Coconut Trees, Price Controls, and Demand Subsidies
Plus: Gainesville shrinks minimum lot sizes, a Colorado church can keep providing shelter to the homeless, and Berkeley considers allowing small apartments everywhere.
Florida
The DOJ Claims Medical Marijuana Patients Who Own Guns 'Endanger the Public in Multiple Ways'
Defending the federal ban on gun possession by drug users, the government's lawyers seem increasingly desperate.
A Law Professor's Beef With a First Amendment 'Spinning Out of Control': Too Much Speech of the Wrong Sort
Even as he praises judicial decisions that made room for "dissenters" and protected "robust political debate," Tim Wu pushes sweeping rationales for censorship.
When the Government Came for Florida's Orange Trees
The state cut down private fruit trees and offered gift cards as compensation. It didn't solve the citrus canker problem.
Billboard Comparing Trump to Fidel Castro Removed After Politician Complained
It's a classic case of jawboning.
The Supreme Court Again Strengthens the Right to a Jury Trial in Criminal Sentencing
Paul Erlinger was sentenced to 15 years in prison based largely on a determination made by a judge—not a jury.
Ron DeSantis Won't Stop Trying To Gut Florida's Public Records Law
DeSantis' chief of staff used a personal phone to coordinate migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard. Now DeSantis' lawyers say those phone logs should be secret.
Don't Freak Out Over Florida Teen Labor Laws
Laws letting teens work longer hours won't have the disastrous effects critics claim they will.
A Florida Man Was Arrested for Filming Marion County Sheriff's Deputies. Now He's Suing.
Numerous federal appeals courts have ruled that filming police is protected under the First Amendment, but police continue to illegally arrest people for it.
Does Miami Have the Answer to Homelessness?
There may not be a perfect solution to ending homelessness, but there are some clear principles to reduce the friction for those working to do so.
'An Embarrassing Mistake': Neil Gorsuch Rails Into Florida's Use of 6-Person Juries
The Sixth Amendment was originally seen as vital to preserving liberty. Yet it has been consistently watered down.
Tacos, Sandwiches, and Zoning
Plus: Austin shrinks its minimum lot sizes, Florida builds on past zoning reforms, and Arizona passes ADU and missing middle bills.
The Police Killing of Roger Fortson Shows the Conflict Between the 2nd Amendment and Paranoid Cops
Fortson, a 23-year-old active duty airman, was shot and killed by a Florida sheriff's deputy when he opened the door to his apartment holding a gun at his side.
Alabama Governor Signs Bill Banning Lab-Grown Meat
Lab-grown meat bans don't protect consumers, but they do protect ranchers and farmers from competition.
Ron DeSantis Says Letting People Buy Cultivated Meat Is Like Forcing Them To Eat Bugs
Florida’s protectionist ban on the nascent industry sacrifices conservative principles in the name of a culture war that politicizes everything.
Does Uncle Sam Consider Your Backyard Restricted Airspace?
The areas where you need FAA approval to fly a model plane or drone are surprisingly large.
Even If You Support Police, Don't Ban People From Recording Them
Filming cops is a First Amendment right, and there are already plenty of laws against harassing them.
DeSantis Signs Bill Banning Lab-Grown Meat in Florida
While the governor framed the legislation as necessary to protect Floridians from "the global elite," he's the real authoritarian.
Florida Police Departments Spent Thousands on Training Seminars Banned in 9 States
A New Jersey government watchdog said Street Cop Training instructors glorified violence, made discriminatory remarks, and offered unprofessional and unconstitutional advice to officers.
DeSantis Frets About Florida 'Reeking of Marijuana,' Says He'll Oppose Legalization
Once again, DeSantis is a guy who claims to love freedom—until he disagrees with the choices some adults make.
Florida Man's Tall Grass Saga Comes to an End
One man’s overgrown yard became a six-year struggle against overzealous code enforcement.
She Only Served 10 Months Behind Bars. Florida Still Slapped Her With A $127,000 Bill.
