Publications

Bio Pages

Feature-Length Articles

No Money, No Justice, reason, December 2007.

– Why we should give more money to public defenders.

CSI: Mississippi, reason, November 2007

– Investigative piece into Dr. Steven Hayne and Mississippi’s corrupt autopsy system. Dr. Hayne’s autopsies and testimony for Mississippi prosecutors may have put dozens of innocent people in prison.

Getting Beyond Roe, reason, August 2007.

–Why both sides of the abortion debate should should support returning the issue to the states.

How the Wolves Survive, reason, May 2007.

–An interview with Los Lobos’ Louie Perez.

The Case of Cory Maye, reason, October 2006.

–Investigative article looking into how an innocent man ended up on Death Row in Mississippi. This article was cited in an opinion by the Mississippi State Supreme Court. It was also a 2006 finalist for a Los Angeles Press Club award in the investigative reporting category. Maye has since been taken off of Death Row, but still faces a sentence of life in prison.

Myths of the Nanny State, Cato Policy Report, September 2006.

–Debunking paternalist activists on both the left and the right.

Curb Your Enthusiasms. reason. March 2006.

–What do conservative prude Ben Shapiro and leftist crusader Morgan Spurlock have in common?

Does Obesity Justify Big Government? The Freeman, December 2005.

–Why your pants size is none of the government’s business.

Who Killed Paypal? reason, August 2005.

–How politicians and regulators stopped an Internet startup from becoming a global private currency.

Studies

Authored:

Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America.

–A Cato Institute White Paper. July 2006.

Back Door to Prohibition: The New War on Social Drinking

– A Cato Institute Policy Analysis. December 2003.

Edited:

Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers: The DEA’s War on Prescription Painkillers, by Ron Libby.

–A Cato Institute Policy Analysis. June 2005.

Testimony.

Our Militarized Police Departments.

–Testimony on the militarization of America’s police departments before the House Subcommittee on Crime. July 2007.

Bring Back Internet Gambling.

–Testimony before the House Banking Committee. June 2007. Watch video here.

Against the Ban on Public Smoking.

–Testimony before the Washington, D.C. City Council. June 2005.

Select Shorter Essays and Op-Eds

Better Dead Than High, FoxNews.com.  February 2008.

– The morally dubious logic of drug warriors.

The Bite-Marks Men,  Slate.  February 2008.

– More on Mississippi’s disastrous forensics system.

How Wrongful Convictions Happen, FoxNews.com.  January 2008.

– A disturbing look at how our trial courts, appellate courts, and criminal justice system in general could allow innocent people to go to prison.

Why You Should Oppose the Internet Gambling Ban, FoxNews.com.  January 2008.

– The uncomfortably broad powers Congress has given the executive to fight consensual, online wagering.

Richard Paey Speaks, reason. November 2007.

– An interview with Paey shortly after his pardon from Florida Gov. Crist and subsequent release from prison.

Three Vetoes, FoxNews.com and reason. November 2007.

– Gov. Schwarzenegger’s regrettable veto of three sensible criminal justice reforms.

Death Investigation Deficiencies, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, October 2007.

– Another op-ed on Mississippi medical examiner Dr. Steven Hayne.

The Limits of “Frederalism,” The Politico, September 2007.

–You can’t be a federalist and still support federal raids on medical marijuana clinics.

Sex, Drugs, and a Federal Prosecution, FoxNews.com, August 2007.

–The federal government’s relentless persecution of Dr. Bernard Rottschaefer.

Stop Abusing Snitchin’, FoxNews.com, August 2007.

–How the government abuses the use of confidential drug informants.

Indeed, and Without a Doubt, FoxNews.com, July 2007.

–The strange tale of Dr. Michael West, a Mississippi dentist who may be sending innocent people to prison.

Blinded by the Law, Chicago Tribune, June 2007.

–The Genarlow Wilson case: What’s “legal” and what’s “just” aren’t always one and the same.

Watching the Detectives, FoxNews.com, June 2007.

–Why it should always be legal to record on-duty police officers.

Cry for Argentina, FoxNews.com, June 2007.

–A beautiful country and people marred by decades of bad government.

Politicians’ Hubris Takes to the Open Road, FoxNews.com, May 2007.

–Why do political leaders think they don’t need to obey traffic laws?

Nifong Nation, FoxNews.com, May 2007.

–Mike Nifong isn’t alone. Bad prosecutors exist outside the borders of Durham.

A Good Start, a Long Way To Go, Reason, January 2007.

–How to get real reform in Atlanta after the SWAT shooting of Kathryn Johnston.

