Criminal Justice
Trump Gag Order Raises Unsettled Constitutional Questions
A D.C. Circuit judge says the government’s defense of the order gives short shrift to "the First Amendment’s vigorous protection of political speech."
Marvin Guy, Who Shot a Cop During a No-Knock Raid, Is Found Guilty of Murder
He is not the first defendant that has struggled to reconcile the controversial raids with self-defense.
Goodbye to Detroit's Asset Forfeiture Racket
Wayne County was seizing cars and using its less-fortunate residents as piggy banks.
DEA's Domestic Surveillance 'Mission Creep'
It appears that DEA agents have been employed on non-drug-related investigations for far longer than they were originally authorized.
Backpage: The Monumental Free Speech Case the Media Ignored
The mere act of publishing sex ads online is enough to send most potential free speech allies scurrying for the exits.
This Cop Was Acquitted for His Role in the Breonna Taylor Raid. The Feds Are Prosecuting Him—Again.
Maybe Brett Hankison shouldn't have been found not guilty, but he was. The Constitution says it should stop there.
Florida's Bloated Prison System Will Cost Billions To Maintain
Florida's mandatory minimum sentences created a large, elderly prison population. Now the bill is coming due.
Review: Blind Plea Only Scratches the Surface of Plea Bargains
Host Liz Flock delivers a compelling narrative but misses chances to interrogate the justice system.
Alabama Set To Execute Man for a Crime He Committed While Legally a Minor
"Alabama law sets the age of majority at 19 years old, not 18 years. An 18-year-old is thus a minor," say Casey McWhorter's lawyers.
Prosecutors of 6-Year-Old Shooter's Mother Claim Gun-Owning Pot Users Are 'Inherently Dangerous'
Deja Taylor is going to federal prison because of a constitutionally dubious gun law that millions of cannabis consumers are violating right now.
Disabled Man on Sex Offense Registry Pardoned by Illinois Governor
Adam Nesteikis didn't even understand what he had done wrong.
This Rape Victim Wants To End the Sex Offender Registry
"A lot of people on the registry are on there for consensual behavior, things I think many people agree shouldn’t be crimes," says Meaghan Ybos, the president of Women Against Registry.
He Lost His Gun Rights Because of a Misdemeanor DUI Conviction. That Was Unconstitutional, a Judge Says.
The case highlights the broad reach of a federal law that bans firearm possession by people with nonviolent criminal records.
Cops Stormed Into a Terrified Seattle Woman's Home. It Was the Wrong Address.
Elisabeth Rehn was about to take a bath when police officers kicked down her door, flooded into her apartment, and pointed their guns at her.
San Francisco's APEC Cleanup Hasn't 'Fixed' Its Homelessness Problem
No amount of encampment sweeps and pressure-washing sidewalks is going to solve the problem of thousands of people living on the streets.
Illinois Youth Lockup Is 'No Place for Children,' According to ACLU Lawsuit
Children held in the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center are routinely subjected to solitary confinement, inadequate meals, and filthy cells, according to legal documents.
The FBI Needs Downsizing, Not $3.5 Billion for a New Headquarters
Lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia fought over which state should house the new site rather than whether the bureau even needs so many agents.
Is Wichita Mayor-Elect Lily Wu a Libertarian?
"I believe in empowering the individual and limited government. I chose to become a Libertarian on my registration because it spoke to who I was."
Civil Forfeiture Defendants Have the Right to a Jury Trial, Says the Indiana Supreme Court
That prosecutors in the Hoosier State successfully denied people this due process is a reflection of how abusive civil forfeiture can be.
He Was Strip-Searched and Jailed for Criticizing Cops. Now He's Fighting Back in Court.
In an apparent case of retaliation by humiliation, Jerry Rogers Jr. was arrested for speaking out about a stalled murder investigation.
Colleen Eren: Why Donald Trump Signed the FIRST STEP Act
The author of Reform Nation explains how celebrity, philanthropy, and activism produced the most significant prison reform in decades.
Only 'Dangerous Individuals' Lose Their Gun Rights Because of Protective Orders, the Government Says
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar falsely claims a federal gun ban "requires individualized findings of dangerousness."
He Allegedly Killed a Cop During a No-Knock Raid. Will the Jury Agree It Was Self-Defense?
Almost 10 years after his arrest, Marvin Guy will soon learn if he'll spend the rest of his life in prison.
Lawmakers Try To Insert Privacy Protections Into the Feds' Snooping Powers
The bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act would stop a lot of warrantless surveillance as a condition for renewal of Section 702 authorities.
Photo: Ready for RoboCop?
New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently showed off the autonomous security robot the city is piloting.
Senate Resolution Would Send Federal Offenders Back to Prison 3 Years After Being Released to Home Confinement
The Bureau of Prisons released more than 12,000 people on home confinement during the pandemic. Three years later, Republicans want to overturn a Justice Department rule allowing those still serving sentences to stay home.
Do Victim Impact Statements Help Promote Justice?
My new co-authored article reviews 168 victim impact statements from the Larry Nassar sentencing hearing and concludes that these statements show a victim voice at sentencing can improve justice.
Illinois Family Files Lawsuit After Police Execute Wrong-Door Raid and Allegedly Detain Them for 6 Hours
"I asked them to show me a warrant; they didn't show me nothing," a grandmother said.
A Missouri Cop Shot a Family's Dog and Threw Its Body in a Ditch
A 9-year-old lab mix wandered away from home during a storm. When a neighbor called the police to help find the dog's family, cops shot the pup instead.
A Montana Case Tests the Constitutionality of the Gun-Free School Zones Act
The law makes it a felony to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, which covers the sidewalk in front of Gabriel Metcalf's house.
Don't Blame the Maine Shootings on 'Woefully Weak' Gun Laws
Criticism of the state’s "yellow flag" statute is doubly misguided.
Teenage Trick-Or-Treaters Are Too Scary For These Cities
Across the country, ghoulish cities have outlawed teenage trick-or-treaters.
Several Justices Express Dismay at Long Delays in Returning Seized Cars to Innocent Owners
Without a prompt post-seizure hearing, people can lose their property for months or years even when they ultimately get it back.
Overcrowding Causes 'Unsafe and Unsanitary' Conditions for Youth In Philadelphia Jail
According to legal documents, children have been forced to sleep on the floor of offices and gymnasiums, with limited access to bathrooms and showers.
Tennessee to Pay $125,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Man Arrested for Posting Meme Mocking Dead Cop
Joshua Garton spent nearly two weeks in jail for "manufacturing and disseminating a harassing photograph on social media." A First Amendment lawsuit quickly followed.
DeSantis Wants To Reduce Mass Shootings by Locking More People in Mental Hospitals
It's unlikely to stop would-be shooters, but it certainly would allow more innocent people to be locked up with little recourse.
Inside a 20-Year Effort To Clean Up the Oakland Police Department
The Riders Come Out at Night frames it as a hopeful sign that police reform is possible.
In French Thriller Anatomy of a Fall, the Law Is No One's Friend
A tricky, excellent legal drama shows just how hard it can be to pin down the truth.
Mississippi Police Killed Her Son, Then Buried Him in a Pauper's Grave Without Telling Her
Even though Jackson, Mississippi, police knew they had killed 37-year-old Dexter Wade, they didn't inform his mother and allowed him to be buried in a penal farm.
Prosecutors Turn Their Extortion Racket Against Facebook and Instagram
The propensity of prosecutors to jump to conclusions before all the evidence is in is very destructive—and nothing new.
