The Supreme Court just ruled your phone's location history is protected by the Fourth Amendment. Police generally need a warrant to obtain it. This is a sweepingly privacy protective ruling. I break down Chatrie v. United States.

What's the right way to rename The Kennedy Center? I explain in my latest Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds.

Can the government put someone to death after a judge blocks their lawyers from fully challenging racial bias in jury selection? The Supreme Court just said no in a 5-4 decision (Pitchford v. Cain). I break it down in my latest Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds.

Is it legal for the government to punish you for criticizing Charlie Kirk? The First Amendment says absolutely not.

The FBI is requesting bids for a nationwide car-tracking dragnet. FBI access to this data with no accountability and little oversight would be bad under any administration. But it's particularly problematic under this one, all the more so given that Kash Patel currently sits atop the FBI.

Can the Trump Administration exclude or remove people from the country because they work in content moderation? Breaking it down in Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds.

What do you get when two DOGE guys use ChatGPT to decide which federal grants to terminate? A constitutional violation, according to one federal judge. I break it down on my latest Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds.

Universities love celebrating activists of the past—but they get nervous when we praise the ones of today. My take on Prof. Derek Peterson's controversial graduation speech at Michigan.

Your phone is a tracking device. But is it legal for police to search for all cell phones near a crime scene? Breaking down geofence warrants and the fight for digital privacy in 60 seconds.

Is the White House ballroom a national security issue? The Trump Administration is trying to turn a legal shield into a loophole, invoking national security for everything from the ballroom to wind farms to offshore drilling.

Who’s a bigger threat to your privacy: the government tracking your car, or the tech bro sitting next to you filming with smart glasses? I testified before the California State Senate on two bills to address privacy risks of surveillance tech. Here's a short video about it.

Will immigrants file taxes this year? After Trump's IRS shared taxpayer data with ICE, courts stepped in to block it. But ICE has violated court orders repeatedly. My latest Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds.

The Trump Administration wants an anything goes approach to AI. California isn’t having it. My latest for Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds.

President Trump keeps losing First Amendment cases due to viewpoint discrimination, which is pretty remarkable

"Very quirky." That’s how Chief Justice Roberts described a key party of the government’s argument to end birthright citizenship this week. I break down the high-stakes arguments in Trump v. Barbara—in today's Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds

Does being born on US soil automatically make you an American? Today, SCOTUS hears a case that could dismantle over a century of precedent. From the historic Wong Kim Ark ruling to today, I break down what’s at stake.

Meta glasses look like standard frames—until someone turns them into secret spy gear. I went to the CA State Senate to testify on SB 1130. If you can’t tamper with a smoke detector, you shouldn’t be allowed to disable a camera’s safety light.

The Supreme Court said the government needs a warrant to track your cell phone's historical location. So how are federal agencies getting around it? They’re using your tax dollars to just buy it from private data brokers instead. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgea...

When a first grader’s drawing ends up in federal court, who really wins? (Spoiler: No one). Check out the latest Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds for the breakdown of a case that’s testing the limits of free speech in schools.

Can the government use its power to punish law firms for the viewpoints they represent? In my latest Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds, I examine the DOJ’s sudden reversal on its appeal defending executive orders that blacklisted major firms. Watch to learn why this matters. ⚖️🏛️

Can the military cut a retired veteran's pension for political speech? The Pentagon tried to punish Senator Mark Kelly for a video, but a federal judge blocked it, ruling his speech is unquestionably protected. Now, the appeals court will hear the case in May. Watch my 60-second breakdown! ⬇️

Can the Trump Administration force Anthropic to let the military use its products however it likes? My latest for Civil Liberties in 60 seconds.

Really excellent brief, filed earlier today, from First Amendment scholars in support of @knightcolumbia.org's motion for public access to Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago report. Thanks to @mfia-clinic.bsky.social for putting it together. knightcolumbia.org/documents/ak...

Protesting is a right—and so is your digital privacy. 🦋 Just because the police can take your cellphone if you get arrested mean they have an all-access pass to your life. ⚖️ The law draws a line in the sand at your data. #DigitalPrivacy #FirstAmendment #ProtestRights

Huge congratulations to Julie DeVries and the talented students of the Samuelson Law, Tech & Public Policy Clinic at @BerkeleyLaw on their vital new report: “Check the Monitor: Parole and Probation Technologies in Review.” 🧵 (1/6)

Can DOJ coerce Apple into deleting apps? Rep. Jamie Raskin is investigating claims DOJ strong-armed Big Tech into killing ICE-tracking apps. The 1st amendment bans DOJ from pressuring companies to suppress speech Watch here: www.youtube.com/shorts/zjLZu... #FirstAmendment #CivilLiberties #ICE

Are privacy rights failing to keep pace with surveillance tech? In my latest video for Civil Liberties in 60 Seconds, how federal agencies like ICE use high tech surveillance to monitor peaceful protesters without a clear legal framework #ICE #TwinCities www.youtube.com/shorts/EqA7...

