senior editor at Reason magazine and syndicated columnist covering drug policy, criminal justice, & civil liberties

Dallas, TX
Joined November 2011
Connecticut's new restrictions on Flock cameras highlight how easily cops can access sensitive data collected by automated license plate readers that track innocent motorists across the country. reason.com/2026/10/26/connec…
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How helping someone buy drugs can send you to prison for 20 years: State and federal prosecutors responded to fentanyl overdoses by treating accidents as homicides. reason.com/2026/10/23/how-he…
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IRS and DHS agents took $460,000 from an Arizona convenience store owner 20 months ago and still have not explained why. This week he filed a motion seeking return of his property, saying the government has no legitimate reason to keep it. reason.com/2026/10/21/the-fe…
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Two recent decisions illustrate the limits of a doctrine that often blocks civil rights claims. Federal appeals courts rejected qualified immunity for cops and a judge who flouted longstanding constitutional principles. reason.com/2026/10/21/2-rece…
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Jacob Sullum retweeted
Great @jacobsullum piece @reason on @POTUS and the First Amendment (link below)
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The 8th Circuit rejects qualified immunity for a judge who locked two children in jail cells because he was frustrated by their resistance to a parental custody decision. "A reasonable judge should have known better," it says. reason.com/2026/10/15/the-8t…
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The 3rd Circuit upholds the gun rights of a Pennsylvania man who committed a nonviolent misdemeanor two decades ago, saying his 2005 DUI conviction cannot justify permanently disarming him. reason.com/2026/10/15/the-3r…
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A Trump appointee concludes that the president likely violated the First Amendment when he banished disfavored journalists from the White House. Trump himself supplied the evidence supporting that conclusion. reason.com/2026/10/14/a-trum…
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Other courts should heed a federal judge's warning about the "indiscriminate mass surveillance" enabled by Flock cameras. Like cellphones, automated license plate readers generate vast amounts of sensitive data. reason.com/2026/10/14/other-…
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When TV networks protested press bans by declining to cover Trump, the DOJ says, they may have violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. The probe adds a new layer of bullying to Trump's vendetta against journalists. reason.com/2026/10/12/tv-net…
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Trump has been trampling free speech for more than 40 years, and it keeps getting worse. He stands out from his modern predecessors by openly displaying his contempt for the First Amendment. reason.com/2026/10/11/trump-…
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A survey of crime experts deflates Trump's attempt to take credit for recent declines in homicide. None of them thought the federal policies highlighted by Trump have played a major role in that trend. reason.com/2026/10/07/a-surv…
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Prettifying executions does not make them quicker or more reliable. Lethal injection aims to disguise the brutal reality of capital punishment by dressing it in medical garb. reason.com/2026/10/07/pretti…
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