in Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately, the news would be better had the 9th Circuit gotten it right."

Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:14:00 EDT

By Michael Lewis: "Some of the greatest baseball players the world has never seen are in Cuba, where their talent is government property, and their only chance of turning pro is the risky boat ride to Florida. Gus Dominguez, an L.A. sports agent, has done more than anyone to help escaped players join major-league U.S. teams, but now he sits in a California jail, convicted of smuggling athletes."

Raiding California�Drew Carey on Medical Marijuana and Minors

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:15:00 EDT

"Should medical marijuana be kept from minors at all costs? Why is it that pharmacists can dispense amphetamines without getting busted, but legal operators who dispense medical marijuana face prison time? Why do armed federal agents persist in raiding California?"

Texas Supreme Court: Return the Children

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:15:00 EDT

By Tim Lynch: "[T]he Supreme Court of Texas ruled that Child Protective Services (CPS) abused its discretion by seizing 468 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado."

Presidential Power-Tripping

Thu, 29 May 2008 12:43:00 EDT

By Radley Balko: " The most important issue in this November's presidential election isn't Iraq or terrorism or the economy, though it plays into all three. The most important issue is presidential power."

Drew Carey Reports on the Tragically High Cost of Building a Border Wall

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:51:00 EDT

"At a time when pundits and politicians of all stripes endorse securing the border between the United States and Mexico, reason.tv travels south to see what's really going on�and what the human and monetary costs are of amping up border patrols."

Where Does Law Come From?

Wed, 21 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

By Bruce L. Benson: "The lesson here is that law and governance are natural institutions that arise out of people�s interest in prospering through production, the division of labor, and trade. They do not depend on a central coercive authority for their genesis. States can arise when a powerful group, bent on institutionalized extortion, co-opt and alter existing customary law to serve its own particular interests."

Is Real ID Really Going to Happen?

Mon, 12 May 2008 16:11:00 EDT

By Matthew Blake: "Little about Real ID has gone as planned. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia, were given extensions by the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with Real ID. This extension was given despite the fact that 17 states passed resolutions saying they have no intention of ever implementing the program."

Mississippi Drug War Blues�the Case of Cory Maye

Thu, 08 May 2008 14:17:00 EDT

The latest Drew Carey Project video for reason.tv tells "a story about the intersection of race, the war on drugs, the disturbing increase in the militarization of police tactics, and systemic flaws in the criminal justice system. It is a tragedy in which one man is dead and another may spend his life in prison without possibility of parole."

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Hounded to Death

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:32:00 EDT

By David Boaz: "Faced with the prospect of years in prison, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the �D.C. Madam,� committed suicide on Thursday. Her pursuers and prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves."

Battle Over Eminent Domain Is Another Civil Rights Issue

Thu, 01 May 2008 14:06:00 EDT

By David T. Beito and Ilya Somin: "Few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain. Some 3 to 4 million Americans, most of them ethnic minorities, have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of urban renewal takings since World War II."

An Elephant Never Forgets?

Thu, 01 May 2008 10:03:00 EDT

By Tim Lee: "Transparency is an important tool for limited government. Senior administration officials are more likely to behave themselves if they know their correspondence is subject to subpoena and will be available for the scrutiny of future historians. It�s therefore troubling that for most of the last 8 years, the Bush administration has failed to have an automated system in place for complying with the law as his predecessor did."

America on drugs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:14:00 EDT

"In the Los Angeles Times, Jacob Sullum debates Cully Stimson about drug policy in a back-and-forth argument that's wraps up today."

Employers Must Pull the Trigger

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:03:00 EDT

By Robert A. Levy: "The owner of the property should be able to determine � for good reasons, bad reasons, or no reason at all � whether to admit gun owners, non-gun owners, neither or both. Customers, employees and guests who object may go elsewhere. That's the controlling principle."