The Constitution

Activists rally outside the US Supreme Court Building before the start of oral arguments in the “United States v. Rahimi” Second Amendment case on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

The Supreme Court Just Got a Gun Ruling Right—for Completely Bonkers Reasons The Supreme Court Just Got a Gun Ruling Right—for Completely Bonkers Reasons

The court’s Rahimi ruling seems like a victory for gun regulation but is actually an attempt to pave the way for future extreme gun rulings.

Jun 21, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Steve Schwarzman speaking to students

Why Plutocrats Are Rallying to Trump Why Plutocrats Are Rallying to Trump

Civic lessons won’t sway America’s oligarchs. Instead, we need forthright economic populism to bring them to heel.

Jun 10, 2024 / Jeet Heer

Policeman with his gun drawn.

Police Can Be Held Liable for Killing a Dog but Not a Black Person Police Can Be Held Liable for Killing a Dog but Not a Black Person

In back-to-back rulings on when cops should be afforded qualified immunity, an appeals court came to radically different conclusions.

Jun 6, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Aziz Rana

Aziz Rana Wants Us to Stop Worshipping the Constitution Aziz Rana Wants Us to Stop Worshipping the Constitution

A conversation with the legal scholar on why its unusual the Constitution is core to American national identity and his new book The Constitutional Bind.

Jun 3, 2024 / Q&A / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

Samuel Alito’s Opinions Are Just As Upside-Down as His Flag Samuel Alito’s Opinions Are Just As Upside-Down as His Flag

In a majority opinion rubber-stamping South Carolina’s racist congressional map, Alito made it effectively impossible to contest racial gerrymanders.

May 24, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Students holding Palestinian flags and signs walk out of the UMass Amherst commencement ceremony in protest on May 18, 2024, as Chancellor Javier Reyes takes the stage to speak.

The Threat of Democracy on Campus at UMass The Threat of Democracy on Campus at UMass

The real danger posed by the Gaza solidarity encampments is their attack on unfettered autocratic governance by university administrations and wealthy benefactors.

May 21, 2024 / Kevin Young

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas

Impeach Samuel Alito! Impeach Clarence Thomas! Impeach Samuel Alito! Impeach Clarence Thomas!

Corrupt insurrectionists have no place on the Supreme Court.

May 20, 2024 / Jeet Heer

A woman sits in her car, which police had seized for a crime she did not commit.

The Supreme Court Rules That Cops Can Steal Your Stuff—as They Always Have The Supreme Court Rules That Cops Can Steal Your Stuff—as They Always Have

By a 6-3 vote, the conservative justices decided that there is no need for the state to provide a preliminary hearing in civil forfeiture cases.

May 10, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Yale University students reoccupy a central lawn on campus and establish a second Gaza Solidarity camp after the first tents were taken down by campus police, April 26, 2024, in New Haven, Connecticut.

Universities Like Mine Are Providing an Authoritarian Blueprint for Trump Universities Like Mine Are Providing an Authoritarian Blueprint for Trump

The potential next president and his allies are looking at the campus-led crackdown on free speech as a perfect dress rehearsal.

May 9, 2024 / Gregg Gonsalves

Police patrol outside Columbine High School on April 17, 2019 in Littleton, Colorado, the site of the deadly school shooting in 1999.

25 Years After the Columbine Massacre, Is There Any Hope to End America’s Epidemic of Gun Violence? 25 Years After the Columbine Massacre, Is There Any Hope to End America’s Epidemic of Gun Violence?

With the National Rifle Association now weaker than it has been in decades, progress is possible—if politicians are willing to seize the time.

Apr 19, 2024 / Peter Dreier

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