Never Closed, Reason, December 2006.

–How one bar stayed open through Hurricane Katrina, and helped French Quarter residents get through the flooding.

Botched Raids Not Rare, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 2006.

–A review of my work on SWAT abuses for the Atlanta paper, shortly after the botched raid shooting death of 88-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, Playboy, November 2006.

–Another article on SWAT abuses, this one for Playboy.

Drug War Casualties Left Behind, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 2006.

–An overview and update on the Cory Maye case (see above).

Wrong Door, The Wall Street Journal, November 2006.

–How New York City reneged on its promise to reign in abuse of no-knock raids. Co-written with civil rights attorney Joel Berger.

eBay Invites Internet Regulation, Calls for Arrest of Online Gamblers. FoxNews.com. June 2006.

–Calling a ‘net corporate giant on its bald protectionism.

Raiding Reality. National Review Online. June 2006.

– Congress up in arms about an FBI raid on one of their own. Not so concerned about continued paramilitary raids on their constituents.

In Virginia, the Death Penalty for Gambling. FoxNews.com. May 2006.

– The sad case of Sal Culosi.

The Drug War Goes to the Dogs, Reason. April 2006.

– A look at SWAT teams’ unfortunate habit of executing the family pet.

No SWAT: The Most Important Supreme Court Case You’ve Never Heard Of, Slate. April 2006.

– My explanation of what was at stake in the Hudson v. Michigan case. The above article was cited by Justice Breyer in his opinion in that case. Unfortunately, Breyer wrote the dissent.

Anti-Gambling Crusade a Bad Bet. Arizona Republic. March 2006.

– Why GOP efforts to ban online gambling miss the mark. Written for anti-gambling activist Sen. John Kyl’s home newspaper.

Overkill: The Latest Trend in Policing. Washington Post. February 2006.

–Piece on the overuse of SWAT teams in the Washington Post, written shortly after the death of Sal Culosi (see above).

2005: The Farce of Freedom? FoxNews.com. December 2005.

– Real-life meets parody. A year-end liberty-themed review.

Living Large. Worth. November 2005.

– Another skeptical look at the “obesity crisis.”

Sick. National Review Online. October 2005.

– The sad case of Richard Paey, prisoner of the drug war.

Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense. Washington Post. August 2005.

– Protesting the arrest and imprisonment of parents who take a reality-based approach to underage drinking.

Health Riskers Ought to Pay. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. May 2005.

–Counterpoint to an AJC editorial. Health insurers should be free to charge higher premiums to people who present higher risk.

Another Victim of the Drug War. The Freeman. May 2005.-

-Profile of Dr. Frank Fisher, a pain specialist railroaded by overzealous prosecutors.

In the Reign of Cotton Mather. Forbes. May 2005.

–The Nanny State creeps ever onward.

Bush Should Feel Doctors’ Pain. Cato Daily Commentary. April 2005.

–Calling off the DEA’s war against pain physicians.

Drivers’ Rights Abused in a Flash. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. March 2005.

–Counterpoint to the AJC editorial board’s defense of traffic enforcement cameras.

Altruism? Bah, Humbug, Hong Kong’s Apple Daily. December 2004.

–Defending the profit motive to Hong Kong. Translated into Cantonese.

Burn the Heretic, Tech Central Station. November 2004.

– Deconstructing a silly argument from David Frum.

Puffing for Property Rights, Washington Post. June 2004.

–What the smoking-ban issue is really all about.

Government Has No Business Interfering With What You Eat, Time. June 2004.

–Time gave me 350 words to rebut an entire issue on how the government needs to get involvement in the obesity “crisis.”

No Friends of Bill Wilson, National Review Online. May 2004.

–How anti-alcohol fanaticism denied a dying man relief.

Hike in Cigarette Taxes Brings Other Vices. The Chicago Sun Times. April 2004.

–How sin taxes spawn black markets.

Anti-Alcohol Fanatics Set Their Sights on Your Beer, Chicago Sun-times. December 2003.

–A primer on the neo-prohibition movement.

No Guardrails? FoxNews.com. May 2003.

–The hypocritical conservatives coming to William Bennett’s aid.

Targeting the Social Drinker Is Just MADD, Los Angeles Times. December 2002.

–Mothers Against Drunk Driving outlives its mission.

Paycheck Withholding: A Con on Taxpayers. FoxNews.com. August 2002.

–Happy Birthday to a sixty-year government con job.

Worst Investment Ever: Government Worse Accountant Than Corporations. FoxNews.com. August 2002.

–Dirty little secret: Government cooks the books worse than Enron..