Why Trump Should Keep His Promise To Free Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht
A life sentence for facilitating peaceful transactions among consenting adults is hard to fathom, let alone justify.
Criminal Justice
The Laken Riley Act Reminds Us: If a Law Is Named After Someone, It's Probably Bad
Riley's murder was an atrocity. But the law bearing her name is a grab bag of authoritarian policies that have little to do with her death.
Biden Has Now Issued Far More Commutations Than Any of His Predecessors
The president's record-shattering clemency actions help ameliorate the damage caused by the draconian drug policies he supported for most of his political career.
Hospital Staff Failed To Treat Her Miscarriage, Then Accused Her of a Crime
A new lawsuit alleges that, after failing to treat a placental abruption, medical staff conspired to have Brittany Watts arrested for her miscarriage.
The FDA Proposes a De Facto Cigarette Ban, Which Would Expand the Disastrous War on Drugs
Mandating negligible nicotine levels in tobacco products would create a big black market and criminalize currently legal transactions.
DEA Ends Airport Gate Searches After Years of Documented Abuses of Civil Asset Forfeiture
The Justice Department temporarily suspended the program in November because of "significant risks" of constitutional violations.
Can the Private Sector Really Replace All Government Functions?
I can't stand big government, but I think we need something. Michael Malice says I'm wrong.
The Law That Disarmed Trump Is Unfair, Illogical, and Constitutionally Dubious
The president-elect lost his Second Amendment rights thanks to a nonsensical gun ban.
Here's How Police Are Being Trained To Deal With Incels
The Department of Homeland Security is watching men who are mad they can’t get girlfriends.
Maryland Cop Who Recklessly Shot a 5-Year-Old Boy Got Qualified Immunity
The Cato Institute is urging the Supreme Court to take up the case and reaffirm that the liability shield does not apply to "obvious rights violations."
Nevada Judge to Nevada Cops: You Can't Use This Loophole To Get Around Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
The Nevada Highway Patrol exceeded its legal authority when it seized nearly $90,000 in cash from Stephen Lara in 2023 and then handed the case to the DEA.
Massachusetts Court Weighs Whether All Prostitution Is Sex Trafficking
Five "traffickers" arrested for responding to an undercover cop's sex ad are challenging their convictions in the state's high court.
Looting Is Bad. So Are Curfews.
The California National Guard should be helping to put out fires, not helping to restrict people's freedom of movement.
N.H. Court Rejects Attempt to Impose Hate Crime Liability on Neo-Nazis for Hanging "Keep New England White" Sign on Overpass
The right result, I think, but I don't think the court's reasoning is quite right.
Trump's Latest Defeat Is One of Many Decisions That Suggest SCOTUS Won't Rubber-Stamp His Agenda
Despite some notable wins, the president-elect's overall track record shows he cannot count on a conservative Supreme Court to side with him.
Georgia Man Sues Glynn County Police After He Was Arrested for Refusing To Give ID
A police incident report admitted "we had no probable cause" to arrest the man on loitering and prowling charges after he wouldn't give his name to officers.
Alvin Bragg's Misbegotten 'Election Interference' Case Against Trump Ends With a Whimper
Aside from a felony record that may yet be erased on appeal, the president-elect will face no punishment for trying to conceal his hush payment to Stormy Daniels.
The Laken Riley Act is Unjust - and a Trojan Horse
The act doesn't target violent criminals and sex offenders, and is likely to harm innocent people and divert resources from genuine anti-crime efforts. It also makes it easier for state governments to try to impede legal immigration.
Texas Cop Chases Prostitution Suspect, Causes Car Accident, Gets Immunity
Houston police "initiated a high-speed chase to pursue a suspect evading arrest for paying $40 to solicit sexual activity from another adult," notes a Texas Supreme Court judge.
5th Circuit Reaffirms That Prosecuting a Marijuana User for Illegal Gun Possession Was Unconstitutional
Patrick Darnell Daniels Jr. was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for violating a federal law that bars drug users from owning firearms.
Kentucky Cops Arrest Man for Shouting at Them
"Speaking from a balcony isn't a crime," the man's lawyer says. "And just because a cop was offended because of some language doesn't give him the power to arrest you."
Ohio Lawmakers Sneak In a New Law to Charge Public for Police Body Camera Videos
Civil liberty groups and press advocates worry that excessive fees could stifle police oversight.
Ohio Legislature Passes Bill Ending Driver's License Suspensions for Court Debts
Media investigations found over 3 million active license suspensions in the state.
Helen Prejean: Why This Nun Is Fighting To End the Death Penalty
Billy Binion speaks to Sister Helen Prejean about her activism to end the death penalty, as depicted in her book Dead Man Walking.
Sister Helen Prejean on Capital Punishment, Justice, and Meeting Victims' Families
"Jesus said, 'Love your enemy.' Jesus didn't say, 'Execute the hell out of the enemy,'" the Catholic nun and anti–death penalty activist tells Reason.
Pay Up, Trump
Plus: Biden's last-minute Ukraine cash surge, Tennessee age-verification law blocked, Kentucky man killed by cop who showed up at wrong house, and more…
Jimmy Carter Supported Federal Pot Decriminalization for Half a Century. It Still Has Not Happened.
Although marijuana prohibition has collapsed in one state after another, Congress has yet to take even the modest step that Carter recommended back in 1977.
Federal Court Decides on How Lockerbie Crash Victims' Relatives Can View Accused Terrorist's Criminal Trial Remotely
The court "grant[s] victims access to non-evidentiary pretrial proceedings from their homes and offices by Zoom and telephone, as well as access to livestreamed video and audio feeds of evidentiary and trial proceedings in courthouses across the United States and other secure, monitored locations around the world."
This Holiday Season, Remember That Charity Is More Effective Than Government
Charities can focus resources on those who genuinely need a hand while saying no to those who just need "a kick in the butt."
Alabama Teen Killed During 'No-Knock' Drug Raid Had His Hands Raised, Lawsuit Says
The wrongful death lawsuit says Randall Adjessom came out of his bedroom with a gun when Mobile police broke down his family's door in a predawn raid, but when he realized they were cops, he put his hands in the air.
Women Allegedly Raped in Prison by Trans-Identifying Inmate Will Have To Refer to Attacker as 'She/Her'
The recent ruling means that on the stand those women may be subject to speech policing from their alleged rapist—who has opted for self-representation.
2 Florida Men Who Thought They Were Freeing Illegally Caught Sharks Are Now Felons
Federal prosecutors argued that John Moore and Tanner Mansell stole property when they hauled in a fishing line they mistakenly believed had been set by poachers.
A San Francisco Coder Built a Musical Surveillance System
With a name inspired by a controversial police surveillance technology, Bop Spotter scans the streets for ambient tunes.
Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim
How cops, politicians, and bureaucrats tried to dodge responsibility in 2024
Crime and Terrorism are Poor Rationales for Immigration Restrictions
The risk of migrant terrorism is low, immigrants generally have lower crime rates than natives, and migration restrictions are both unjust and less effective than other strategies for reducing violence.
Was Biden Right To Take Prisoners Off Death Row?
Plus: A listener asks the editors to consider the Second Amendment's key importance for keeping the government in check.
