Criminal Justice
Woke 1.0, House of the Dragon, and the Absurd Politics of Surveillance
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi break down the absurd political fights about America’s surveillance state before jumping into House of the Dragon.
She Spent 7 Months in Legal Hell After Cops Used Flock Surveillance To Identify the Wrong Car
From wrongful arrests to officers stalking exes, license plate cameras keep exposing police failures.
Airports Are ICE's Latest Target, Raising 4th Amendment Concerns From Airlines
An apparent surge of ICE arrests in airport terminals has created viral videos and questions over ICE's authority to board planes without judicial warrants.
Border Patrol Saves America From Canadian Trucker Delivering Goods in New Mexico
What kind of country would America be if people were freely allowed to peacefully deliver goods that had been consensually bought and sold?
Why Do Americans Support the Death Penalty, Despite Wrongful Convictions?
Reformers need to take into account people’s fear of crime and human predators.
How Flock Camera Defenders Are Missing the Point
Robby Soave and Amber Duke attack The Free Press' latest attempt to defend Flock cameras.
1 Year Later, Why Is the National Guard Still in D.C.?
As the National Guard deployment stretches into its second year, questions remain about why the $55 million-per-month show of force is necessary at all.
Texas Man Arrested After Ranting About Age Verification Laws Blocking His Anime
Did he make a true threat? Or was this just hyperbolic ranting about bad policy?
Federal Court Refuses to Dismiss Case Against Southern Poverty Law Center
The court rejects the argument that the prosecution should be dismissed on the grounds that it's "vindictive."
North Carolina Citizen Files Damages Claim After Border Patrol Arrested Him, Then Left Him on the Roadside
A viral video showed immigration officers uncuffing Fernando Vasquez and then dumping his papers onto the ground before driving off.
Courts Say the Justice Department Is Shredding the 'Presumption of Regularity.' It Never Deserved Extra Trust.
Misconduct and misrepresentations by Justice Department lawyers have led some federal judges to question the traditional benefit of the doubt they give to the government.
The Trump Administration Promises the 'Largest Denaturalization Effort Ever'
Denaturalization isn't new, but it has been used sparingly in modern history, in part because it is extremely costly and time-consuming.
Dropped Cases Against Alleged Reflecting Pool Vandals Followed a Rush to Judgment
Trump still seems to think the question of individual guilt or innocence is irrelevant.
Alex Nowrasteh on "Ten Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Arguments for Socialism and Why They're Wrong"
An insightful critique of ten ideas advocated by leading American "democratic socialists."
Inside a Venezuelan Political Prison: False Identities and Kangaroo Courts
An invented name, recycled evidence, and an openly lawless proceeding kept prisoners guessing. The clearest signs of release were extra food, sunlight, and medical attention.
Police Mix Up Usernames, Man Spends 18 Months in Prison for Someone Else's Sex Crimes
"He should never have been charged, let alone convicted," judges now say.
Georgia Has Arrested At Least 20 Officials for Misusing the Flock Surveillance Database
Michael Soyfer, an attorney at the Institute for Justice, calls it “just the tip of the iceberg.”
A Serial Liar Likely Sent an Innocent Man to Florida's Death Row. Why Is He Still There?
Paul Skalnik was a career criminal and jailhouse snitch whose unbelievable testimony secured dozens of convictions—including that of Jim Dailey, who awaits execution.
Kansas Lawsuit: ALPRs Turn a License Plate Into the 'Functional Equivalent' of a 'GPS Tracking Device'
The Kansas Justice Institute argues that Wichita's "warrantless ALPR dragnet surveillance program" violates the state constitution's privacy protections.
ACLU of Iowa Report Finds Police in Schools Led to Harsher Discipline for Minor Offenses, Disparate Enforcement
The ACLU of Iowa found that black and disabled students were disproportionately the subject of police referrals and arrests for school disciplinary issues.
A Pennsylvania Mom Says the Cops Were Called on Her 4 Times—for Letting Her Kids Be Outside
State lawmakers are mulling a law that would establish commonsense protections for families that give their children a reasonable amount of independence.
