TOL Briefs
Legal news explained in minutes
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2:13Can politicians lie about their opponents?
Why defamation's "actual malice" standard is the main legal limit on lies in political campaigns
11:22Garland v. Cargill (on Bump Stocks) Explained
Why the Supreme Court said a bump stock is not a "machinegun" under federal law, and what Congress can do.
9:30The Second Amendment & Originalism
What originalism means, how it shaped Heller and Bruen, and the main arguments for and against it.
19:24U.S. v. Rahimi Explained
Why the Supreme Court upheld disarming people under domestic violence orders, and how it refined Bruen.
15:28PLCAA & Gun Manufacturer's Immunity
How the PLCAA shields gun makers and sellers from lawsuits, and the exceptions victims have used to sue.
13:23Mental Illness and Gun Rights
Who federal law disarms for mental health reasons, how red flag laws differ, and how rights are restored.
12:55Restricting Guns in Cases of Domestic Violence
How federal and state law disarm domestic abusers, the boyfriend loophole, the stalking gap, and Rahimi.
6:51Defining a "Data Breach"
Why most security incidents are not legal breaches, and how data type, industry, and exfiltration matter.
6:25Can a State Target Fighters in a Hospital?
How the law of armed conflict treats hospitals used for military purposes, precautions, and proportionality.
11:03Are Gun Laws Racist?
From the Black Codes to the Mulford Act: how race shaped American gun laws and what that history means today.
15:371st v. 2nd: What Happens When Amendments Collide?
Is carrying a gun speech? Can protests be gun-free? How courts handle clashes between speech and gun rights.
11:07What Weapons Get 2nd Amendment Protection?
Common use, "dangerous and unusual," stun guns, and the open question of AR-15s under the Second Amendment.
12:45NYSRPA v. Bruen
How the Supreme Court recognized a right to carry in public and replaced balancing with a history test
10:42Firearm Preemption Laws
How states block local gun rules, what punitive preemption adds, and what gun sanctuaries can and cannot do.
6:00Gun Background Check Law Explained
Who must run a gun background check, what NICS screens for, and why many private sales are exempt.
11:05Are Felon Gun Bans Constitutional?
Civic virtue or dangerousness? How courts weigh lifetime gun bans for people with felony records after Bruen
8:27Music Sampling Rights
What counts as sampling, the de minimis circuit split, fair use, and why sample licenses can cost so much.
5:26The Poison Pill Explained
How a shareholder rights plan dilutes a hostile bidder, how fast a board can adopt one, and why pills exist.
7:33McDonald v. City of Chicago Explained
How the 2010 case applied the Second Amendment to state and local governments through incorporation
9:21Gun Laws at the Founding
Militia rules, gunpowder storage, and the Statute of Northampton: why 18th-century gun laws matter today
8:30Is the 2nd Amendment a 2nd Class Right?
Do courts give the right to bear arms less respect than other rights? What the record shows.
20:15New SEC Marketing Rule explained
What counts as an advertisement, the general prohibitions, performance rules, and paid promoters.
13:32DC v. Heller Explained
The 2008 case that recognized an individual right to keep a handgun at home, and the limits it described.
8:22Police Command v. Police Request
How to tell a police command from a request, why the line blurs, and what happens when you ask which it is.
7:37Do you have to comply with police orders?
Unlawful orders, the right to resist, and why 'comply now, complain later' often leaves no way to complain.
4:22What is the shadow docket?
How emergency orders decided without full briefing or argument became a major channel of Supreme Court power.
10:50Digital Dollar Privacy & Power
Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo on CBDCs, the dollar's global role, and digital money privacy.
4:27When Is Cryptocurrency a Commodity?
Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo on why Bitcoin and Ether are treated as commodities, not securities.
6:21Social Media as "Common Carrier?"
Can states force Facebook or YouTube to carry everyone? Common carriage and must-carry laws after Moody.
4:48Disaster Relief—Top 5 FEMA Recovery Insights
Common mistakes that delay FEMA disaster aid, and how to document, organize, and follow up on your claim.
6:14Due Process – Can a Litigant Appoint His Judge?
Must a judge step aside when a litigant appointed her? Caperton's "serious risk of actual bias" test.
11:51When is alt data illegal?
When alt data becomes MNPI, the App Annie case, web scraping, and the SEC policies rule for funds.
7:24The Lemon Test Explained
What Lemon v. Kurtzman required, why it fell out of favor, and where it stands after Kennedy v. Bremerton.
5:35Major Questions Doctrine
How a passing argument in agency cases became a clear-statement rule in West Virginia v. EPA.
7:33Text, History, & Tradition Test
How Bruen replaced the two-part framework for gun laws, and why history can be hard to apply
8:59The Limits of Gun-Free Zones
Right after Bruen, a look at what makes a place sensitive enough to ban guns, and why it is hard to say
7:33More Than Two Legal Parents?
From Michael H. v. Gerald D. to three-parent judgments: how parentage law recognizes multi-parent families.
5:18Acknowledgement of Paternity
How unmarried fathers establish parentage, why the form is so binding, and where DNA tests fit in.
8:00Sperm Donor Parental Rights
When sperm and egg donors are, and are not, legal parents, and why the answer still depends on the state.
14:28Surrogacy – Legal Risks
Parentage judgments, interstate birth certificates, surrogate autonomy, and gestational vs. genetic surrogacy.
7:10What Is Commemorative Coin Fraud?
When coin and precious-metals sales pitches to retirees cross the line from hard selling into fraud
5:11Is a Cyber Attack a Use of Force Under International Law?
Why the effects of a cyber operation, not the intrusion itself, decide whether it is a use of force.
6:06FTC Act Section 5 Unfairness Balancing Test
Why a leading privacy scholar argues the FTC's unfairness test lets substantial consumer harm slip through.
10:55SEC 2022 Risk Alert for Private Funds
LPAC consents, fee step-downs, recycling, marketing, due diligence, and hedge clauses in SEC exams.
3:18What are stand your ground laws?
Stand-your-ground removes one narrow duty to retreat, but force must still be necessary and proportionate.
2:34What is the duty to retreat?
No retreat for non-deadly force or at home: when the law requires you to walk away before using deadly force.
5:00Forfeiting the Right to Self-Defense
Initial aggressors, provocateurs, and how you can lose, and sometimes regain, the right to defend yourself.
10:20What Is the H-1B Visa?
Who qualifies for an H-1B, how long it lasts, and how cap selection works, with the 2025-2026 changes.
8:45H-1B Visa Alternatives
Not selected for an H-1B? The TN, E-3, H-1B1, O-1, STEM OPT, and L-1 paths, and the newest rules.
5:30New York City Slip & Fall Liability in the Snow
Who must clear NYC sidewalks after a snowstorm, how fast, and when an owner is liable if someone slips.
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