Autism’s Crime

by · Jan 2, 2026 10:40 am

The news is full of stories of rampant fraud surrounding autism treatment programs. A former AUSA, has covered it on X, noting that prosecutions have been ongoing for some time.  But are there larger lessons to be learned?

Well, one question that ought to be asked is whether there is an autism epidemic.  It’s funny how the media operates these days.  With President Trump in the White House, Scientific American published an article back in April of last year that lays out many good reasons to question the numbers, given that Secretary Kennedy made autism a priority.  It notes, correctly, that the diagnostic criteria have broadened considerably over the years.  These changes also included allowing simultaneous diagnoses of ADHD with autism, which was previously disallowed.  It also reports on a study that observes a decline in the diagnosis of intellectual disability while the rates of autism soared.  But then there’s this:

Another piece of evidence for changes in diagnosis explaining a large difference in the prevalence of autism is that autism rates vary widely from state to state in the U.S. The state with the highest prevalence of autism is California, with a rate of 53.1 per 1,000 eight-year-olds, while the one with the lowest prevalence is Texas, with a rate of 9.7 per 1,000 eight-year-olds. That’s a huge difference. But according to the CDC’s own report, it’s likely linked to California’s intense push for early screening and assessment.

The upshot: When the government puts money on the table, we get more of it.

 

Supreme Court Refuses to Lift Bar on President Using National Guard in Illinois

by · Dec 23, 2025 3:27 pm

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a brief decision in Trump v. Illinois, No. 25A443. The Court held that 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3) does not authorize the President to federalize the Illinois National Guard for the purpose of protecting federal personnel and property in Illinois.

I noted in this post some problems with that particular statute, including its requirement that orders be issued through the state governor. The Supreme Court’s decision focuses on a different aspect of the statute, the condition that “the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.” Today’s opinion holds that the reference to “regular forces” limits the statute to laws that the military can enforce, and those are few and far between given the Posse Comitatus Act.

My previous post noted that using military forces to enforce laws in recalcitrant states is better done under one of the surviving remnants of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.

As is common in these summary cases, the opinion of the court is brief and not designated as authored by any justice. Continue reading . . .

Meese Institute at AAF

by · Dec 22, 2025 9:33 am

Former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III is a long-time friend and advisor to CJLF. His namesake legal institute has long been part of the Heritage Foundation, but he has announced a new one at Advancing American Freedom, an organization headed by former Vice President Mike Pence. AAF’s press release quotes Mr. Meese:

I am proud to announce Advancing American Freedom as the home for the new Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law. AAF has already established itself as a leader in the conservative movement.

I am confident that the lawyers and staff in the Meese Institute will continue to play a leading role in advancing the conservative legal movement in terms of their scholarship, and by working with allies to achieve our mutual objectives, educating the general public about important legal issues, helping to train the next generation of conservative lawyers, and defending the Constitution and rule of law.

The WSJ has this article. Continue reading . . .

Judge Who Helped Illegal Alien Escape From ICE Convicted

by · Dec 19, 2025 2:16 pm

A Milwaukee Judge has been convicted of felony obstruction for letting an illegal alien out the back door of her courtroom to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting him. Harold Hutchison of Liberty Unyielding reports that a jury returned the guilty verdict Thursday against Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan after a four day trial. ICE agents sought to apprehend the illegal immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, after a hearing on a battery charge in front of Judge Dugan last April, the Associated Press reported. Flores-Ruiz was captured by the ICE agents following a foot chase.

Continue reading . . .

Virginia legislation could release dangerous murderers and tie the hands of the parole board

by · Dec 11, 2025 2:09 pm

In the wake of the November election, with the governor’s veto threat removed, the Virginia legislature is proceeding to pass California-style legislation that takes soft-on-crime to new levels. Hans Bader has this post with the above title at Liberty Unyielding.

In a nutshell, the bill would make the crime that a prison inmate committed irrelevant to the parole decision for those inmates who were under 18 at the time they committed major felonies. Continue reading . . .

