Andrew P. Napolitano

Trump challenges the constitutional balance with federal policing push

President Trump quietly signed a national security presidential memorandum purporting to federalize policing.

October 1, 2025

Hate speech does not exist in law, only in the minds of bureaucrats

In two cases, the Supreme Court ruled that there is no such thing as hate speech and the government may not do indirectly what it is prohibited from doing directly.

September 24, 2025

Supreme Court betrays Fourth Amendment with ‘show your papers’ ruling

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States permitted federal police to stop persons in public and demand to see proof of lawful presence here, and in the absence of that proof, to arrest them.

September 17, 2025

Trump’s Caribbean boat killings expose dangerous executive overreach

Last week, the president of the United States did not take the Constitution seriously.

September 10, 2025

Feds defend torture again

The federal government continues its slow assault on the Constitution at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

September 3, 2025

The states and the presidency

"It is my intention to ... demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the federal government and those reserved to the states or to the people."

August 27, 2025

Trump’s D.C. safety push sparks debate over liberty vs. control

President Trump argued last week that as a result of the federal enhancement of police work in the District of Columbia, the city has gone, in four days, from the most dangerous in America to the safest.

August 20, 2025

Constitution protects runaway Texas Democrats right to interstate travel

"The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

August 6, 2025

Can the president impose taxes?

This week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which sits right below the Supreme Court, is hearing a case of profound constitutional importance.

July 30, 2025

Taxing morality: How the government uses the Johnson Amendment to police speech

When the IRS announced two weeks ago that it would not enforce a section of federal law commonly called the Johnson Amendment, many clerics rejoiced.

July 23, 2025

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed plea deal exposes a constitutional crisis

Last week, a federal appeals court in Washington invalidated a plea agreement for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has been incarcerated at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 20 years.

July 16, 2025

Are we still free? Jefferson’s warning rings louder as Washington grows more tyrannical

We are independent of London, but are we independent of Washington?

July 2, 2025

The coming police state in America

A foreign entity attacks American people or property, and it is somehow necessary to expand the powers of the government and shrink protections for civil liberties.

June 25, 2025

Trump, war and the Constitution

Has the United States become what President Trump recently condemned?

June 18, 2025

Slouching toward authoritarianism?

The deployment of California National Guard troops and active-duty U.S. Marines onto the streets of Los Angeles violates federal law and manifests a dangerous pattern of governmental behavior.

June 11, 2025

Fourth Amendment doesn’t create rights but secures them from government interference

Last week, the Trump administration announced the streamlining of access to illegally seized personal data from unsuspecting Americans, thereby making warrantless domestic spying easier for the spies.

June 4, 2025

Unbridled freedom of speech is foundational to America’s history, humanity and happiness

All attempts by the government to evaluate the content of speech and deter or punish what the government and its benefactors hate or fear are un-American, unconstitutional and unlawful.

May 28, 2025

Government attacks on private property

A recent Supreme Court oral argument about the liability of the FBI for invading and terrorizing the wrong home has brought to mind the dark and dangerous history of law enforcement.

May 21, 2025

What if freedom is suspended?

What if the writ of habeas corpus has been guaranteed to the British since 1215 and to Americans since 1789?

May 14, 2025

Can Trump restore the constitutional limits on domestic spying?

Among the lesser-known holes in the Constitution cut by the Patriot Act of 2001 was the destruction of the "wall" between federal law enforcement and federal spies.

May 7, 2025