Records Show the Government Illegally Surveilled James Comey and Confirm the Absurdity of Its Case Against Him
The Secret Service asserted a nonexistent "emergency" to track Comey's cellphone, and the FBI's evidence falls far short of proving his seashell picture was a crime.
How Jailhouse Snitches Send Innocent People to Death Row
Pamela Colloff discusses the dangers of incentivized testimony, the difficulty of overturning wrongful convictions, and how the justice system compounds its own errors.
Trump Says He Believes in Giving People a 'Second Chance.' For 6,000 People, the Answer Was No.
The administration this month denied thousands of clemency applications.
Georgia Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Misusing Flock Surveillance Data
Although Flock Safety’s auditing tools have helped catch the bad actors, more is needed to protect Americans’ privacy.
In 39 States, People Can Be Sentenced to Life for Murders They Did Not Commit
The Sentencing Project highlights the perverse consequences of the felony murder rule, a vestige of British law that still prevails in federal courts and all but two states.
Florida Wildlife Agency Tracked Critics Using Law Enforcement Database
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says it followed the law when it pulled the driving records of more than a dozen critics of the agency.
Will This Mississippi Man on Death Row Get a Chance To Prove His Innocence?
Recent court rulings in Louisiana and Texas give hope to Devin Bennett.
California's Prison Reform Experiment Worked. The State's Crime Rate Has Fallen by 27% in 15 Years.
Facts don't care about the GOP's "crime wave" feelings.
The Homicide Rate Has Dropped to Historic Lows. Contrary to What Politicians Say, No One Really Knows Why.
The latest numbers from a sample of U.S. cities indicate continuing crime decreases that go beyond a reversion to pre-2020 norms.
Pennsylvania's Top Court Unanimously Rejects Warrantless Searches of Private Land
The justices said the "open fields" doctrine, a sweeping exception to constitutional privacy protections, does not apply in the Keystone State.
Supreme Court Will Consider Excessive Fines Clause Asset Forfeiture Case
It will review Alaska's confiscation of a $95,000 plane arising from the pilot's illegal transportation of up to 72 cans of beer.
Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case of Alaska Pilot Whose $95,000 Plane Was Seized Over a 6-Pack of Beer
Ken Jouppi's Eighth Amendment challenge asks the Court to decide whether a fine must be proportional to the gravity of the crime.
Contradictions of Socialist Prison Abolitionism
Many "democratic socialists" want to abolish prisons. But this is in conflict with their objective of making many more activities illegal.
By Blessing Corruption, Todd Blanche Has Disqualified Himself From the Job He Wants
Trump’s nominee for attorney general has repeatedly subverted justice to benefit his boss.
Did a "Minneapolis Effect" and Later De-Policing Cause Firearms Crimes to Spike in 2020?
My essay on the topic collects the available empirical research. There is support for the theory that, as police across the nation pulled back from some forms of proactive policing after protests surrounding George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis, homicides and gun violence increased as a result.
How the Right to Trial Became a Legal Fiction
Half a century after approving coercive plea bargaining, the Supreme Court is beginning to recognize its costs.
If You Get Drunk and Brandish a Fake Gun in a Waymo, Don't Blame the Cameras
Firing a toy gun out of a camera-covered robotaxi while underage drinking was never going to end well.
Florida Police Officer Used Mass Surveillance Network to Stalk Romantic Interest
Newly published dashcam footage shows a sheriff’s deputy driving recklessly to pull over an actress he’d met while working on the set of the TV show Bad Monkey.
'Scrap It and Start All Over': Ex-Bush and Obama Officials Say the War on Terror's Powers Have Gone Too Far
In a rare display of candor, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson reflected on torture, Guantanamo Bay, and the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
'I Would Not Wish This on Anyone': Prisoners Fight Back Against Solitary Confinement in Oregon
A proposed class action lawsuit claims Oregon is subjecting prisoners to unconstitutional and inhumane conditions in solitary confinement.
Afroman on Free Speech, Government Abuse, and Election 2028
"I want a smaller government. I want to get crooked judges and police officers out of the government," the rapper tells Reason's Andrew Heaton.
