Criminal Justice
The Court-Ordered Takeover of Rikers Shows the Crisis in American Prisons and Jails
A federal judge finally acknowledged that New York City won't fix the constitutional crisis at Rikers on its own, but the problem goes far beyond New York City.
Should Funding Crime Victims' Rights Be a Justice Department Priority?
Yes! Funding crime victims' rights initiatives is a useful measure for ensuring that the criminal justice system focuses on protecting victims, which should always be a high priority.
At 'Orgasmic Meditation' Trial, Feds Can't Find a Clitoris—or Evidence of Forced Labor
The government has been putting sexuality, sexual labor, and unorthodox ideas about sex on trial.
Reason Nominated for 17 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominees include stories on inflation breaking brains, America's first drug war, Afghans the U.S. left behind, Javier Milei, and much more.
The Federal Government's 175,000 Pages of Regulations Turn the Rule of Law Into a Cruel Joke
Trump rightly decries the "absurd and unjust" consequences of proliferating regulatory crimes.
Miami Beach Homeless Arrests Spiked in February Under Anticamping Law
During one week in February, arrests of homeless people accounted for 66 percent of all arrests in Miami Beach.
Airport Human-Trafficking Posters Are Overstating the Risks to Young People
"That guy isn't being trafficked by anyone," says sociologist Emily Horowitz.
Newark Mayor Arrested for ICE 'Trespassing'
Plus: Air traffic controller issues, tariff deal between U.S. and China, "murder insurance," and more...
Government Argues It's Too Much To Ask the FBI To Check the Address Before Blowing Up a Home
The Department of Justice told the Supreme Court there were "policy tradeoffs that an officer makes" in determining if he should "take one more extra precaution" to make sure he's at the right house.
Georgia Man Who Spent 6 Weeks in Jail on a Kidnapping Charge Says He Was Helping a Falling Child
Mahendra Patel was charged with battery, assault, and attempted kidnapping. He was granted bond.
Newly Released Documents Show What the Feds Knew About the New Jersey Drone Scare
Even after the Biden administration realized the most alarming claims were bunk, it didn't publicize the evidence it had.
Good Riddance to Ed Martin, Trump's Failed Pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C.
Martin is a bully and a menace to free speech. Unfortunately for him, his own free speech caught up with him.
California Sex Trafficking Fight Erupts Over Punishment for Soliciting Minors
Democrats did the right thing, got attacked for it, then caved.
Intelligence Agencies Undermining Trump's Claims
Plus: Deporting the worst of the worst, Bessent tries to promote the Trump economic agenda, and more...
Reopening Alcatraz Is an Expensive, Unnecessary Pipe Dream
The Bureau of Prisons is struggling to staff the prisons it currently operates. Reopening Alcatraz would be unrealistic and redundant.
FBI Warns of Swatting Amid a Wave of Politically Motivated Attacks
As partisan violence rises, emergency services are weaponized against mostly conservative targets.
The Trump Administration Is Using Tattoos, Logos, and Clothes To Identify Supposed Gang Members
ICE deported Andry Hernandez Romero because his "mom" and "dad" tattoos were allegedly related to a Venezuelan gang.
The Arizona Supreme Court Requires Future Lost Income Restitution for a Child Murder Victim
When a murderer kills a victim, including a child, the murderer has directly and immediately eliminated the victim's ability to earn income. The only remaining issue is to reasonably estimate the size of that loss.
Why the FBI Arrested Judge Hannah Dugan
The Wisconsin judge is charged with obstruction of justice and concealing an undocumented alien to prevent his arrest.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act's Good Intentions Don't Make Up for Its Bad Policy
Congress just approved a new online censorship scheme under the auspices of thwarting revenge porn and AI-generated "nonconsensual intimate visual depictions."
John Arnold: Government Can't Be Trusted To Fix Any Problems
John Arnold argues that private markets solve problems better than government or philanthropy, and that real reform comes from decentralization, incentives, and evidence—not top-down control.
Trump Administration Admits ICE Arrested Mahmoud Khalil Without a Warrant
The administration's lawyers claim that this was justified by Khalil's likelihood of escape.
Deporting the Cancer Kid
Plus: Pell Grant fraud, New York mayoral candidate defaulting on student loans, and more...
More Evidence that Immigrants - Including Illegal Ones - Have Much Lower Crime Rates than Natives
A new Cato Institute study further refutes claims that illegal migration is somehow causing a crime wave.
Trump's Understanding of Due Process Is Just As Farcical As His Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
A new ACLU lawsuit argues that the government still is not giving alleged gang members the "notice" required by a Supreme Court order.
Why Due Process Matters
Plus: A listener asks who was the better president: Trump or Obama?
Cops Denied Qualified Immunity After Arresting Sober Teenager for DUI
"I blew a zero, so now you're trying to think I smoked weed?” Tayvin Galanakis asked the officer who arrested him in 2022. “That's what's going on. You can't do that, man.”
6 Cases That Paved the Road to Mass Incarceration
In Justice Abandoned, a law professor argues that the Court got these key decisions wrong.
Not Guilty but Punished Anyway
Sentencing defendants based on acquitted conduct violates basic notions of justice.
The Victims' Families Seek a Plea Deadline in the Boeing Criminal Case
I argue that the Crime Victims' Rights Act entitles the victims' families to know whether Boeing is really planning to go to trial ... or whether it will stick with its guilty plea.
The Man Who Fought Chicago for His Cadillac—and Never Got It Back
Spencer Byrd's case helped spark reforms and a federal lawsuit, but he died before seeing justice.
Trump Says Alleged Gang Members Don't Need Hearings Because the Government Is Infallible
The Supreme Court unanimously rejected that claim, upholding the right to due process in deportation cases.
ICE Arrests Palestinian Immigrant at His Citizenship Test
Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi thought he was going to become an American. Instead, ICE whisked him away into detention.