Illinois City Agrees To Stop Fining People for Resisting Warrantless Home Inspections
Zion’s attempts to push out unwanted renters collides with Fourth Amendment protections.
Criminal Justice
'The Hypocrisy Hurts': Enes Kanter Freedom on Standing Up to China in the NBA
"When it comes to problems happening in America, [the NBA is] the first organization saying, 'This is wrong,'" says the former professional basketball player. But then they're silent for victims of torture.
An Arizona Prison Is Requiring Inductions for Pregnant Inmates
"Just because I made some bad choices in my life, they shouldn't be allowed to make bad health choices for me and my baby," said one woman whose labor was induced against her will.
Beverly Gage: The Dark Truth About J. Edgar Hoover's FBI
The first FBI director wasn't all bad (or a cross-dresser). But he and the agency he created regularly flouted constitutional limits on power.
The Complicated Truth about J. Edgar Hoover
The first FBI director wasn't a cross-dresser, says a new biography, but he was often quick to flout constitutional limits on state power.
Oregon Supreme Court Orders New Trials for Hundreds Convicted by Split Juries
Oregon was one of only two states that allowed for non-unanimous guilty verdicts until the Supreme Court outlawed them in 2020.
Amber McLaughlin's Jury Deadlocked—So the Judge Decided She Should Be Executed
Today's scheduled execution is getting attention because she's trans. But the bigger story here is how she was sentenced to die.
Pundits Predicted a Backlash Against Criminal Justice Reform in the Midterms. What Happened?
While rising crime created headwinds for candidates who supported criminal justice reform, the apocalyptic storm never quite arrived.
Keri Blakinger Is a Figure Skater and a Felon
"The most valuable thing taken away while in prison is time," says the author of Corrections in Ink.
Judge Rules Illinois' Elimination of Cash Bail Unconstitutional
The governor and attorney general say they’ll appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Libertarian Radio Host Ian Freeman Convicted for Helping People Buy Bitcoin
Freeman, an early adopter of the virtual currency, gets slammed by a state that can't tolerate any use of money without its permission and knowledge.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams Wants You to Love Big Brother
A surveillance state is no less tyrannical when the snoops really believe it's for your own protection.
NYPD Cynically Suggests Parents Know Better Than Lawyers How To Guide Children Through Interrogations
Criminal justice advocates are pushing to pass legislation to tighten rules for juvenile interrogations, but the NYPD is not on board.
A Former Obama Drug Policy Adviser Blames 'Libertarianism' for 'Fueling San Francisco's Drug Crisis'
Stanford University psychologist Keith Humphreys misconstrues libertarianism and ignores its critique of prohibition's deadly impact.
2022 Was a Year of Bad, Botched Death Row Executions
Fortunately, government kills fewer prisoners each year.
Charity and Capitalism Are Better Than Government
When I was young, I assumed government would lift people out of poverty. But those policies often do more harm than good.
Top 10 Attacks on Free-Range Parenting in 2022
Overbearing CDC guidance, pointless calls to the police, and more.
Why Take Responsibility When You Can Blame Somebody Else?
The year’s highlights in buck passing feature petulant politicians, brazen bureaucrats, careless cops, loony lawyers, and junky journalists.
5 Infuriating Ways People Got the First Amendment Wrong in 2022
As free speech becomes an increasingly important part of the culture war, people won't stop misinterpreting—and outright violating—the First Amendment.
Don't Count on Criminal Prosecution To Hold Trump Accountable for His Egregious Post-Election Behavior
The final report from the January 6 select committee falls short of proving the elements required to convict the former president.
Crime Squad 4: Weather, Tires, Furniture, & Qualified Immunity
Enforcing all the laws, all the time.
The Failure To Enact Marijuana Banking and Crack Sentencing Reforms Is a Window on Congressional Dysfunction
Although both bills have broad bipartisan support, they never got a vote in the Senate and were excluded from the omnibus spending bill.
Aaron Dean's Conviction Suggests What It Takes To Hold Cops Accountable for Wrongly Using Deadly Force
The former Forth Worth officer shot Atatiana Jefferson through a window of her home. He said he thought she was a burglar.
Congress Misses Another Chance To Correct Blatantly Unjust Crack Penalties
The legal distinction between the smoked and snorted forms of cocaine never made sense.
The January 6 Committee's Suggested Charges Against Trump May Be Hard To Prove
The leading possibilities include knowledge and intent elements that have to be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
Congress Yet Again Fails To Pass Crack Cocaine Sentencing Reforms
A compromise to cram crack sentencing reform into the year-end omnibus spending bill fell apart at the last minute.
Why Does Funding Government Take $1.7 Trillion and 4,000 Pages?
Plus: Title 42 order termination is on hold, the FTC vs. Meta, and more...
Merrick Garland's New Charging Policy Aims To Ameliorate the Damage His Boss Did As a Drug Warrior
The attorney general's memo to prosecutors is an improvement, but it is no substitute for legislation.
Will the Uvalde Shooting Prompt Texas To Finally Close a Police Secrecy Loophole?
Texas law allows police to withhold records of suspects who were never convicted. Police abuse it to hide records from families, reporters, and lawyers investigating deaths in custody.
Rikers Island Sees 19th Death This Year After Judge Gives Leaders More Time To Fix Its Messes
Somehow deaths have climbed even though the prison population has dropped.
Military Law Doesn't Clearly Forbid Private Masturbation With Child-Like Sex Doll
The U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals doesn't resolve whether such conduct is substantively constitutionally protected from criminal punishment, but holds that military law didn't put the defendant on notice that the conduct was illegal.
Absolute Immunity Puts Prosecutors Above the Law
By giving powerful law enforcement officials absolute immunity from civil liability, the Supreme Court leaves their victims with no recourse.
Attorney General Orders Prosecutors To End Crack Cocaine Sentencing Disparity as Congress Dithers
The move comes as legislation flounders in Congress to end the crack-powder sentencing disparity once and for all.
What Do Republicans Want To 'Prosecute Fauci' for, Exactly?
Elon Musk reignited the GOP’s interest to bring charges against Anthony Fauci.
5 Louisiana Officers Indicted for Beating Motorist Ronald Greene to Death, Then Covering It Up
Credit the leaking of body camera footage to the press for helping force the matter.
Politics Is Getting in the Way of What Makes Cities Great
Healthy cities are a boon not just for those who live in them, but for our entire society.
This U.S. Citizen Was Detained by ICE for Over a Month. Now He's Getting a $150,000 Settlement.
A Government Accountability Office report last year documented hundreds of ICE actions involving potential U.S. citizens.
Cop Fired for Offering a Homeless Man a Shit Sandwich Rehired by Nearby Town
San Antonio's city manager said the case illustrated how hard it is to fire employees, but it also shows how hard it is for them to stay fired.
Richmond Wants To Limit New Convenience Stores Because There Was a Shooting at an Old One
The Richmond City Council unanimously approved a resolution to study applying tougher zoning restrictions to new shops as a way of cutting down on crime.
Don't Let Police, Media Mislead You About Fentanyl Exposure Overdoses
Another officer claims to have been laid out just by being close to the drug. That’s not how it works.
Even States That Have Already Decriminalized Marijuana Use See Fewer Possession Arrests After Legalization
A study credits "an overall lower police search rate," the result of new priorities and legal constraints.
The Sixth Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing in Ohio State Title IX Case.
Judges on The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit disagree over when Title IX claims accrue.
