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Garrett Epps

Garrett Epps

Garrett Epps, a former reporter for The Washington Post, is a novelist and legal scholar.  He teaches courses in constitutional law and creative writing for law students at the University of Baltimore. He lives in Washington, D.C.
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Garrett Epps, a former reporter for The Washington Post, is a novelist and legal scholar.  He lives in Washington, D.C., and teaches courses in constitutional law and creative writing for law students at the University of Baltimore.  His two most recent books are Peyote vs. the State: Religious Freedom on Trial and Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America.

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Justice Scalia Turns to 18th-Century Wisdom for Guidance on GPS

Justice Scalia Turns to 18th-Century Wisdom for Guidance on GPS

Could colonial sheriffs have smuggled a tiny constable into a carriage? No, and that's why we can't rely on their legal reasoning.… More »

Cheer Up, Rick Perry: You Won One at the Supreme Court

While demonstrators briefly occupy the Court's front steps, the Justices themselves play nice, awarding a big Voting Rights Act win to Texas and the Republican Party.… More »

Good News for Death Row

Good News for Death Row

The Court holds that an inmate wasn't badly represented; his lawyers were so feckless that he had no lawyers at all.… More »

When Is a Teacher a Minister? The Court Will Let Us Know

When Is a Teacher a Minister? The Court Will Let Us Know

In a world where Pastor Skip leads worship in the morning and coaches baseball in the afternoon, it can be hard to determine where religious autonomy ends and discrimination begins.… More »

The Supreme Court and the Filthy Words You Still Can't Say on TV

The Supreme Court and the Filthy Words You Still Can't Say on TV

Broadcasters want to be able to live in the same dirty the rest of us do, but the justices seem unsympathetic.… More »

Primaries Underway, Supreme Court Expedites Texas Redistricting Case

Primaries Underway, Supreme Court Expedites Texas Redistricting Case

An abstruse question about judicial standards may reveal the Court's fault lines on America's most important election statute.… More »

Rick Perry to 'Activist Judges': Save Me

Rick Perry to 'Activist Judges': Save Me

The Texas governor scorns court meddling in state matters, but not when it benefits him.… More »

How Many DNA Techs Does it Take to Admit DNA Evidence?

How Many DNA Techs Does it Take to Admit DNA Evidence?

The Supreme Court is deciding who should testify during trials--those who produced analyses, or those who reviewed them… More »

Leading GOP Candidates Don't Want to Return Power to the States

Leading GOP Candidates Don't Want to Return Power to the States

The two Republican frontrunners made it clear at Saturday's Presidential Forum that they aren't much interested in states' rights… More »

An Apology to Dr. Karl Krawitz: You Didn't 'Demand' an Apology

An Apology to Dr. Karl Krawitz: You Didn't 'Demand' an Apology

Emma Sullivan's principal didn't force her to apologize for insulting Kansas governor Sam Brownback… More »

Why Emma Sullivan Is Good for Democracy

Why Emma Sullivan Is Good for Democracy

Since time began, sassy teenagers have been putting authority figures in their place. The way we respond to them says a lot about the society we hope to build.… More »

Emma Sullivan and the Big Brownback Backdown

Emma Sullivan and the Big Brownback Backdown

One student wins a right to say silly things about a powerful man. Couldn't we extend this liberty to all our children?… More »

Medicaid Rule, Not Individual Mandate, May Undo Health Care Law

Medicaid Rule, Not Individual Mandate, May Undo Health Care Law

Does giving money to states also give Washington the power to dictate the size and scope of their programs? The Supreme Court will say next year.… More »

A Conservative Icon Upholds the Affordable Health Care Act

A Conservative Icon Upholds the Affordable Health Care Act

A notoriously gruff Reagan-appointed judge puts the Supreme Court on notice… More »

Justice Roberts: Could the Government Track My Car?

Justice Roberts: Could the Government Track My Car?

The outcome in United States v. Jones will determine whether police can use GPS to track vehicles without a warrant… More »

How a 'Trivial' Decision Could Land the Supreme Court in Foreign-Policy Hell

How a 'Trivial' Decision Could Land the Supreme Court in Foreign-Policy Hell

The Court could duck, or decide to allow "Jerusalem, Israel" to appear as a birthplace on passports -- or blaze a new trail in foreign affairs law… More »

Dangerous Metaphors: Are Sea World's Killer Whales 'Slaves'?

Dangerous Metaphors: Are Sea World's Killer Whales 'Slaves'?

PETA's Thirteenth Amendment lawsuit risks trivializing both slavery and the question of animal rights… More »

Can Eminent Domain Be as Bad as Slavery?

Can Eminent Domain Be as Bad as Slavery?

Scalia suggests that Kelo v. New London is today's Dred Scott case… More »

Five Chiefs: John Paul Stevens and the Library of Babel

Five Chiefs: John Paul Stevens and the Library of Babel

The Justice's new autobiography gives us a rare glance into the Supreme Court, but too little insight into his own compelling life… More »

Strip Search for a Minor Offense: Is It Constitutional?

Strip Search for a Minor Offense: Is It Constitutional?

To the Supreme Court, questions of dignity and rights seem less important than defining "true anal cavity searches"… More »

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