Criminal Justice
Uvalde Shooting Report Undermines Calls To Ban Guns and 'Back the Blue'
Only you can be relied upon to protect you and your loved ones. Ignore anybody who claims otherwise.
When Should an Appellate Court in a Criminal Case Describe a Victim as the "Alleged Victim"?
In a petition for reconsideration, I ask the Utah Supreme Court to modify a recent opinion to remove the qualifier "alleged" in front of term "victim" in light of the fact that the defendant has been convicted of sexually assaulting the victim.
A New Report Casts Doubt on the Assumption That Gun Law Violators Are a Public Menace
The vast majority of federal firearm offenses involve illegal possession, often without aggravating conduct or a history of violence.
Supreme Court Tells Cops To Stop Playing Doctor
The unanimous decision is a good first step for getting law enforcement out of prescription decisions.
Unnecessary SWAT Raid Ended in the Death of an Albuquerque Teen
This was an attempted arrest of a man wanted for questioning and parole violations, not a hostage situation.
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book on Prison Uprisings Banned in New York Prisons
Heather Ann Thompson's Blood in the Water might lead to "disobedience," prison officials say.
This Appeal Asks the Supreme Court To Reject Warrantless Gun Seizures Justified by 'Special Needs'
The Institute for Justice urges SCOTUS to renounce that open-ended exception to the Fourth Amendment.
She Killed Herself. He Was Charged With Her Murder.
The felony murder rule continues to criminalize people for killing people they didn't actually kill.
Yet Another Court Affirms the First Amendment Right To Record Police
The Supreme Court still refuses to weigh in on the issue.
New Footage Shows Bodega Clerk Trying To Avoid Deadly Fight. Will Manhattan D.A. Drop the Murder Charges?
Alvin Bragg campaigned on "ending mass incarceration." But that promise apparently does not apply to Jose Alba.
Charging a Bodega Worker Who Stabbed His Attacker Isn't Criminal Justice Reform
The case of Jose Alba reminds us that progressive prosecutors don't always apply their principles when they're inconvenient.
California Police Can No Longer Arrest Suspected Sex Workers Who Stand Around in Public
The law is an important step, but ending police harassment of sex workers requires decriminalizing the trade entirely.
New Arizona Law Will Make it Illegal to Film Within 8 Feet of Police
Civil liberties groups oppose the law, saying it will impede First Amendment–protected activity and protect bad cops.
Even at His Sentencing Hearing, Derek Chauvin Did Not Manage To Express Remorse for Killing George Floyd
Despite the stakes, the former Minneapolis police officer could not bring himself even to feign regret for his actions.
Team Libertarian Report from National Constitution Center "Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy" Project Now Available on SSRN
I coauthored the report with Clark Neily and Walter Olson, both of the Cato Institute.
The Clarence Thomas Court Is Good News for Gun Rights, Bad News for Criminal Justice Reform
Like it or not, the Thomas Court is here.
Cop Who Killed Tamir Rice Briefly Hired by Small Pennsylvania Town
After community outrage and the mayor saying he wasn't told about Timothy Loehmann's policing background, the officer withdrew his application.
The Utah Supreme Court Holds that Crime Victims Can Intervene in Criminal Cases to Protect Their Rights
The Court agrees with my argument that crime victims can become "limited-purpose parties" in criminal proceedings to protect their interests, such as an interest in the confidentiality of mental health counseling records.
Blocking a Highway Is Not a Legitimate or Effective Form of Protest
Climate protesters who blocked an interstate outside D.C. likely cost a man his parole.
After Chesa Boudin's Recall, What Is the Future of Criminal Justice Reform?
Research and data points may not be enough to persuade voters that something different is worth trying.
LAPD's Militarized Response to Peaceful Abortion Protests Makes the Case for Police Reform—Again
Reforms promised after Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 are not being followed by Los Angeles police.
The War on Weed Continues in California, Which Supposedly Legalized Marijuana Six Years Ago
Federal and state agencies are busting unlicensed marijuana merchants, who face decades in prison.
The Founders Loved Jury Trials. Almost No One Gets One Anymore.
John Adams called jury trials part of the "heart and lungs of liberty." Today, defendants are often punished for exercising that very right.
Federal Judge Rules Gruesome Medical Neglect in Arizona Prisons Violates Eighth Amendment
"No legitimate humane system would operate in this manner," the judge concluded.
Here's What Abortion Laws in a Post-Roe World Might Look Like
A pro-life group's model legislation hints at how extreme enforcing abortion bans could get.
'This Is Freddie Gray on Video': New Haven Man Paralyzed in Police Custody
Randy Cox was arrested on gun possession charges. Hours later, he was paralyzed from the chest down.
This Innocent Woman's House Was Destroyed by a SWAT Team. A Jury Says She's Owed $60,000.
Such victims are often told they have no right to sue.
Did Cassidy Hutchinson's Testimony Clinch the Incitement Case Against Trump?
The former president's recklessness is beyond dispute, but that is not enough to convict him while respecting the First Amendment.
SCOTUS Rules That Doctors Who Write Prescriptions in Good Faith Can't Be Convicted of Drug Trafficking
The unanimous decision will rein in prosecutions that have long had a chilling effect on pain treatment.
Some States Restrict Abortion After Dobbs, Others Rush To Protect Access
Plus: What overturning Roe means for Republicans' future, court halts ban of Juul products, and more...
Enforcing Abortion Bans Is Much Harder Than Winning in Court
There’s no painless way to restrict choices for people who resist.
The Online Freakout Over Yesterday's Supreme Court Decisions
Plus: Abortion and free speech, Juul fights back, and more...
Guns and Judicial Protection of Constitutional Rights that Put Lives at Risk
Justice Breyer and others argue that gun regulations deserve special judicial deference because Second Amendment rights create risks to life. But the same is true of many other constitutional rights.
SCOTUS Says You Can't Sue the Cops for Violating Your Miranda Rights
A 6–3 ruling undermines attempts to hold police accountable for misconduct.
