North Carolina Supreme Court: Flipping Off Cop Did Not Justify Traffic Stop
A state trooper believed a man driving by and flipping the bird at the cops constituted disorderly conduct. (It didn't.)
Criminal Justice
Joe Biden Denies Sexual Assault Accusation, Fails To Explain Why 'Believe Victims' Doesn't Apply to Tara Reade
"This never happened," Biden told Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski.
Justin Amash: If Biden Assaulted Tara Reade, He Is Disqualified From Being President
The Libertarian congressman and presidential hopeful says both Biden and Trump "are disqualified if they've engaged in some kind of assault, especially a sexual assault."
Federal Judge Rules Forced Catheterization by South Dakota Police Violates Fourth Amendment
Suspected low-level drug crimes don't "justify subjecting the plaintiffs to involuntary catheterization, a highly invasive—and in these cases—degrading medical procedure."
On Biden Sexual Assault Allegation, Silence Then Hypocrisy
Plus: Backlash to Amash's presidential run, new SCOTUS cases, and more...
Celebrity Criminals Are Leaving Prison Early Because of COVID-19. What About the Drug Offenders?
If officials want to ease the burden of the pandemic behind bars, there are hundreds of thousands of inmates who can help them do it.
8 of The Top 10 Biggest U.S. Coronavirus Hotspots Are Prisons and Jails
And those numbers are likely an undercount.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Didn't Stop This California Cop From Getting Physical During a Teen Smoking Arrest
Some officials want to reevaluate enforcement of low-level, nonviolent offenses during the pandemic. For others, it's business as usual.
The First Federal Female Inmate To Die of COVID-19
Andrea Circle Bear was serving a 2-year sentence for a nonviolent drug crime.
Undercover Cops Arrest 2 Women for Operating Home Beauty Businesses In Violation of Coronavirus Lockdown Order
Lockdown enforcement is becoming more authoritarian.
Condemned to Death by a Split Jury in Florida
Requiring unanimous juries underscores the gravity of a death penalty sentence.
Community Anger Shuts Down Connecticut City's Plan To Use Drones for Coronavirus Monitoring
Westport won’t be using tech to monitor people’s body temperatures or whether they’re properly social distancing.
Expelled for Sexual Misconduct and Falsely Accused of Having HIV, an Indiana Wesleyan Student Had To Take an STD Test During the Coronavirus Pandemic
"It's far worse than we could have imagined," the student's attorney tells Reason.
D.C. Circuit Rejects Trump Reforms of EPA Science Advisory Committees
Another big legal victory for environmental groups this week.
Challenge to Harris County's Face-mask Mandate
This case could head to the Texas Supreme Court soon
What will happen next in the Sixth Circuit's "basic minimum education" case?
Will the 6th Circuit vacate take the case en banc sua sponte?
Prisoner in Ohio Halfway House Complains About Lack of COVID-19 Preparations. He's Sent Back to Prison. Now Ohio Prisons are Exploding with COVID-19.
While his own prison is not yet facing a huge problem, Brandon Baxter had a prescient complaint for which he seems to be being punished.
Did Justice Alito lose the majority in Ramos? (Updated)
Linda Greenhouse speculates that Gorsuch's dissent became the majority opinion
Supreme Court Upholds Broad Reading of Clean Water Act
Environmental groups were worried the Court would curtail CWA jurisdiction in Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. It didn't.
Miami Has Recorded No Homicides in 6 Weeks Despite Deliberate Decline in Police Enforcement
Miami’s police chief orders officers to reduce ticketing and public interactions. Mayhem doesn’t ensue.
DOJ Dismisses Indictment of Machine Gun Prosecution While Cert Petition Was Pending
How often does the SG dismiss an indictment while a cert petition is pending, without a confession of error? And is there a connection to the Obamacare case?
SG Confesses Error on Secret Immigration Docket, SCOTUS GVRs
Thanks for Marcia Coyle for tracking down the Solicitor General's confession of error, which was not publicly available
Prosecutors Fight Early Release for Whistleblower Reality Winner
Fears of contracting COVID-19 in prison are not enough, Justice Department says
Law Schools Still Accepting Applications for the Incoming Fall Class
My law school is. Anyone else?
Automated License Plate Readers, the Mosaic Theory, and the Fourth Amendment
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court weighs in.
Bureau of Prisons Reverses Coronavirus Home Confinement Policy
"What they are doing to people is cruel and unusual. It isn't right."
Idaho Woman Threatened With Jail Time for Holding 'Nonessential' Yard Sale
The local police department says "a garage sale/yard sale is not an essential business and should not be open for business."
"Litigating Citizenship" in Print in Vanderbilt Law Review
On due process and citizenship litigation
Grandchildren in Sandboxes, Elephants in Watering Holes
Gems from Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian
Supreme Court Rules Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts in Criminal Cases Unconstitutional
A 50-year-old precedent was tossed, which caused three justices to dissent.
Making Sense of the Votes in the Ramos v. Louisiana Majority (Updated)
Ramos was not nearly as fractured as Apodaca, but the Court is still splintered on the value of precedent
Unusual Supreme Court Lineup Holds that Jury Verdicts in (Most) Criminal Cases Must Be Unanimous
All three of today's Supreme Court decisions featured unusual alignments among the justices.
