Bound By Oath

In 1983, in the case of Briscoe v. LaHue, the Supreme Court ruled that government employees who commit perjury at trial are absolutely immune from […]

In 2005, Charles Rehberg annoyed some politically powerful people in his community of Albany, Georgia, and found himself facing serious criminal charges—charges that were completely […]

On this episode, we take stock of developments in the courts and in Congress since this season began. There’s an update on the first case […]

Section 1983 says that “every person” acting under color of state law shall be liable for violating the Constitution. But in 1951, the Supreme Court […]

In 1978, the Supreme Court held that individuals can sue local governments for constitutional violations in federal court. Indeed, the Court held that Congress had […]

In 2012, Little Rock police officer Josh Hastings shot and killed 15-year-old Bobby Moore and lied about how it happened. Hastings had a long history […]

In 1967, the Supreme Court invented qualified immunity. And in 1982, the Court transformed the doctrine into the one we have today. On this episode, […]

In Chicago in 1958, over a dozen police officers barged into the home of a sleeping family with guns drawn. They didn’t have a warrant, […]

Section 1983 is one of the most important civil rights laws on the books; tens of thousands of plaintiffs file Section 1983 cases each year […]

By any measure, the conditions that Lee Saunders endured in the psych unit at the Brevard County jail in Florida were shockingly inhumane. But when […]

For victims of government misconduct, whether you can sue the officials who violated your constitutional rights often depends on whether the officials are federal, state, […]

In 2014, two members of a joint state-federal fugitive task force beat up an innocent college student, James King, after mistaking him for a suspect […]

Why is it so hard to sue officials who violate the Constitution? Season 2 of Bound By Oath is coming soon. Click here for transcript. […]

Prohibitions on excessive fines date back at least as far as Magna Carta in 1215, and the U.S. Constitution has barred excessive fines since 1791. […]

On January 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in an IJ case, Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue. At issue is […]

If the government is going to take away life, liberty, or property, the due process of law requires it to follow fair procedures. But, according […]

In 1842, the city of New Orleans prosecuted Father Bernard Permoli, a Catholic priest, for conducting an open casket funeral. A violation of the Free […]

Before the government can take away your life, liberty, or property, it must first give you due process: fair and meaningful procedure. On this episode, […]

After the Civil War, what many Americans needed most was protection from violence. That’s what the Equal Protection Clause was meant to guarantee, but today […]

[Click here for Episode 1.] In 1873, the Supreme Court said that the Privileges or Immunities Clause protects a right to “use the navigable waters of […]

[Click here for Episode 1. And click here for Episode 2.] The Privileges or Immunities Clause was meant to be one of the key liberty-protecting […]

At the close of the Civil War, some 4 million slaves became free. But almost immediately after hostilities ceased, leaders in the ex-Confederate states began […]

John Rock; Black Laws and the Colonization Movement; Dred Scott; Birthright Citizenship