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The Latest Breaking News from Waylon Bailey

Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim

How cops, politicians, and bureaucrats tried to dodge responsibility in 2024

Reason · Dec 25, 2024

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions

Final decisions, accidental strip searches, and puppycide.

Reason · Feb 23, 2024

Qualified Immunity Is Not Limited to Police Brutality. It Protects a Wide Variety of Abusive Officials.

An analysis of appeals involving the doctrine finds that less than a quarter "fit the popular conception of police accused of excessive force."

Reason · Feb 13, 2024

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

He Was Arrested for Making a Joke on Facebook. A Jury Just Awarded Him $205,000 in Damages.

The verdict vindicates the constitutional rights that Louisiana sheriff's deputies flagrantly violated when they hauled Waylon Bailey off to jail.

Reason · Feb 1, 2024

Time to extinguish the claim that you can’t yell ‘fire in a crowded theater’

A court decision against a Louisiana man who made a COVID joke illustrates the continuing influence of a misbegotten, century-old analogy that is frequently used as an excuse to punish or censor constitutionally protected speech.

Chicago Sun-Times · Aug 30, 2023

A Ruling Against a Man Arrested for a COVID-19 Joke Highlights the Influence of a Pernicious Analogy

A federal judge compared Waylon Bailey’s Facebook jest to "falsely shouting fire in a theatre."

Reason · Aug 30, 2023

'No Reasonable Officer' Would Have Arrested a Guy for a COVID-19 Joke, the 5th Circuit Says

The appeals court ruled that a Facebook post alluding to World War Z was clearly protected by the First Amendment.

Reason · Aug 28, 2023

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Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions

Pit bull bans, community sensitivity, and criminal defamation.

Reason · Nov 11, 2022

Arrest for World-War-Z-Inspired March 2020 Joke About Police Shooting "Infected" on Sight Was Constitutional

From Bailey v. Iles, decided Wednesday by Judge David Joseph (W.D. La.): This matter arises out of an incident that began with a "posting" on Facebook during the early stages of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On March 20, 2020, Waylon Bailey—allegedly "bored" due to the lockdown associated with COVID-19—posted…

Reason · Jul 22, 2022

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