Criminal Justice
Lifetime GPS Tracking Is Not Punishment, Says Wisconsin Supreme Court
The court relies on a debunked recidivism estimate to justify tagging and surveillance of sex offenders.
Congress Stands With the Blue, Against the Constitution
The lopsided House vote for treating assaults on cops as federal crimes is a bipartisan portrait in cowardice.
How Junk Science Sends Innocent People to Jail
It's time to reform our criminal justice system.
Prison Reform Bill Passes The House; Is Prison Reform Dead?
The House passed a major, bipartisan prison reform bill backed by the White House, but it's being attacked from all sides.
Stossel: Junk Science Locks Up Innocent People
DNA testing reveals that long-used forensic methods are error-riddled.
More Than 7 Million Americans May Have Suspended Licenses for Unpaid Tickets and Court Fines
The practice traps the poor in a spiral of debt, hobbling their ability to pay off their fines.
NYPD Union Rep Complains That He's Increasingly Afraid to Arrest People for No Good Reason
Can't bust some guy for smoking a joint on the stairs. What's the world coming to?
Steven Pinker Loves the Enlightenment
The Harvard psychologist splits the difference between Dr. Pangloss and Pope Francis.
Federal Prisons Scaling Back Accommodations for Transgender Inmates
New amendments to rules default to placing prisoners on the basis of their "biological sex."
Fight Hate Speech with More Speech, Not Censorship: ACLU's Nadine Strossen
Nick Gillespie talks to former president of the ACLU Nadine Strossen about the difficulties and importance of free speech.
A Public Defender Is Shaking Up the Race for San Diego D.A.
Genevieve Jones-Wright wanted to be a prosecutor but ended up becoming a public defender. Now she's running for D.A.
Cops Have No Idea If Hate Crime Laws Stop Hate Crimes
..and other things I learned when I spoke at a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights briefing.
SCOTUS Says Non-Authorized Rental Car Drivers Do Not Automatically Forfeit Their Fourth Amendment Rights
Fourth Amendment advocates score a limited victory in Byrd v. U.S.
Attorney General Sessions Properly Links an "ACLU Effect" and the Chicago Homicide Spike
The Attorney General approvingly discussed my article linking the dramatic decline in street stops in Chicago under an ACLU agreement and the subsequent homicide spike. While Professor John Rappaport has a different take on this "ACLU Effect," his unsupported analysis does not fit the data.
Let's Not Blame Tech Tools if This Sheriff Illegally Violated People's Privacy
Government, not private companies, is supposed to provide oversight over police behavior.
Man Protests Police Department's Violation of Speech Rights, So Cops Arrest Him
Stamford, Connecticut, police chief objects to salty language on a sign. That's not a crime.
Customs Agents Steal Money a Nurse Saved to Build a Medical Clinic in Nigeria
CBP won't return the cash unless the owner signs an illegal waiver.
Texas Town in Trouble for Spending Money Seized from Citizens on Trips, Non-Police Business
Despite the misuse, nobody involved questions that corrupt mentality that led to asset forfeiture in the first place.
Illinois Police Dog Trainer Warns: We May Euthanize Our Drug Dogs If You Legalize Weed
Behold, the worst argument against legalizing marijuana.
Google to Purge Ads for Bail Bond Services
Company throws weight behind reformers who want to end the practice of jailing people who cannot afford to pay.
Human Trafficking Court in Delaware Shuts Down for Lack of Human-Trafficking Victims
The Delaware Criminal Justice Council found it difficult to "justify the resources that have been expend on so few" participants with such a "low rate of success."
New York Attorney General Schneiderman Resigns Amid Physical Abuse Allegations
The anti-Weinstein crusader apparently had some problems of his own.
Will Congress Pass This Absolute Unit of a Prison Reform Bill?
The FIRST STEP Act would result in the immediate release of about 4,000 federal inmates, advocates say.
Cops Called a Helicopter to Confront Three Black Women Leaving an Airbnb
A neighbor thought they were robbing the place.
Off-Duty Cop Pulls Gun on Man Buying Mentos; Police Union Condemns Fourth Amendment
Not a good weekend for relationships between officers and citizens
Sex by Impersonation = Rape, Says Iowa Supreme Court
An interesting question, which some other courts have answered otherwise.
Libertarians Tend to Favor Immigration, But …
Libertarians also tend to favor free expression. And there appears to be a real-world trade off.
DACA and the danger of conflicting injunctions
Will the federal courts issue directly clashing national injunctions about DACA?
Short Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
Pet food puffery, suspiciously loud laughter, and the school of hard knocks.
We Sent an Intern to Virginia to Get Police Body Cam Footage. It Didn't Work.
What happened when Reason sent a 22-year-old non-lawyer to fight for transparency.
Chicago Mayor Pushes for Police Drone Surveillance of Public Gatherings
Rahm Emanuel wants to do the thing that critics of drone surveillance fear most.
If You Shot a Man in Reno, Why are You in California State Prison?
Herein of "Folsom Prison Blues" and criminal jurisdiction.
The Transgender Bathroom Wars Continue in State Court
The Withdrawal of the Obama-Era "Dear Colleague Letter" (which made transgender access to the bathrooms of students' self-perceived gender rather than their anatomical sex mandatory on schools) was the right thing under federal law. But now the arguments are being made under state law.
Discussions of the Freedom of the Press as Protecting Non-Press-as-Industry Writers (America)
"Freedom of the press," as I've argued in earlier posts, was understood as protecting the freedom of all to use the printing press -- not just a freedom of the profession or industry that we might call "the press."
"A Spiraling Controversy Over Anti-Semitic Comments and Conspiracy Theories Has Roiled the Washington City Government"
Rothschilds, "fake Jews," "termite[s]," Louis Farrakhan, and more.
Mike Pence Calls Lawbreaking Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio a 'Champion of the Rule of Law'
Because nothings says "rule of law" like a sheriff held in contempt for refusing to follow a judge's orders.
Seattle Sued Over Law Banning Landlords From Conducting Criminal Background Checks
Violators are required to take classes to reduce racial bias.
Trump Is Right: 'Collusion' Is Not a Crime
It remains unclear whether contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives violated the law.
Undocumented Immigrants Are Less Crime Prone Than Native-Borns
More undocumented immigration meant less violent crime.
Jonathan Rauch on Happiness: Why Life Gets Better After 50
Rauch is one of my favorite writers -- plus I just turned 50, so I suppose I want to believe ....
Black Gun Owner Will Give Birth in Prison After Trying to Protect 2-Year-Old Daughter from Assailant
Siwatu-Salama Ra used a legally purchased firearm to protect her family. She was sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Tentative Thoughts on the Use of Genealogy Sites to Solve Crimes
Prompted by the apparent catching of the Golden State Killer.
