He Heckled a District Attorney on TV. Now He Faces 10 Years Behind Bars.
On Wednesday, a Massachusetts judge will decide whether Joao DePina will face the possibility of a decade behind bars for publicly criticizing a district attorney.
Overcriminalization
Denver Drops Effort To Criminally Prosecute Pickleball Enthusiast Who Made Small 'X's on City-Owned Gym Floor
The city is insisting that 71-year-old Arslan Guney pay nearly $5,000 to cover the alleged costs of restoring the gym floor.
NYC Mayor Defends Decision To Handcuff and Strip Search Woman Selling Mangos on a Subway Platform
Maria Falcon doesn't have a business license. So New York police officers detained her and confiscated all of her merchandise.
71-Year-Old Pickleball Enthusiast Armed With Sharpie Arrested for Felony Criminal Mischief
Arslan Guney spent 10 hours in jail for making a few marks on a gym floor. He could still get three years in prison.
Michael Shellenberger: How Progressives Ruined American Cities
The San Fransicko author on fighting homelessness and mental illnesses without shredding civil liberties.
How Did Ahmaud Arbery's 3 Assailants End Up With 12 Murder Convictions?
The felony murder rule is a perversion of justice—even when used against unsympathetic defendants.
Cops Tase a Veteran's Service Dog During an Unconstitutional Arrest for Panhandling
The dog died after the man went to jail for exercising his First Amendment rights.
Do We Really Need New Anti-Asian Hate Crime Laws?
A holistic look at the data shatters the narrative about bias-based violence.
Cashed Out
What happens when a community bail fund stops paying bail and starts trying to abolish it?
Pasco County Cops Harassed Them and Searched Their Homes Without Warrants. A Judge Says They Can Sue.
The sheriff's predictive policing program has caused more problems than it's solved.
He Didn't Answer the Phone One Night While on House Arrest. He's Been Sent Back to Prison for Four Years.
Such punitive measures do not make society any safer.
Feeding the Homeless Should Not Be a Crime
A North Carolina city council member wants to make feeding homeless people a misdemeanor.
No More Traffic Cops
Returning traffic enforcement and criminal law enforcement to their proper spheres could put both police and drivers at ease.
D.C. Council's Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products Is a License for More Over-Policing of Minorities
Legislators cannot have it both ways.
Don't Be Surprised When Stupid Laws Are Maintained With Force
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids railed against cops for enforcing the same kind of anti-vaping rule they help pass.
Cops Tased and Beat Teens While Enforcing a Local Vaping Ban
Dumb laws lead to police brutality.
Cops Who Beat a Man After Pulling Him Over for Broken Lights Receive Qualified Immunity
The victim will now have no right to argue his case before a jury in civil court.
Ron DeSantis Will Pardon COVID Violators. Why Stop There?
There are many other people who deserve such mercy.
Refusing To Show ID Is Not a Crime
George Wingate, who had pulled over on the side of the road to check an engine light, flatly refused to show his ID when a sheriff's deputy demanded it.
A Ban on Menthol Cigarettes Will Lead to More Confrontations Between Black People and Police
If public health scolds get their way, they will worsen the nation’s overcriminalization problem.
Cops Seize Bikes and Arrest 1 Teen Over Traffic Violations and Bike Licenses
It's yet another example of the effects of having to enforce dumb laws.
The Government Loves To Grab New Powers in the Name of Your Safety
From protests to the coronavirus, it thinks it can protect you from anything.
Daunte Wright Shooting a Reminder That It's Not Cops Who Should Fear for Their Lives During Traffic Stops
Plus: Feds recommend "a pause" on Johnson & Johnson vaccine, marijuana legalization measure signed in New Mexico, and more...
Ending Civil Asset Forfeiture Should Be a Bipartisan Project
Some states have taken action. It's time for the federal government to do the same.
Will Feminists Please Stop Calling the Cops?
The women's liberation movement has gotten tied to mass incarceration. It needs to break free.
Georgia Bans Handing Out Water to Voters Waiting in Line, Because 'Election Integrity'
Plus: New York moves closer to legal weed, Parler pushes back on extremism claims, and more...
743 Years and 3 Months. 117 Years. 51 Years. Why Are These Men's Sentences So Long?
For possessing a gun while committing a crime—even when no one is killed—too many defendants are slammed with sentences decades or even centuries longer than justice demands.
Does America Really Need the Foreign Agents Registration Act?
The U.S. has an interest in protecting its political system from manipulation by foreign enemies or their paid agents. But treason and espionage are already illegal, as is bribery.
City Investigators Call Out NYPD for Using Excessive Force Against Protesters
Police response “likely escalated tensions and the potential for violence” say investigators.
Phoenix Will Pay $3 Million Settlement After Police Shot a Man During a Noise Complaint. The Officers Are Still Employed.
And taxpayers will foot the bill.
Stop Overpolicing
Excessive traffic and pedestrian stops, especially in black communities, are dangerous and counterproductive.
Study Finds More School Arrests In Florida After the State Doubled The Number of Police in Schools
There were four times as many incidents of physical restraint against students the year after Florida doubled the number of police in its schools.
Tennessee's Lawmakers Respond to Police Reform Protests by Threatening Voting Rights and Gun Rights
The new law features harsher penalties, 12-hour detentions, and other invitations to abuse government power
Chicago City Council Votes To Partially Reform Its Notoriously Harsh Vehicle Impound Program
A 2018 Reason investigation showed how Chicago's impound program ensnared innocent owners, stripped them of their cars, and soaked them in debt.
All Enforcers Are Cops
Real police reform requires backing off efforts to force people to do things they don’t want to do.
Radley Balko on George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the Libertarian Case for Criminal Justice Reform
How to reduce police killings and enact lasting change.
Florida's Schools Have Become a High-Stakes Experiment in Classroom Policing
Will a hiring surge for school police and renewed zeal for zero tolerance policies undo years of declining youth arrests in Florida?
Video: Orlando Cops Arrest Crying 6-Year-Old Girl
One of the officers was fired after arresting two 6-year-olds in one day.
School Calls Cops on 6-Year-Old With Down Syndrome Who Made Finger Gun Gesture
The little girl said, "I shoot you," but her mother says she didn't understand what she was saying.
Victims or Criminals? Cops Can't Decide When It Comes to Teens Selling Sex
Plus: trade vote today, woman sues DEA for seizing cash belonging to her dad with dementia, and more...
California Law Unconstitutionally Discriminates Against Certain Workers, Argue Uber and Postmates
Gig workers and companies are suing over a California law, AB 5, that criminalizes their continued employment.
Andrew Yang Is Wrong About Prostitution
The Democratic presidential candidate wants to keep prostitution customers criminalized while "decriminalizing sex work on the part of the seller."
Student Charged With Manslaughter for Texting Boyfriend to 'Go Die'
The 21-year-old faces criminal punishment for text messages to her suicidal boyfriend.
States Are Easing Arbitrary Licensing Barriers to Work for People With Criminal Records
This year, Mississippi and North Carolina both ditched a vague "good moral character" clause that kept occupational licensing out of reach for people with criminal records.
Manchester Teen Faces Sex Offender Status for Touching 17-Year-Old on the Arm, Waist
"Touching someone's arm to get their attention, I would have thought was normal."
Why Are More Americans Than Ever Getting Busted?
Arrests for petty crimes, like underage drinking, protect nobody and do long-term damage to people’s lives.
Boston Judge Turns Stupid Straight Pride Parade Fighting Into Bizarre Constitutional Drama
An attempt by the district attorney to drop charges against nonviolent protesters was overruled.