Criminal Justice
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.
Oregon's Governor Commutes Sentences of All State Death Row Inmates
Brown: “The state should not be in the business of executing people.”
This Mom Was Jailed for Leaving Her Teen Home Alone. Now, She's Suing.
An appeals court rejected a qualified immunity defense.
Florida Officer Shoots and Kills Man Mid-Sentence for Refusing To Drop an Axe
Now the officer is trying to keep his identity secret under a state law intended to protect crime victims.
Senate Investigation Finds Federal Prisons Fail to Prevent or Investigate Rapes
Long delays and management failures "allowed serious, repeated sexual abuse in at least four facilities to go undetected."
Merchants of Death, Swaps, and Shake-ups
Plus: The editors briefly celebrate a noteworthy shake-up in the Senate.
California City Pays $300,000 to Marine Veteran Tackled for Filming a Cop From His Porch
The city of Vallejo, California, has paid millions in recent years to settle excessive force lawsuits against its heavy-handed police force.
Crime Victims' Rights Now Integrated Throughout the Arizona Rules
The Arizona Supreme Court becomes the first state Supreme Court to thoroughly incorporate crime victims' rights in its rules of criminal procedure. Others should follow.
These Louisiana Inmates Served Their Sentences, but the State Wouldn't Let Them Go
Plus: A potential fusion energy breakthrough, the possible return of the child tax credit, and more...
This Teen Was Acquitted of Killing His Accomplice. He Was Punished for It Anyway.
Seventeen retired federal judges, appointed by both Republicans and Democrats, filed a brief supporting his appeal.
This Principal Investigated a Sexting Incident. So the Police Charged Him With Possessing Child Porn.
Bradley Bass is facing 12 years in prison, despite the fact that he was doing his job as a school administrator.
Brittney Griner Has Finally Been Released
While Griner's release is welcome news, it's important to remember the thousands of Americans imprisoned for drug offenses here in the U.S.
Apple Announces Stronger Data Encryption, to the Dismay of FBI Snoops
Photos and information you store on iCloud will be safer from hackers, spies, and the government.
We Should All Be Nervous About Killer Police Robots
The San Francisco Police Department assured the public it had "no plans to arm robots with guns." But assurances aren't guarantees.
A 10-Year-Old Boy Shot and Killed His Mother. Wisconsin Is Charging Him As an Adult.
There is little utility to charging 10-year-olds as adults, yet Wisconsin still mandates the practice in certain cases.
Sex Offender Registry Prevents Dying, Bedridden Man From Spending Final Days at Home
"My opinion is no exceptions should be made," says the chief of the police.
11th Circuit Says a Judge Should Not Have Interfered With the FBI's Review of the Mar-a-Lago Documents
The appeals court says Donald Trump's status as a former president does not entitle him to special treatment.
