Civil Liberties
1,361 Articles

Ninth Circuit Upholds 702 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, But Leaves Open Future Challenges
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit released its opinion in United States v. Mohamud – a case I described back in January 2015 as a “top national security” case to watch in the…

Rule 41 Has Been Updated: What’s Needed Next
On December, 1, the revised version of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 went into effect. The Department of Justice, which first proposed an earlier (and more expansive) version…

A Word to a Newfound Ally
As a longtime (and long-exasperated) reader of Lawfare, I’ve been heartened to see the site’s recent editorial turn, in response to current events, toward newly appreciating…

New Counterterrorism Program in Los Angeles: Suspicious Thought Reporting?
The FBI is teaming up with local police in Los Angeles to roll out a new approach to prevent domestic terrorism, called RENEW for “Recognizing Extremist Network Early Warnings.”…

The Investigatory Powers Act: The Official Entrenchment of Far-Reaching Surveillance Powers
What was formerly known as the Investigatory Powers Bill, referred to elsewhere as the “revised Snoopers’ Charter,” has received Royal Assent and, as of Nov. 29,…

A Short Course on the Constitutional Law of Expatriation
The President-Elect is at it again: Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year…

The ACLU Goes to War
The Drone Memos collects important memoranda from the Justice Department, addresses by Barack Obama, John Brennan, Harold Koh, Eric Holder and others, executive orders and various…

The Next Four Years: A Thanksgiving Strategy
On this Thanksgiving Day, like many gathered around dining tables everywhere, I have so much to be thankful for personally: the most wonderful family and friends imaginable,…

Why Trump’s Proposed Targeting of Muslims Would be Unconstitutional
As a candidate, Donald Trump notoriously called for a ban on the entrance of all Muslims, a database to track Muslims in the United States, for aggressive surveillance of “the…

The Islamophobia Administration
POLITICO is reporting today that President-elect Donald Trump will likely nominate Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) for attorney general and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) to be director…

Twitter’s Reaction to Stephen Bannon’s Appointment as Trump’s Chief Strategist
As Rebecca Hamilton noted in her post on Monday, commentators from across the political spectrum have denounced President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Stephen…

Investigating Surveillance Around Standing Rock
An anonymous Facebook plea recently went viral, asking people to check in to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to thwart police surveillance of the Dakota Access pipeline protesters.…