Jacob Sullum

Trump says judges and justices should not make decisions based on partisan considerations unless that means they are siding with him. reason.com/2026/03/20/jud…

Markwayne Mullin's history of condoning murder and resisting transparency makes him ill-suited to run the Department of Homeland Security. reason.com/2026/03/18/mar…

Brendan Carr’s crusade to reshape TV journalism is blatantly unconstitutional. The First Amendment does not allow the FCC chairman to police news coverage. reason.com/2026/03/18/bre…

Trump thinks broadcast licenses should be contingent on his own judgment of whether that journalism is fair and balanced. Carr seems to agree. @jacobsullum Brendan Carr Says He Can Police TV Journalism Because Broadcast Licenses Are 'Free' buff.ly/ExRNnb0

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says he can police TV journalism because broadcast licenses are "free." He is wrong about that. reason.com/2026/03/16/bre…

In 1942, SCOTUS invented a vague exception to the 1st Amendment. Although subsequent rulings cast doubt on the viability of the "fighting words" doctrine, it still figures in lower court decisions and the arguments of would-be censors left and right. reason.com/2026/03/14/the…

Virginia's impending "assault firearm" ban, which targets guns based on criteria that make little sense, seems vulnerable to a challenge under the Supreme Court's Second Amendment precedents. reason.com/2026/03/11/vir…

Trump’s new tariff plan still asserts a crisis that does not exist. His invocation of Section 122 conflates a trade deficit with a balance-of-payments deficit. reason.com/2026/03/11/tru…

Kristi Noem's lies about DHS shootings don't seem to have figured in Trump's decision to fire her. Trump himself falsely portrayed Renée Good and Alex Pretti as would-be murderers, and he did not seem troubled by Noem's description of them. reason.com/2026/03/06/kri…

Florida legislators seem unfazed by the obvious First Amendment problems with a bill that would authorize government surveillance based on "views" or "opinions" that are deemed a "threat" to state or national "interests." reason.com/2026/03/05/flo…

Great article from @jacobsullum of @reason highlighting the hearing, Sec. Noem's and DHS's lies, and the need for accountability. 1/2 #civilrights #governmentaccountability reason.com/2026/03/04/in-…

In Senate testimony on DHS shootings, Kristi Noem lied about her lies, claiming she never described Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist. reason.com/2026/03/04/in-…

A Supreme Court case illustrates the potential for trans-partisan alliances between critics of gun control and critics of the war on drugs. Civil libertarians left and right have united to oppose disarming cannabis consumers. reason.com/2026/03/04/civ…

An Iowa marijuana user who is serving a four-year sentence for gun possession gets another chance to challenge the constitutionality of his prosecution. He was convicted under the federal law at the center of a 2nd Amendment case SCOTUS is considering. reason.com/2026/03/03/an-…

SCOTUS seems skeptical of the Trump administration's argument that prosecuting a marijuana user for illegal gun possession is consistent with the Second Amendment. reason.com/2026/03/02/sco…

Trump thinks any judge who rules against him is in league with the "radical left." His ideological labels are no more meaningful than his other ad hominem attacks. reason.com/2026/02/27/tru…

The ACLU right now

Incluso sin los poderes de «emergencia», Trump tiene un montón de opciones arancelarias, por @JacobSullum Quienes se oponen a los aranceles de Trump obtuvieron una gran victoria, pero tendrán que continuar su lucha. Gracias a @reason Léalo acá: mexicolibertario.org/incluso-sin-lo…

The ACLU, long leery of the Second Amendment, is joining the NRA in urging the Supreme Court to uphold cannabis consumers' gun rights. reason.com/2026/02/25/the…

The Supreme Court's tariff decision complicated Trump's economically illiterate trade war. More important, it vindicated the rule of law and the separation of powers. reason.com/2026/02/25/the…