WASHINGTON, DC — The Rutherford Institute is pushing back against a modern-day form of highway robbery which empowers police to seize and keep private property (cash, jewelry, cars, homes and other valuables) they “suspect” may be connected to…

“There is nothing more dangerous than a government of the many controlled by the few.”—Lawrence Lessig, Harvard law professor It is easy to be distracted right now by the bread and circus politics that have dominated the news…

“I know the capability that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision, so…

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — Government officials used cell phone data and geofence surveillance to track the number of congregants on church grounds during the COVID-19 lockdowns. In a letter denouncing Santa Clara County’s use of geofence surveillance to…

Recognizing that the challenge before churches and other religious institutions today is in reconciling a moral calling to speak out on issues of the day, especially as they intersect with contemporary politics, with the need to maintain their…

“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent.”—Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis There was a time when the census was just a head count. That is no…

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Supreme Court has given Texas a free pass on its electronic harassment law, which is so vague and overreaching as to make it illegal for a parent to repeatedly text a teen child about…

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a case that pits the right of conscience against the threat of losing one’s livelihood, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case about the extent to which the government should have…

“Whether the mask is labeled fascism, democracy, or dictatorship of the proletariat, our great adversary remains the apparatus—the bureaucracy, the police, the military.”—Simone Weil, French philosopher It’s hard to say whether we’re dealing with a kleptocracy (a government ruled by…

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of an Ohio man who was arrested, jailed, had his apartment searched, and had his phone and laptop seized by police in retaliation for mocking…

WASHINGTON, DC —The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to the federal government’s mass surveillance program. In affirming the dismissal of the Wikimedia v. NSA lawsuit, the Supreme Court has allowed the government to assert a state secrets privilege…

“Autocrats only understand one word: no, no, no. No you will not take my country, no you will not take my freedom, no you will not take my future… A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able…

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Pointing out that a significant number of police officers across the country fail to understand or recognize the First Amendment rights of citizens, The Rutherford Institute has issued a warning to police not to…

“If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They’ll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as…

WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware officials are doubling down on defending their misguided practice of “evict first, ask questions later” that resulted in constables mistakenly evicting a blind man and his family during a snowstorm, leaving the family homeless.…

Step away from the blinders that partisan politics uses to distract, divide and conquer, and you will find that we are drowning in a cesspool of problems that individually and collectively threaten our lives, liberties, prosperity and happiness. These…

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Once again, The Rutherford Institute has sounded the alarm over the dangers of equipping police with killer robots. In a letter to the San Francisco Police Commission, Rutherford Institute attorneys have urged the Commissioners to reject…