Under Florida's "pay-to-stay" law, inmates are charged $50 for every day of their sentence—including time they never spent incarcerated.
Laws Requiring Social Media Firms to Host Content they Prefer to Exclude Violate the Takings Clause
Ethan Blevins of the Pacific Legal Foundation explains why. I myself have made similar arguments.
Ron DeSantis Signs Florida Bill Limiting How Close Bystanders Can Get to Police
The law makes it a misdemeanor to approach within 25 feet of a first responder after receiving a verbal warning to stay away.
A Florida Judge Says $165,000 in Fines for 3 Minor Code Violations Is Not 'Excessive'
Sandy Martinez faces that bill because of driveway cracks, a storm-damaged fence, and cars parked on her own property that illegally touched her lawn.
Biden's Florida Test
Plus: IDF scandal, Latin America's "small penis club," Havana syndrome, and more...
Christopher Yoo on Regulating Social Media Platforms as "Common Carriers"
The Univ. of Pennsylvania legal scholar makes the most thorough critique yet of this approach to justifying regulations that bar social media firms from engaging in most types of content moderation.
Ron DeSantis Signs Social Media Age-Verification Bill
The law would require platforms to use invasive measures to prevent most teenagers under 16 from making social media accounts and bar all minors from sexually explicit sites.
Patrick Swayze's Road House Defined the So-Bad-It's-Good Movie. The Remake? Not So Much.
A just-good-enough remake fails to live up to its predecessor.
Miami Beach's Breakup With Spring Breakers May Fare Poorly for the City
Efforts to revamp the tourist hot spot ignore the reality for local business owners.
FIRE Highlights the Blatant Hypocrisy of State Officials Who Decry Government Meddling With Social Media
Even as they attack the Biden administration's crusade against "misinformation," Missouri and Louisiana defend legal restrictions on content moderation.
Florida Lawmakers Vote To Raise Stripping Age to 21
Employing an 18- to 20-year-old at an adult venue could mean 15 years in prison, even if the young person used a fake ID.
DeSantis Vetoed a Social Media Age-Verification Law, but That Doesn't Mean He Won't Sign a New One
A law forcing kids off social media sites is still likely coming to Florida.
Florida Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison After Shooting Down a Drone
Rather than destruction of property, Wendell Goney was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon.
Supreme Court Looks Poised To Gut Restrictive Social Media Laws
The First Amendment restricts governments, not private platforms, and respects editorial rights.
Texas and Florida Say the First Amendment Must Be Sacrificed to Save It
Supreme Court arguments about two social media laws highlight a dangerous conflation of state and private action.
Most Justices Seem Skeptical of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The Supreme Court seems inclined to recognize that content moderation is protected by the First Amendment.
Supreme Court Seems Likely to Strike Down Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The laws violate the First Amendment because they require social media sites to abjure most content moderation, and platform speech they disapprove of.
Texas and Florida Want the Supreme Court To Bless Their Unconstitutional Social Media Laws
Both states are trying to force tech companies to platform certain sorts of speech.
Drive-Away Dolls Is an Underwhelming Lesbian Noir
A shaggy roadtrip comedy set against the backdrop of late 1990s right-wing family values politics fails to come together.
Good Times, Bad Times: Eviction Edition
Plus: Voters in Massachusetts reject state-mandated upzonings, Florida localities rebel against a surprisingly effective YIMBY reform, and lawsuits target missing middle housing in Virginia.
A Florida Cop Gets Into a Shootout With an Acorn, Emptying His Gun Into His Own Patrol Car
Deputy Jesse Hernandez, whose bullets miraculously missed the handcuffed suspect in the car, resigned during an investigation that found he "violated policy."
Ron DeSantis Supports Legislation Banning Lab-Grown Meat
"You need meat, OK? We're going to have meat in Florida," DeSantis said during a press conference.
Endless War Continues
Plus: An immigration deal that's already collapsing, more expensive Big Macs, and Taylor Swift (because why not).
Disney Can't Prove DeSantis Retaliated Against It, Federal Judge Rules
Disney has vowed to appeal the ruling.
