Civil Liberties
1,361 Articles
Russia and a Divided United States: What Comes After Trump?
While the United States, along with its Western allies, became preoccupied with post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, global counterterrorism operations, and the aftermath of…
Never Waste A Good Crisis, FBI Edition
President Trump’s decision to summarily dismiss now-former FBI Director James Comey has sparked grave concerns in many quarters. The move has been described as a profoundly…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (May 5-12)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…
The Constitutional Rubicon of an Assange Prosecution
If you were tuning in and out of FBI Director James Comey’s hearing before the House Intelligence Committee last Wednesday, you probably got an earful about Comey’s public…
Judge Keenan Identifies the Most Straightforward Reason Why the Entry Ban is Unlawful
Cross-posted on Take Care. In the Fourth Circuit oral argument yesterday in IRAP v. Trump, Judge Barbara Keenan put her finger on a simple, basic reason why Section 2(c) of…
The Missing Middle in Police Reform
The killing of Jordan Edwards this week should yield outrage. It should also serve as a wake-up to the rest of America. I’m finishing a book on countries that recovered from…
Questions to Ask As DHS Proposes Border Drones With Facial Recognition
In what could prove to be a Frankenstein combination of invasive technologies, the Department of Homeland Security is considering a project to arm Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)…
Broad Warrantless Surveillance Threatens to Undermine the Criminal Justice System
Congressional debates about the renewal of one of the United States’ most sweeping intelligence surveillance laws are heating up. Helping to shape the discussion are several…
Censorship at the Border Threatens Free Speech Everywhere
Defending one’s political and religious beliefs to government officials is an obligation we associate with life in authoritarian regimes, not open societies. It’s becoming…
A Microsoft Ireland Fix: Time to Act is Now!
It’s been almost a year since the Second Circuit issued its decision in the Microsoft Ireland case, ruling that U.S. warrant authority pursuant to the Electronic Communications…
Top Human Rights Lawyers’ Views on Trump’s Human Rights Record
“Human rights are at a nadir in Egypt,” wrote Human Rights Watch on the eve of President Donald Trump’s Monday meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the…
Trump’s Islamophobic Record Provides Backdrop for New Counterterrorism Policies
Every one of the 10 airports targeted by the new “laptop ban,” issued last week by the Department of Homeland Security, is located in a Muslim-majority country. Unsurprisingly,…