SCOTUS Monday

by · Dec 8, 2025 10:17 am

Today’s big SCOTUS news is the oral argument over whether Congress can prevent the President from firing officials of independent agencies. This has been a big debate in constitutional law going back at least as far as the administration of President Andrew Johnson (1865-1869). Update: Most observers of the argument expect the Administration position to prevail. See, e.g., this article in the WSJ.

There is far less action in criminal law. The court’s orders list today took no new cases, criminal or civil. Last Friday, the court issued a short list taking up four cases. The most newsworthy of these is the civil case on how broadly to construe the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” In particular, which children born to noncitizen parents are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States? Continue reading . . .

Women Risk Their Lives on Public Transit in Blue Cities

by · Nov 21, 2025 12:15 pm

Another habitual felon has targeted a woman alone on a commuter train.  This time it was last Monday in Chicago at 9:30 p.m. when Lawrence Reed, who has at least 13 priors, poured gasoline on a young woman riding alone on a CTA Blue Line train and set her on fire.  Alexandra Koch of Fox News reports that Reed had recently been released from jail after being charged with aggravated battery for attacking a woman at a psychiatric hospital last August. Reed apparently selected the young woman at random while she was sitting on the train looking at her phone.  Totally unprovoked he came up from behind and doused her with the gas. Before he could light the gas, the woman ran to the back of the train with Reed following. He then lit her on fire and as she rolled on the floor while he watched.  When the train stopped, the woman, who was still on fire, managed to exit before collapsing on the platform.

Continue reading . . .

Supreme Court November Arguments

by · Nov 3, 2025 11:32 am

The U.S. Supreme Court’s November argument calendar begins today. It is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week and next except for Veterans’ Day, next Tuesday.

Here are the criminal and law-enforcement-related civil cases on the docket:

Today, Nov. 3: Rico v. United States.  Whether the fugitive-tolling doctrine applies in the context of supervised release.

Next Monday, Nov. 10: Landor v. La. Dept. Corrections:  Whether an individual may sue a government official in his individual capacity for damages for violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 12: Fernandez v. United States:  Whether a combination of “extraordinary and compelling reasons” that may warrant a discretionary sentence reduction under 18 U. S. C. §3582(c)(1)(a) can include reasons that may also be alleged as grounds for vacatur of a sentence under 28 U. S. C. §2255.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 12: Rutherford v. United States and Carter v. United States:  Nonretroactive changes in sentencing law as grounds for sentence reduction. Continue reading . . .

Federalist Society Convention — National Guard in Cities

by · Nov 3, 2025 11:14 am

The Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention is this week, Thursday through Saturday. It is being held at the Washington Hilton, having outgrown its traditional venue at the Mayflower Hotel. Many of the panels will be live-streamed for free.

Update 11/21: The panel recordings were offline for a time while they cleaned up the audio. The are accessible once again.

The panel for the Criminal Law Practice Group is “Crime, Cities, and the Guard: The Legal and Policy Dimensions of Domestic Troop Deployment.” Cully Stimson of the Heritage Foundation is on the panel. Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones is the moderator. The scheduled time is 3:45-5:00 EST pm Thursday, 12:45-2:00 pm PST.

Continue reading . . .

AI Hallucinations in Court Orders

by · Oct 29, 2025 10:31 am

The use of artificial intelligence (and sometimes artificial stupidity) has taken a dangerous turn. It’s deplorable when lawyers use AI to draft briefs with made-up precedents and false “facts,” at least without a thorough, human check. But briefs alone do not have legal effect, and the errors can be found by opposing counsel and the court.

But now there is a horrifying new turn. Daniel Wu reports for the Washington Post:

Two federal judges in New Jersey and Mississippi admitted this month that their offices used artificial intelligence to draft factually inaccurate court documents that included fake quotes and fictional litigants — drawing a rebuke from the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Continue reading . . .