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.
Criminal Justice
Christmas Lights Show for Charity? New Jersey Town Wants Homeowners to Pay $2,000 a Night
The mayor claims it's a "public safety" issue.
In Rebuke to Saudis and Trump, Senate Votes to At Least Talk About Pulling U.S. Troops From Yemen: Reason Roundup
Plus: good signs in Supreme Court case on asset forfeiture and Ashley Judd talks prostitution.
8 Years in Prison for Voting Illegally Is Way Too Much
But not according Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Indiana Solicitor General: It's Constitutional to Seize a Car for Driving 5 MPH Over the Speed Limit
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer elicited a shocking response during Wednesday's oral argument in a big civil asset forfeiture case.
Coupling Expungement With Marijuana Legalization in New Jersey Means the Cannabis Industry Can Do Well by Doing Good
Legislators in Trenton plan to address past pot convictions while preventing future ones.
Deputies Ignored Their Mom's Calls for Help. Now the County Is Paying Them for Her Death.
Jessica Ortega repeatedly told deputies that her boyfriend threatened to kill her. She died following their negligence.
Today's Supreme Court Oral Argument in Timbs v. Indiana Suggests Justices are Likely to Apply Excessive Fines Clause to State Asset Forfeitures
The Court seems very likely to rule that the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment applies to state governments, and that at least some asset forfeitures violate the Clause. Potentially a big win for property rights and civil liberties.
Profitable Penalties Imperil Justice
The Supreme Court should make it clear that state forfeitures are constrained by the Excessive Fines Clause.
Texas is Trying to Execute a Man for a Murder He Didn't Commit
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a recommendation to relieve him of execution.
Rapper Meek Mill Is Attempting a 1-Million-Person Jail Break
Some people don't belong behind bars. This celebrity-launched criminal justice reform group wants to free them.
Do Alabama Police Who Killed the Wrong Man Know What 'Brandished' Means?
Emantic Bradford Jr. may have had a gun. But he didn't deserve to die.
This 'Three Strikes' Law Sends People to Die in Federal Prison For Drug Crimes
Roughly 800 federal inmates are sentenced to life under an obscure sentencing enhancement that lawmakers in Congress might soon vote to reduce.
Ted Cruz, Who Bragged About Backing Smarter Sentencing in 2015, Turns Against His Own Cause
The Texas senator is now allied with longtime opponents of reform in resisting the FIRST STEP Act.
This Week, Supreme Court Will Hear an Important Case that Could Help Curb Asset Forfeiture Abuse
The case both addresses important legal issues, and could have substantial practical implications.
Philly Police Union Sues Over Attempts to Keep Bad Cops Off the Stand
They say it's about due process. Is it really about all that sweet overtime money?
Alarmist Nonsense Should Not Stop Sentencing Reform
The modest changes in the FIRST STEP Act are no threat to public safety.
Republican Senators Urge McConnell to Act on Criminal Justice Reform Bill
Supporters are concerned about the bill's future if it doesn't pass this year.
Bail Bond Industry Attempting to Force California Jail Reforms to the Ballot Box
A law signed in August will eliminate cash bail entirely in the Golden State, and quite a few jobs in the process.
Unarmed Bay Area Man Dies After Police Tasering; New California Laws Will Force Open the Records
It's harder now for law enforcement officials to conceal what happened in deadly encounters with citizens.
Is Trump vs. Acosta the Iran-Iraq War of 2018?: Podcast
Assessing the import of presidential tantrums, media hyperbole, military complaints, and the near-arrival of federal sentencing reform
Gorsuch and Sotomayor Fault SCOTUS for Declining to Hear Important Criminal Justice Case
The two jurists dissent from denial of certiorari in Stuart v. Alabama.
Denying Bail
The Arizona Supreme Court got it right: categorical denials of bail to persons charged with sexual assault violates the Constitution.
How Mandatory Minimum Reform Will Work with "Stacked" Charges
My case involving Weldon Angelos illustrates the problem with "stacking" federal mandatory minimum gun charges from a single episode. The statute will apparently soon be amended to become a true recidivism statute.
Convicted of Brutally Beating His Wife, This Judge Was Given a Second Chance in City Government. Now He's Been Arrested for Her Murder: Reason Roundup
Plus: lawmakers move to allow headscarves on the Hill and private landlords protect from lead better than city Health Department.
The 5 Worst Supreme Court Rulings of the Past 50 Years
Cases in which a majority of the Court fell down on the job.
Manipulation and Sheer Boredom at Heart of Compelling Prison Escape Docudrama
Showtime recreates infamous 2015 caper from upstate New York.
Donald Trump Appears Clueless About the Criminal Justice Reform He Says He Supports
That could be dangerous for the policy's chances of success, as has been the case on other key policy issues during the Trump era.
Charges Against Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Accidentally Revealed by U.S. Prosecutors: Reason Roundup
Plus: the NRA versus New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and CNN versus the White House
Dallas Taxpayers Are Shelling Out $725,000 to Defend an Ex-Cop Who Shot an Unarmed Teen
Bad policing is costly in more ways than one.
Hey, Libertarians! The Criminal Justice Reform Movement Sees You Out There
At a celebrity-headlined and media-focused summit on incarceration, the speakers recognize their allies.
The Backpage Scandal Isn't What You Think
How indie media entrepreneurs James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
The 'Frightening and High' Factoid About Sex Offender Recidivism Still Stalks Courts Across the Land, Completely Untethered From Actual Numbers
Justice Anthony Kennedy's bogus 2002 claim figures prominently in defenses of an Arizona bail ban.
Trump Endorses Criminal Justice Bill, Giving Momentum to Long-Delayed Reforms
"We're all better off when former inmates can reenter society as law-abiding, productive citizens."
Man Pleads Guilty to Charges in Deadly Swatting Prank Call
Police, however, still shift away responsibility for killing unarmed, innocent Wichita man.
Libertarian Filmmaker, Podcaster Kmele Foster Wants To Change the World: Podcast
So far, the world is kind of listening. Q&A with the co-host of The Fifth Column and co-founder of Freethink Media.
The FBI Says Hate Crimes Rose 17% in 2017, but That Doesn't Mean Things Are Actually Getting Worse
1,000 more agencies submitted data in 2017 vs. 2016, which could account for much of the increase.
Black Security Guard Uses Gun to Prevent Violence, Cops Show Up and Kill Him
"Everybody was screaming out, 'Security!' He was a security guard."
Anti-Porn Republicans Haven't Gone Anywhere
The porn wars haven't died, they're just packaged differently.
Is a Categorical Denial of Bail for Accused Sex Offenders Constitutional?
My co-authored amicus brief urges the Supreme Court to review the issue of whether Arizona can deny bail to accused sex offenders where "proof" of sexual assault "is evident or the presumption great."
There Are 200 California Inmates Fighting the Camp Fire. After Prison, They Likely Won't Be Allowed to Become Firefighters
California's licensing laws mean inmates can risk their lives for less than $2 per day, but can't earn a living after they get out of prison.
Top National Police Organization Declares Support for Modest Federal Sentencing Reforms
What did it take? A promise not to make mandatory minimum reductions retroactive.
Florida Passed A Hugely Important Amendment to Allow Lawmakers to Reduce Criminal Sentences
And a state lawmaker says criminal justice reform bills are already on the way.
As His Final Move in Office, Jeff Sessions Limits Use of Court Settlements to Reform Rotten Police Departments
Sessions was a staunch critic of consent decrees that forced police departments to reform unconstitutional practices.
