Criminal Justice
Bob Menendez Does Not Deserve a Pardon
The disgraced former Democratic senator was convicted of accepting almost $1 million in bribes in exchange for, among other things, favors benefiting foreign governments.
Civil Rights Groups Say Immigrants Are Being Denied Legal Access at Detention Centers
Reason confirmed reports of dysfunction and violence at one of those detention centers earlier this week.
Trump Rightly Pardons 2 Florida Divers Who Became Federal Felons Because of an Honest Mistake
John Moore and Tanner Mansell were convicted of theft after they freed sharks they erroneously thought had been caught illegally.
Illinois Cops Gave ICE Access to More Than 5,000 Surveillance Cameras Nationwide
A camera network developed to help find missing cars and persons is now being used for immigration enforcement.
Trump Deletes Database Containing Over 5,000 Police Misconduct Incidents
It's a reversal from his first term, when Trump himself ordered the creation of a database tracking excessive use of force.
Is Buying OnlyFans Content Now Illegal in Sweden?
Swedish authorities voted to criminalize the purchase or procurement of online sex acts, in a move targeting customers of webcam platforms and sites like OnlyFans.
How Charlie Rangel Changed His Mind About the War on Drugs
The former congressman, who died this week, transformed from a zealous prohibitionist into a drug policy reformer.
Trump's Pardon for Former Virginia Sheriff Who Exchanged Badges for Cash Makes a Mockery of 'Law and Order'
Scott Jenkins was convicted of engaging in cartoonish levels of corruption. If the rule of law only applies to the little guy, then it isn't worth much.
Overcrowding and Dysfunction Produced a Quiet Riot at a Miami Federal Prison Holding ICE Detainees
Half the elevators at Federal Detention Center Miami are broken. Immigrant detainees are kept on lockdown, and lawyers can barely reach their clients.
Could 2025 See the Lowest Murder Rate Ever Recorded?
While it's too early to say for sure, the data are extremely encouraging.
That Time L.A.'s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Called in a Bomb Threat on His Own City Hall
Former official Brian K. Williams just admitted that he faked a bomb threat during a work meeting. Now he faces up to 10 years in prison.
Pregnant Women in Prison Aren't Getting Care, and No One Is Keeping Track
U.S. criminal justice policies have led to a 585 percent increase in the incarcerated women’s population since 1980 and have resulted in the highest female incarceration rate in the world.
A Federal Judge Says New Mexico Cops Reasonably Killed an Innocent Man at the Wrong House
U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia rejected the argument that the officers "recklessly created the need to apply deadly force by going to the wrong address."
New Orleans Police Secretly Used Prohibited Facial Recognition Surveillance for Years
Although the AI-generated surveillance of the public has been paused, the program continues to send automatic alerts to the Louisiana State Police and federal authorities.
ICE Helps Round Up Sex Workers in Florida
In Operation Fool Around and Find Out, 244 "human trafficking" arrests, but no human trafficking.
What Kristi Noem Gets Wrong About Habeas Corpus
The legal principle safeguards civil liberties, protecting even unpopular people from the government.
The Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects a 'Very Narrow Approach' to Deadly Force by Police
The decision revives a lawsuit against a Texas officer who shot a driver after endangering himself by jumping onto a moving car.
At a Missouri Prison, Inmates Fear for Their Lives in Sweltering Cells
Without air conditioning, inmates are "literally trapped in a burning hot cell," according to a new lawsuit.
Federal Court Scraps Rule That Gagged Tennessee Civil Rights Attorney From Criticizing a Private Prison
For nearly three years, Daniel Horwitz faced contempt of court for talking about a private prison that was one of his most frequent courtroom opponents.
Men Caught In Prostitution Sting Aren't Sex Traffickers, Massachusetts High Court Says
But the ruling suggests prostitution clients could be convicted of sex trafficking in other circumstances.
James Comey's Deleted '86 47' Instagram Post Is Obviously Protected by the First Amendment
A lot of conservatives are falling prey to the same snowflakery they criticize.
New Montana Law Blocks the State From Buying Private Data To Skirt the Fourth Amendment
The Big Sky State becomes the first to close the "data broker loophole" allowing the government to get private information without a warrant.
Trump's Plan to 'Unleash' Police Risks More Abuses of Everyone's Rights
President Donald Trump's executive order empowering local cops will create bad incentives that could prove costly for law-abiding citizens.
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.