David Cole

The Supreme Court’s Power Grab

In a series of disturbing decisions this term, the Supreme Court drastically weakened the power of the executive agencies that govern financial markets, agriculture, health care, energy, the airwaves, the environment, the workplace, and so much else.

The Right to Speak Freely Online

“The reality is that we want some content moderation. We just want the ‘right’ content moderation. But under the First Amendment, that’s not a decision we can entrust the government to make.”

Who Should Regulate Online Speech?

A number of cases before the Supreme Court this term will determine the future of free speech on the Internet.

Free Speech on Campus: An Exchange

Who’s Canceling Whom?

Conservatives often charge their opponents with "cancel culture," but the right poses as significant a threat to free speech as the left.

The Supreme Court Picks Its Battles

June ended with far-reaching upsets for civil rights, but a closer look at the Supreme Court's decisions across the 2022–2023 term suggests the justices are not immune to public scrutiny.

Originalism’s Limits

An Abortion Drug Tests the Supreme Court

How the justices resolve a case over the FDA's longstanding approval of mifepristone will reveal whether they rule by personal ideology or by judicial restraint.

Originalism’s Charade

Two new books make a devastating case against claims that the Constitution should be interpreted on the basis of its purported “original meaning.”

Equal Protection on the Docket

In its new term, the Supreme Court has chosen to hear several cases that, if overturned, could set efforts to protect minority groups back decades.

Egregiously Wrong

In several of the term’s most controversial cases, the Court’s new majority applied originalism to disastrous effect.

The End of Roe

A symposium of writers on a future without the right to reproductive freedom.

A Heedless Majority

In voting to overturn Roe, the Trump-appointed justices on the Supreme Court have proven themselves to be truly radical.

When Rights Went Right

Is the American conception of constitutional rights too absolute?

The University and Freedom of Expression

It is no mere academic matter if Georgetown Law succumbs to pressure to fire Ilya Shapiro over a pair of offensive tweets.

Let the Decision Stand

Every argument against Roe was squarely rejected in the Supreme Court's 1992 Casey decision, and nothing has changed since then except the composition of the Court.

Surprising Consensus at the Supreme Court

With narrow rulings in many of its most controversial cases, the Court defied predictions of a sharp turn to the right.

Armed with Arguments

“Today, the NRA is on the defensive, and the gun control movement is stronger. That political fight will more likely determine gun regulation than the Supreme Court.”

A Rush to Execute

In six months, the Trump administration put to death over three times as many people as the federal government had executed in the previous six decades.

Can Liberals Win in a Conservative Court?

Recent history suggests the justices don’t like being too out of step with the country—especially if they feel under scrutiny. So that’s our job: watch them.