Jacob Sullum
@jacobsullum
senior editor at Reason magazine and syndicated columnist covering drug policy, criminal justice, & civil liberties
Trump's birthright citizenship order is blatantly unconstitutional, says the first federal appeals court to consider the issue. That judgment is not surprising, since his reading of the 14th Amendment contradicts its text and history, plus 127 years of SCOTUS precedent.…
Lawmakers Wonder Why a Mountain Climber Was Prosecuted for Climbing a Mountain reason.com/2025/07/23/law… via @jacobsullum @reason "Sunseri's case illustrates the traps set by a code of federal regulations so vast and obscure that even experts can only guess at the number of…
Two members of the House Judiciary Committee wonder why a mountain climber was prosecuted for climbing a mountain. The case epitomizes the overcriminalization that the president decries. reason.com/2025/07/23/law…
The Trump administration says its speech-based deportation policy is a figment of your imagination. That gaslighting strategy suggests federal officials are not confident about the constitutionality of punishing students for expressing anti-Israel views. reason.com/2025/07/22/def…
Hunter Biden walks free while this Iowa man serves 4 years for the same "crime." The two cases illustrate the haphazard impact of an arbitrary, constitutionally dubious gun law. reason.com/2025/07/21/hun…
Whatever the merits of Trump's lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, he has a long history of abusing the legal system to punish constitutionally protected speech. reason.com/2025/07/21/tru…
The New York Times portrays methamphetamine as irresistible even while noting that people often will stop using it in exchange for small cash rewards. The success of "contingency management" belies the conventional understanding of addiction as a chemical compulsion.…
"I don't recall," judicial nominee Emil Bove said when asked whether he suggested responding to court orders by saying "fuck you." That alleged incident goes to the heart of the objections raised by critics who question Bove's respect for the rule of law. reason.com/2025/07/17/jud…
In response to a Second Amendment lawsuit, the Trump administration defends the federal ban on interstate handgun sales, saying it "serves legitimate objectives" and "only modestly burdens" the right to arms. reason.com/2025/07/16/the…
Kristi Noem glides over the real reason for ditching the TSA's shoe rule: The widely resented and ridiculed policy never made much sense. reason.com/2025/07/16/fed…
"Prosecuting journalists for declining to censor themselves is alarming and blatantly unconstitutional, as is ordering the press to unpublish news reports," Seth Stern told @reason's @jacobsullum. reason.com/2025/07/14/2-n…
In the latest example of local attempts to criminalize news reporting, two New Jersey journalists face blatantly unconstitutional charges for publishing information from a police blotter. reason.com/2025/07/14/2-n…
A video at the center of the criminal case against a New Mexico sheriff's deputy shows him jovially hurling a baby rabbit against a police vehicle as his supervisors laugh. reason.com/2025/07/11/wat…
That Isaiah-quoting DHS video is even more puzzling when you consider the details of the prophet's mission. reason.com/2025/07/10/the…
