Cop Fires Gun Randomly, Suffers Panic Attack, Is Disarmed by Paramedics, Still Has Job
The unarmed man he shot at is being charged with assault.
Criminal Justice
NYPD Says It Has No Backup of Its Asset Forfeiture Database and No Way to Retrieve It
The database cost $25 million.
Florida Woman Introduced a Friend to Her Dealer. Now She Faces Murder Charges.
An overdose death leads to an absurd prosecution.
Feds Admit Their Prosecution of Medical Marijuana Users in Washington Was Illegal
After trying for years to imprison the Kettle Falls Five as drug dealers, prosecutors concede they are patients protected by federal law.
Let Police Operate Drones for Emergencies—but with Full Transparency
Activists fear secret surveillance. Push for firmly enforced rules instead of bans.
Feds 'Rescue' Women from Freedom and Money in 11th 'Operation Cross Country'
Hear from the real victims of this cruel FBI charade.
Justice Department Calls for 'Responsible' Encryption, Which Means 'Bad' Encryption
What Rosenstein wants would threaten data security. That's hardly responsible.
The IRS Stole $59,000 From an Innocent Veteran; Years Later, They Still Won't Return It
"They did it for money, and they destroyed a good and honest man."
Police Deaths Up for 2016, but Are Already Trending Back Down
An increase in ambush deaths feeds a "war on cops" narrative, but the numbers remain small.
New Orleans D.A. Sued for Using Fake Subpoenas to Coerce Witnesses and Crime Victims
After the media revealed the threatening, fraudulent notices, a lawsuit has targeted the practice.
Harvey Weinstein and the End of Open Secrets: Podcast
This week's show covers the Iran nuclear deal, threats to the First Amendment, the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and Trump's latest moves on health care.
Comedians Should Make Jokes About Harvey Weinstein. We Rely on Them to Tell Tough Truths.
Sometimes jokes are the only way to bring terrible open secrets to light.
Man Busted for Meth That Was Actually Donut Glaze Gets $37,500 for His Trouble
The Krispy Kreme Caper illustrates the limits of drug field tests and the cops who perform them.
Supreme Court to Decide if Data Stored Overseas Can Be Demanded with Warrants
Microsoft resisted order for emails on servers in Ireland.
Cop Roughs Up High School Girls, Tickets School Board Member Trying to Intervene
He's been "relieved of duty," but the city won't say whether he's being paid or not.
Young Man Arrested for Underage Sex Was Re-Arrested for Sharing a Pizza with a 17-Year-Old
The witch hunt against Zach Anderson continues
Who's 'the Harvey Weinstein of' Sex Work? The Police
This week has a lot of people wondering "who's the Harvey Weinstein?" of their industry. For sex workers, the answer is all too often a local cop.
Cases Dropped Against California Cops Accused of Statutory Rape, Prostitution With Police Dispatcher's Daughter
Judge says Bay Area cops accused of sex crimes might not have known that Oakland teenager "Celeste Guap" was underage.
The CDC, Like the FBI, Dramatically Undercounts Deaths at Hands of Police
Due to lack of information from death certificates, only half are properly recorded.
There Aren't Enough Beds in This Virginia Jail for All the Women Caught in Heroin and 'Human Trafficking' Dragnets
"We don't have enough space for them," said sheriff.
Cyrus Vance Is a Product of Dangerous One-Party Rule
When elected officials regularly run unopposed, there's no democratic accountability.
Judge Threatens Arizona Prison Officials With Contempt For 'Pervasive and Intractable Failures'
The threat comes three years after officials agreed to improve the disastrous lack of healthcare.
Judge Won't Let Feds Have Full Access to Names of People on Anti-Trump Site
The web host can redact user info unless the Justice Department provides evidence of criminal activity.
Supreme Court Considers: Can Cops Arrest You for Going to a Party Where You Don't Know the Host?
The case has already produced some fun SCOTUS banter. It could have major consequences for due process and police accountability.
Bump Stock Ban Retroactively Criminalizes Possession of Legally Acquired Products
Current owners of newly prohibited devices could go to prison for keeping them.
Salt Lake Police Fire Cop Who Arrested Nurse Over Blood Draw
Body camera footage has consequences.
Federal Judge Restores Drivers' Licenses to Two With Unpaid Traffic Tickets; May Be First Ruling of its Kind
Civil liberties groups say suspending drivers' licenses for unpaid court fines traps poor people in debt spiral. A federal judge appears to agree.
Vanessa Grigoriadis on the 'Blurred Lines' of Consensual Sex and Assault on Campus
Is rape culture out of control, or have we entered a new era of "sexual McCarthyism?"
Bad Cops Will Keep Getting Rehired As Long As You Have Powerful Police Unions
There's a simple way to break the cycle, but it's not easy.
Don't Cite The Hunting Ground in Defense of Harvey Weinstein
Sexual harassment is a real problem, but this activist documentary about rape on campus missed the mark.
More Cities Join Efforts to Steer People Away From Jail
Millions of dollars in grants will go to eight different jurisdictions to keep people away from jail.
Are the Feds Using Backdoor Searches to Access Your Banking Data?
BuzzFeed reports federal agencies violating the rules to engage in warrantless domestic snooping of financial information.
'Hate Crime' at Michigan State University Was Actually Just a Missing Shoelace
How common are bona fide "bias incidents"? We don't know.
D.C. Could Become Only U.S. City to Decriminalize Prostitution
A new bill would remove all criminal penalties in the District for buying or selling sex.
Here's How Some Lawmakers Want to Reform Federal Surveillance. Prepare to Be Disappointed
The backdoor, warrantless searches won't end, but will see new limits.
The Real 'Modern Slavery'? Inside America's Court-Ordered Corporate Labor Camps
Under the guise of getting addicts treatment, courts are ordering people to do dangerous and unremunerated labor in "diversion" factory farms.
The Senate Will Try Again On Sentencing Reform This Year
A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced one of the biggest sentencing reform bills in years. Can it pass this time?
Michigan Mayor Offers Seized Money as a Citizen Reward for Drug Snitching. What Could Go Wrong?
Incentives for neighbors to turn on each other. Incentives for police to find reasons to seize people's stuff and keep it.
DEA Agents Sold Opioids, Stole Cash, and Falsely Identified Drug Suspects, Say Feds
Seize the drugs. Sell the drugs. Arrest the buyers. Repeat.
No, the U.S. Didn't Just Take a Stand for Executing Gay People
Don't believe the hype about the U.N.'s resolution on the death penalty.
Senators Want to Make Prosecutors Prove Defendants Intended to Break Laws Before Locking Them Up
In a country with so many crimes, many laws don't require proof citizens knew they were doing wrong.