Social media bans for kids are a huge trend--yet bad policy and likely unconstitutional. These laws don't just affect minors. They force adults into cumbersome age verification. I broke down the legal and social fallout in my new piece for @TheHill thehill.com/opinion/tec...

1/2 Contrary to recent rhetoric from DHS, the law is clear: ICE agents generally cannot enter a home without a judicial warrant.

Frustrating that in an era where 80 % of major law enforcement agencies have body-worn cameras, ICE has so few of them. President Biden signed an Executive Order requiring body-worn cameras---which President Trump repealed on his first day in office.

Laird v Tatum was a terrible decision that continues to haunt our democracy half a century later.

A new frontier in unchecked surveillance: retailers are turning their facial recognition systems into tools for law enforcement to spot persons of interest.

If you're wondering what Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, has said publicly in response to the FBI's raid of a Washington Post reporter's home last week, the answer is nothing.

Mark Carney's remarks at Davos are worth reading in their entirety. This is the kind of leadership the world needs. paulwells.substack.com/p/the-carney...

I worked on the Biden Administration's push to ban federal agents from using chokeholds. Federal policy is clear: unless deadly force is authorized, chokeholds are off limits.

“We will not obstruct ... We are not escalating.” Despite these mantras, the friction between ICE watchers and federal agents is at a breaking point. Given the tragedy in Minneapolis, I am re-sharing this explainer on the right to record law enforcement www.youtube.com/shorts/x3fB_...

How does the UC Berkeley Law Samuelson Clinic advance the public interest in an era of rapid technological change? By going deep.

Yet another example of troubling third party surveillance networks that circumvent the spirit if not always the letter of restrictions on police data collection. www.npr.org/2025/12/16/n...

In court tomorrow at 10am: a hearing on the Department of Energy's termination of UC researchers' grants. Listen here: cand.uscourts.gov/judges/rfl/l...

This is a must-read for anyone paying attention to the Trump Administration’s assault on higher ed. A new investigation reveals how Trump officials pressured DOJ career lawyers to manufacture a case against UCLA despite a glaring lack of evidence. www.propublica.org/article/ucla...

Not defending what happened here. But it compelled me to read the UC policy, which is alarmingly vague and broad. It prohibits "indoctrination" and requires staying "aloof from politics." Pretty tough to know how to discuss law, politics, economics, etc www.berkeleyside.org/2025/12/09/p...

Now that I’m back on the job market, I’m open to freelance work! So I’m partying like it’s the 2010s, baby, when Twitter was on the rise! (Here’s my first byline of the 2020s with @arstechnica.com , which was my professional home from 2012 - 2019.) bsky.app/profile/arst...

Good to see civil liberties groups suing to force release of the boat strikes memo. The public deserves clear answers regarding the government's legal rationale for the boat strikes, and this information should be released now, while the debate is live. www.aclu.org/cases/foia-c...

Do noncitizens have the same rights as citizens? This special episode of 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘸 features Professor Catherine Crump, Robert Glushko Clinical Professor of Practice in Technology Law. https://youtube.com/shorts/xMQeU-FIJHQ?feature=share #ItstheLaw #BerkeleyLaw @catherinecrump.bsky.social#ItstheLaw

Good for them. The pattern of who this administration dismisses is unmistakable.

Things that seem increasingly necessary for folks organizing ice watch groups…and other constitutionally protected activity our rogue administration did not like

A few years ago, Bill Nye the science guy debated creationist Ken Ham about evolution. The last question was "what would change your mind?" Bill Nye said "Evidence." Ken Ham said "Nothing can possibly change my mind about this." I think about that a lot.

Do you have a First Amendment right to record ICE raids? I recently joined an episode of "It's the Law" to explain the constitutional protections for recording law enforcement activity in public. It is a critical right that everyone should understand.

Exactly this--having to deploy the police to protect the National Guard reduces police resources for combatting crime, the supposed rationale for the Guard present in the first place.

Agree that this use of AI in policing is probably premature, but I like that officers are thinking about how to use AI to increase officer compliance with policies. We should be supportive of that instinct.