Criminal Justice
California Will Keep Your DNA on File Even if You Haven't Been Convicted of a Crime
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Equal Justice Society, and others are challenging the practice in court.
New York's Top Court Shields Police Misconduct Records From Public View
It's up to state lawmakers to defy the will of the unions to change the rules.
Here Are the 'Improvements' That Won a Senate Vote on Sentencing Reform
The last-minute changes show how hard it is to make the criminal justice system more proportionate and discriminating.
Teenage Sisters Legally Recorded Police, Who Tackled Them to the Ground
According to the officer who took them down, the phone was "evidence."
Trump Plausibly Pleads Ignorance in His Latest Defense Against Criminal Charges for Campaign Finance Violations
Even if hush payments to his alleged mistresses amounted to illegal campaign contributions, the president says, he did not know that at the time.
Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
Cohen blames Trump for sending him down a "path of darkness"
James Fields Killed Heather Heyer Because of Her Opinions, and Now the Government Is Trying to Do the Same to Him
The federal case against the Charlottesville murderer illustrates how hate crime laws punish people for their bigoted beliefs.
Federal Court: Secretly Recording Government Officials Is a First Amendment Right
The ruling extends to secret recordings of police officers.
Uncivil Disobedience
Jason Brennan argues that there is no moral distinction between civilians and agents of the state, even in the right to resist injustice.
William Barr's Never-Ending War
Trump's nominee for attorney general is apt to encourage his worst instincts on drug policy.
Should We Be Upset If the IRS Has Been 'Gutted'?
A new report from ProPublica whitewashes the IRS, while ignoring the positive benefits of tax evasion.
McConnell Says He Will Bring Criminal Justice Bill to Senate Floor for Vote
After weeks of pressure from the White House and fellow Republicans, Mitch McConnell says he will schedule a vote for the FIRST STEP Act.
Maryland Man Saves a Life, Says D.C. Cops Rewarded Him by Seizing His Car
Benjamin Davis III wasn't issued a ticket or citation. But he says police had his car towed anyway.
It Took a Jury 9 Minutes to Decide a Man Could Legally Blast 'Fuck tha Police' Near an Officer
The deputy said he took issue with the word "fuck" in the song despite using it himself moments earlier.
Human Trafficking Grant Goes to Arrest Suspected Victims in Tucson
A Tucson Weekly investigation finds that federal funds to "fight sex trafficking" are actually perpetuating it.
Trump's Cluelessness Remains His Best Defense Against Charges That He 'Knowingly and Willfully' Violated Campaign Finance Law
If Trump did not recognize hush payments to his (alleged) former mistresses as illegal campaign contributions, he is not criminally culpable.
Video Shows NY Cops Ripping Baby From Screaming Mom's Arms
According to a witness, Jazmine Headley got in trouble for sitting on the floor of a government office because there were no seats available.
Repudiating the 'Dual Sovereignty' Exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause Could Undermine the Federal War on Weed. Oh No!
The Supreme Court seems disinclined to overturn precedents allowing serial prosecutions of the same crime.
Trump Considers Tying Criminal Justice Reforms to Border Wall Funding
The FIRST STEP Act might get shoved into an end-of-year spending bill.
Wayne County Cops Seized Her Car Over $10 Worth of Weed. Now She's Suing.
The lawsuit argues that the excessive penalty violated her Eighth Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is currently considering a similar case.
When Nonviolence Isn't Enough
Does the right to self-defense apply against agents of the state?
California's Republican Party Is Irrelevant. Embracing Criminal Justice Reform Could Help Change That.
Conservatives and moderates don't agree on much, but they do agree on this: The state GOP is dead in the water and needs a new strategy to revive itself.
Garden State Crime Is Down Since New Jersey Ditched Cash Bail
Money is no longer needed to get out of jail. This hasn't resulted in danger to the community.
The Current Posture of the Crime Victims Rights Challenge to Jeffrey Epstein's Plea Deal
In a case I'm working on, Jeffrey Epstein's victims hope to set aside a non-prosecution agreement based on violations of their rights under the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
New York City Wants to Make It Illegal to Send a Sexy Pic Without Affirmative Consent
It's been dubbed "NYC's Anti-Airdrop Dick Pic Law," but the bill is much broader than that.
Mandatory Warrantless Rental Inspections Inspire Seattle Lawsuit
Institute for Justice to city: Show probable cause, guys.
China's Xi Fools Another U.S. President With Promises of a Fentanyl Crackdown
And once again, Trump is distracted from real policy by symbolic brutality.
Stop Ignoring Double Jeopardy
The Supreme Court should reconsider the misbegotten "dual sovereignty" doctrine.
Deputies Confused a Granny's Cotton Candy for Meth. A High Bond Kept Her Jailed For Months.
How an unscientific field test and the bail system stripped a Georgia grandmother of justice.
Betsy DeVos' Title IX Campus Reforms Advance a Liberal Cause
Progressives who oppose them are betraying their own principles
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
L.A. County's New Blue-Wave Sheriff Is No Friend to Criminal Justice Reform
Alex Villanueva openly wants to get rid of constitutional policing advisors and to conceal names of bad deputies from prosecutors.
Help Reason Fight for the Unjustly Imprisoned
We do more criminal justice coverage per capita than any comparable national magazine. Please help us do more.
Neil Gorsuch, Civil Asset Forfeiture, and the Original Meaning of the 14th Amendment
Where does Justice Gorsuch stand on the Privileges or Immunities Clause?
Alabama Police Shot Innocent Man Three Times From the Back, Independent Autopsy Says
Meanwhile, the officers involved can't get their stories straight.
Video Shows Chicago Cop Using Handcuffs to Beat Teen Over the Head
Even if he was resisting arrest, this much force seems unnecessary.
Minneapolis Cops Find a Way to Make a Christmas Tree Racist
The most bigoted tree in Minnesota?
SEC Goes After Cryptocurrency 'Influencers,' Starting With DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather: Reason Roundup
Plus: the First Amendment problems with prosecuting Wikileaks and the trans troops ban is dealt another blow.
New Tracks From Meek Mill and Chance the Rapper Tackle Criminal Justice and Trump
Settle in with some headphones and get ready to nod.
Lawsuit Alleges California Cops Stole Weed and Cash During Traffic Stops
Numerous motorists say rogue cops in a small Northern California town ripped them off during bogus traffic stops.
New Orleans D.A. Complains About Community Bail Funds Releasing Low-Level Offenders
Organization helps poor people cover costs to get out of jail before their trials. Why is this a problem?
Has Anti-Racism Become as Harmful as Racism? John McWhorter vs. Nikhil Singh
Watch the Oxford-style debate hosted by the Soho Forum.
'Let's Whoop Some Ass': St. Louis Cops Charged With Beating Undercover Detective Posing as Protester
"It's gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these shitheads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart."
Journalists Create a Database to Track Bad New Jersey Cops
The state doesn't track use-of-force incidents, so NJ.com did its own research.
Putin's Potential Penthouse in Trump Tower Moscow Launches Investigation: Reason Roundup
Plus: CNN fires Marc Lamont Hill for Palestine comments and the link between life expectancy declines, opioid pills, and prohibition.
