All Enforcers Are Cops
Real police reform requires backing off efforts to force people to do things they don’t want to do.
Criminal Justice
Homeland Security Acting Like 'An Occupying Army' Says Sen. Wyden, After Federal Agents Shoot Peaceful Portland Protester
Plus: Free press threats, marriage licensing woes, Fiona Apple fights for prisoners, Trump spox talk up masks, and more...
Judge Delays First Federal Execution in 17 Years Due to Coronavirus Fears
Relatives of the victims say they shouldn’t have to risk infection to attend. A federal judge agreed.
This Week in Policing Reform: Hawaii Lifts Police Secrecy, Civilian Oversight Boards Make Ballots in Miami and Philadelphia
And Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) says policing reform in Congress might not be dead after all.
Oklahoma Can't Break Congress's Promise That Native American Reservation Would Be 'Secure Forever,' Rules Supreme Court
Plus: Majority think people should be able to sue police officers, and more...
Dallas Cops Who Joked About Pinning a Man to the Ground Until He Stopped Breathing Get Qualified Immunity
The decision vividly illustrates how the doctrine shields police from accountability for using excessive force.
Justice Department Finds Massachusetts Drug Squad Regularly Uses Excessive Force and Covers It Up
The report found it was "not uncommon for Narcotics Bureau officers to write false or incomplete narratives that justify their uses of force."
New York Is Having a Violent Summer, But It's Not Because of Bail Reform
The NYPD is still blaming jail releases, but the data simply doesn’t back that claim up.
Two People Charged With a Hate Crime for Painting Over a Black Lives Matter Mural
Seeking maximal punishment for a nonviolent offense will not help the Black Lives Matter movement.
No, We Don't Need Harsher Criminal Penalties To Fight the 'Karens' of the World
Politicians appear to have learned all the wrong lessons about over-policing.
Qualified Immunity Is a Test for Conservatives
The judicially invented license for police abuse undermines the rule of law and the separation of powers.
San Quentin Prison's COVID-19 Deaths Highlight Officials' Inept Pandemic Response
Six dead in a week, and 1,500 infections, all due to poor decisions by the state. And leaders still wonder why people won't do what they say.
Pennsylvania Is the Latest State To Loosen Occupational Licensing Rules for Individuals With Criminal Records
Finding a steady job is the best way to keep a person from going back to prison or jail. These changes make a lot of sense.
Robert Kraft and Florida Massage Workers Are Still Fighting Unconstitutional Surveillance Video
"Supreme Court jurisprudence...is heavily weighted against you," an appeals judge told state prosecutors last week.
COVID-19 Pulls Back the Mask on America's Prison System
This deadly and contagious disease has exposed problems with prison systems that have been ignored for decades.
What the Declaration of Independence Said and Meant
It officially adopted the political theory of the United States: securing the individual rights of We the People
The Declaration of Independence will never be outmoded, as President Coolidge explained
Equality, inalienable rights, and consent of the governed can be opposed only by reactionaries
Phony Overtime, Fictional Drug Buys, and Mysterious C.I. Payments Offer a Glimpse of Houston Police Corruption
The charges against six narcotics officers reveal a culture of shady practices that led to a deadly drug raid.
Supreme Court of Texas Divides Over July and September Administrations of the Texas Bar
Seven Justices agree to to allow "Online" bar exam in October. Two Justices would "adopt a diploma privilege in lieu of the bar examination."
In 2020, Words Are 'Violence,' Arson Is Not
The redefinition of the term diminishes actual victims of violence and trivializes why people are protesting.
Body Camera Footage Shows Florida Cops Laughing About Using Rubber Bullets on Anti-Police Brutality Protesters
Scenes from anti-brutality protests are renewing the debate around the controversial use of rubber bullets.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Excessive radon, Armageddon, and a hopeless romantic.
Overtime July begins with Emanations and Penumbras from the Shadow Docket
The Court quietly ruled on Abortion, Free Exercise, the Mueller Report, Voting Rights, and the Suspension Clause.
Golden State Killer's Capture Complicates Documentary I'll Be Gone in the Dark
What happens when a decades-long mystery gets solved while you’re explaining it?
Why Haven't We Seen the Body Cam Footage of Duncan Lemp's Killing?
It's been nearly four months since a Maryland SWAT team killed Duncan Lemp, and there's been no transparency.
Empowered by Excessive Regulations, 'Permit Karen' Harasses Her Neighbors and Calls the Cops
How invasive questions about a stone patio permit turned into a Black Lives Matter protest
New Charges and Audit Results Reveal Widespread Laxness and Corruption in the Houston Narcotics Division That Killed an Innocent Couple
Contrary to what Police Chief Art Acevedo seems to think, his department has a systemic problem.
Somerville (Mass.) Allows Multi-Member Domestic Partnerships
Partners (who needn't be romantically involved with each other) can benefit from each other's health insurance—but siblings living together can't.
Lindsey Graham's Terrible Anti-Privacy 'EARN IT' Act Passes Senate Committee
This isn't a bill about fighting child porn. Don't fall for it.
The Ten Phases of Blue June
Phase 1 began with South Bay v. Newsom on May 29. Now, we go into Phase 10: Overtime.
Stare Decisis is an Old Latin Phrase that Means "Let the Decisions of the Warren Court Stand"
Halfway Stare Decisis, like Halfway Textualism, Allows the Court to be Ruled by the Dead Hand of William Brennan.
Chief Justice Roberts Rewrote Morrison v. Olson
Roberts's fidelity to stare decisis does not include following precedents as written. And we all know it.
After 3 Weeks and 4 Shootings, Seattle Dismantles Its 'Autonomous Zone'
Seattle police have arrested dozens of protesters during their sweep of the so-called Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.
Would Derek Chauvin Receive Qualified Immunity for Killing George Floyd?
The answer speaks volumes about the extent to which that doctrine protects police officers from liability for outrageous conduct.
Justice Kagan on Hamilton in Federalist No. 77
Hamilton said that Senate must consent when a new President "displaces," that is substitutes an old officer with a new officer.
Police Departments Asked Live PD To Cut Footage That Made Cops Look Bad
Perhaps this show was not the window into law enforcement transparency it claimed to be.
Wesley Yang: Woke Protests Against 'White Supremacism' May Be the New Normal
The Souls of Yellow Folk author says a new "elite consensus" fixated on racial outrage is forming and may destroy our ability to function.
Touching Your Phone While Driving Is Now Illegal in Idaho, Illinois, and Indiana
Plus: More (bad, weird, and occasionally good) new state laws that start taking effect today.
Want to Reform the Criminal Justice System? End the Drug War.
Drug prohibition increases conflict between citizens and the police.
