Should We Expect More from Our Elected Officials?
Are there constitutional obligations above and beyond the legal requirements of office?
Criminal Justice
A Cure for Mass Shootings Doesn't Exist
There are no plausible options that offer more than the faintest prospect of preventing the next massacre.
The Space Shuttle and Reasonable Doubt
"During voir dire, the prosecutor showed the potential jurors an incomplete puzzle of a space shuttle (with only sixty-six percent of the pieces present), stated that the image was a space shuttle 'beyond a reasonable doubt,' and asked the potential jurors whether anyone disagreed, which none did; the prosecutor also showed the image during closing arguments."
9 Women Describe Horrific Treatment at the Hands of Their Jailers
In California's Santa Rita Jail, pregnant inmates were pressured to have abortions, forced to go without food, and made to live in unsanitary conditions, a new lawsuit alleges.
Tennessee Bill Would Make It Easier for Ex-Convicts to Get Jobs
Lawmakers are right to seek occupational licensing reform.
Jeff Sessions and Chuck Grassley Spar Over Sentencing Reform
"If General Sessions wanted to be involved in marking up this legislation, maybe he should have quit his job and run for the Republican Senate seat in Alabama."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg > "Notorious RBG"
Professor Rick Hasen on why its a bad idea to treat Supreme Court justices like celebrities (and why justices should not embrace their celebrity either).
More Cops in Schools Is the Wrong Answer to Mass Shootings
Some pundits want school security to be as pointlessly intrusive as airport security.
Episode 203: Interview with Glenn Gerstell
NSA's General Counsel speaks on 702, cybersecurity, and more
Don't Know Much About History
Quite a line about World War II from a history book for children.
Adjunct Prof: "Australia Is a Continent; It Is Not a Country"
Instructor gives F to student for calling Australia a country; university fires instructor.
Did Trump's Lawyer Pay Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket?
A minor point, but it's not what his statement says.
Two Baltimore Police Officers Found Guilty of Armed Robbery, Racketeering
The trial of two Gun Trace Task Force members sheds light on a deeply dysfunctional department.
Alabama Prosecutor, Sheriff Threaten to Put More People in Prison in Order to Keep Seizing Massive Amounts of Property
Lawmakers are considering long-overdue civil asset forfeiture reform, and law enforcement leaders aren't happy.
81 Federal Prisoners Have Died While Waiting for the Government to Decide If They Were Sick Enough to Go Home
The Justice Department has finally shared data from the "compassionate release" program, and the numbers aren't pretty.
The Anglo-American Office of Sheriff
Americans' right to elect their Sheriffs comes from ancient English legal tradition.
Should the Sex Offender Registry Be Abolished? A Live Debate.
Watch Sociologist Emily Horowitz vs. Marci Hamilton of CHILD USA at the Soho Forum.
Bank Recommendations, Especially for Banks with Good Online Banking Systems?
I've long been disappointed with my bank, U.S. Bank, chiefly because of its online banking system, which seems badly antiquated.
West Virginia Cop Fired For Not Shooting Suicidal Man Settles Lawsuit Against City
"The termination of Stephen Mader was yet another incident exposing the toxic culture that infects far too many police departments in America."
Florida Cops Used Drones to Foil a Suicide Attempt
Cop tech can facilitate better policing, but it urgently needs more oversight.
Short Circuit: A roundup of recent federal court decisions
An eggregrious price fixing scheme, a tear gas accident, and a post-SWAT raid code inspection.
Indonesia Seems Set to Ban Gay Sex
World's fourth largest country -- and largest Muslim country -- had long been seen as tolerant on such matters, but that has been changing.
Ninth Circuit: Adultery Is Constitutionally Protected
The court holds that Lawrence v. Texas limits government restrictions on extramarital sex.
"All Sex Offender Registries Should Be Abolished": Debate, 2/12
Tomorrow's Soho Forum/Reason debate asks whether well-intentioned laws to protect victims do more harm than good.
Can Governments Ban Gun Stores? Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case
Amicus brief in Supreme Court cert. petition argues that Alameda County, Calif., ban on new gun stores violates the Second Amendment.
New Jersey Cop Fired for Having Once Appeared in Fetish Films
Meanwhile, drunk driving and vehicular assault by officers are not firing offenses in Hudson County.
Judge Reduces Woman's Prison Sentence Because She Got Sterilized, but It Was Totally Her 'Choice'
Paternalistic nudging in action
Immigration Authorities Want Access to All the Raw Intelligence the Feds Already Collected on You
And Donald Trump just might be the president to give ICE free rein.
Sex-Offender Registries Do More Harm than Good: Live Debate 2/12 in NYC
Reason/Soho Forum debate in New York looks at the unintended consequences of a popular mandate. Tickets available or watch online.
The Shame of Devin Nunes
Our president thinks that Rep. Nunes will go down in history as "a great American." He is wrong.
If a School Cop Threatens Your 13-Year-Old with Child Porn Charges for Sexting, Get a Lawyer
Families should never consent to have school resource officers search kids' phones.
There's Still No Big 'There' in the Russia Probe
The FBI's disappointing surveillance of Carter Page illustrates the difficulty of implicating the president in illegal collusion.
The Emoluments Clauses Litigation, Part 6: Are the Claims Against the President in his Official or Individual Capacity?
A guest-post from two authors who have commented heavily (and influentially) on the Emoluments Clauses litigation against President Trump; more to come later this week.
'Keep Your Tyranny Off Our Titties,' Say New Orleans Strippers
In a series of protests, strip club workers and their allies are pushing back against abusive policing.
