Less Indictable Than a Ham Sandwich
They say a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich. But failing to get indictments has been a hallmark of the second Trump administration.
Criminal Justice
Cigarette Taxes Are Costing States Billions in Lost Revenue
Punitive levies drive black markets, fuel criminal enterprises, and—perhaps counterintuitively—help people evade the tax man.
Border Patrol Chief Behind Chicago Crackdown Prepares New Operation in Charlotte
The Trump administration’s urban enforcement push is blurring the line between border control and domestic policing.
Federal Judge Orders Over 600 ICE Detainees To Be Released From Custody
The order was made after finding that these individuals were arrested without a warrant or probable cause, and in violation of a consent decree.
Oregon Woman Says ICE Broke Out Her Car Windows and Detained Her for Filming Them
The First Amendment protects filming the police, but Berenice Garcia-Hernandez says she was dragged out of her car and detained for nearly seven hours for snapping photos of ICE agents.
Jeffrey Epstein: Trump 'Spent Hours At My House' With Victim
Congressional investigators released emails from the late sex trafficker discussing how to leverage his relationship with the future president.
Moral Panic About Rough Sex Gives Way to Censorship in the UK
British regulators and lawmakers are hot on a measure that would make possessing or publishing strangulation porn a crime.
'Operation Midway Blitz' Agents Pepper-Sprayed a Chicago Family on a Grocery Run
"She was struggling to breathe," said the father of a 1-year-old exposed to the chemical.
The Perils of Viewing Psilocybin Strictly As a Psychiatric Medication
The most common uses of "magic mushrooms" will never gain FDA approval.
Trump Pardons Mountain Runner Michelino Sunseri, Who Was Prosecuted for Using an Unapproved Trail
The decision is consistent with the president's avowed concerns about "overcriminalization in federal regulations."
Greta Rideout's Landmark Rape Case Against Her Husband: 'I Did It for My Daughter'
Author Sarah Weinman's Without Consent tells the story of the legal and political battles to outlaw spousal rape in the U.S.
Will SCOTUS Resolve the Circuit Split on a Law That Disarms People With Nonviolent Criminal Records?
Steven Duarte is one of several petitioners who are asking the justices to address the constitutionality of that absurdly broad gun ban.
Even the FBI Thinks Masked ICE Agents Are a Bad Idea
In a bulletin first reported by Wired, the bureau warns masked agents are easier for criminals to impersonate.
Judge O'Connor Grants the Government's Motion to Dismiss the Conspiracy Charge Against Boeing …
... but does so reluctantly, calling the objections to the dismissal "compelling" and castigating the Justice Department for its failure "to secure the necessary accountability to ensure the safety of the flying public."
D.C. Jury Acquits 'Sandwich Guy' of Assaulting Federal Agent
A jury found Sean Dunn, who went viral in August for throwing a Subway sandwich at a Border Patrol officer, not guilty.
Federal Prosecutors Flesh Out Their Case Against James Comey. It Still Looks Shaky.
The government posits that the former FBI director tried to conceal his interactions with a friend who was publicly described as "a longtime confidant" and an "unofficial media surrogate."
The Government Shut Down His Dallas Small Business—for Someone Else's Crime
"Look at the corruption," says Dale Davenport. "Look how many city councilmen have gone to jail."
What Mamdani's Win Means for Sex
While it wasn't a part of his campaign, Mamdani has been a vocal supporter of sex work decriminalization.
New Jersey Cops Took His Guns Because They Were Worried About His Wife's Mental Health
Elsid Aliaj says the seizure violated state law and the Second Amendment.
Dick Cheney, Vice President and Self-Described 'Darth Vader,' Was a Champion of the War State
The former vice president liked being compared to the supervillain as a joke. But he had seriously villainous effects on millions of people in real life.
Don't Want ICE To Scan Your Face? Too Bad, You Might Not Have A Choice.
The DHS is claiming the right to scan people without their consent—and that's just part of its growing cache of surveillance tools.
Trump Says His 'Armed Conflict' With Drug Traffickers Does Not Involve 'Hostilities'
The government is tying itself in knots to cast murder as self-defense and avoid legal limits on the president's use of the military.
Chicago Cops Ignore the Law, Arrest Legal Gun Owners
Once we let our rights become privileges, government officials can revoke them on a whim.
He Served His Time for Sex Offenses He Committed as a Teen. He's Still Locked Up With No Release Date.
Justin Sanchez is one of more than 6,000 Americans indefinitely detained in a system that wastes money and doesn't make us safer.
How the Punisher, a Murderous Anti-Hero, Became the Mascot for Increasingly Militarized Police Forces
“He is breaking the very laws…that cops are supposed to uphold.”
Illinois Is Taking the Feds to Court Over 'Trump's Invasion' of Chicago
"The Trump Administration's Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
James Comey Says His Grudge-Driven Prosecution Is Unconstitutional Retaliation for His Criticism of Trump
The former FBI director also argues that the charges against him are legally deficient and that the prosecutor who brought them was improperly appointed.
They Face $1 Million in Fines—for Someone Else's Code Violations
Humboldt County, California's sketchy code enforcement scheme piles ruinous fines on innocent people and sets them up to lose.
Trump's National Guard Plan Edges the U.S. Closer to a Permanent Federal Police Force
A newly revealed Pentagon directive instructs every state to train riot-control units within their National Guards—raising questions about federal overreach and the growing militarization of domestic emergencies.
Britain's Prince Andrew Taken Down by Epstein and Chinese Spy Scandals
The two scandals, which Reason helped link, proved too much for the British royal family.
ICE's Mass Arrests Ensnare U.S. Citizens and Show No Signs of Stopping
The case of Leo Garcia Venegas, a U.S. citizen arrested twice by immigration enforcement, demonstrates the problem with the government's current strategy.
According to Trump, He Has Already Saved 350,000 Lives by Murdering Suspected Drug Smugglers
There are several problems with the president's math, which suggests he has accomplished an impossible feat.
A Portland Family Says Their Dad Was Wrongly Arrested by ICE. Now He's Lost in Immigration Detention.
For the past two weeks, Juan Barbosa Gomez has been in federal immigration detention, but he doesn't show up on ICE's online detainee locator. His family says he has valid work permit and no criminal record.
Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Tennessee Man Over Facebook Meme
Larry Bushart was arrested on a $2 million bond for posting a meme on Facebook. He was released this week, after more than a month in jail.
Man Accused of Soliciting Teen Girl Walks Because of Federal Overreach
The DOJ tried to claim jurisdiction because he drove on a road.
He Died of Thirst in Solitary Confinement. Now His Family Is Suing for Answers.
After 51-year-old Lamont Mealy was found dead in a Maryland prison cell, officials called it “natural causes.” His family’s lawsuit says guards intentionally shut off his water.
Trump, an Avowed Second Amendment Champion, Defends a Gun Ban With 'No Historical Justification'
His administration is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a prosecution for violating a federal law that bars illegal drug users from owning firearms.
Trump's Appeal of His New York Convictions Highlights the Absurdity of Alvin Bragg's Convoluted Case
The Manhattan district attorney converted a hush payment into 34 felonies via a chain of legal reasoning with several conspicuously weak links.
