'If You Wear a Federal Badge, You Can Inflict Excessive Force on Someone With Little Fear of Liability,' Complains Judge Don Willett
A federal judge protests the Supreme Court’s “rights-without-remedies” Bivens doctrine.
Criminal Justice
Iowa Reporter Acquitted After Being Arrested While Covering George Floyd Protests
The case drew national outrage from press freedom groups, who called the prosecution excessive and a threat to journalism.
Cops Who Assaulted and Arrested a Man for Standing Outside His Own House Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Won't Hear the Case.
The Supreme Court delivers another blow to a victim of egregious police abuse.
A SWAT Team Destroyed This Innocent Woman's House While Chasing a Fugitive. The City Refuses To Pay for Damages.
"I've lost everything," says Vicki Baker.
A Promising Qualified Immunity Decision From a Potential Biden SCOTUS Nominee
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson denied qualified immunity to the officers involved in Patterson v. United States.
Science-Based Policy Means Decriminalizing Sex Work, Say Hundreds of Researchers
Plus: ACLU joins fight for donor privacy, Parler drops lawsuit against Amazon, and more...
New Laws Against Domestic Terrorism Are Unnecessary and Dangerous
Violent acts are already illegal, and new tools will inevitably be used against those who annoy the powerful.
After the Cops Seized Her Car, the Government Waited Five Years Before Giving Her a Chance To Get It Back
In Massachusetts, Malinda Harris argues, civil asset forfeiture routinely violates the right to due process.
Ayanna Pressley Revives Justin Amash's Bill To End Qualified Immunity
The Ending Qualified Immunity Act of 2021 would no longer let state actors violate your rights without consequence.
The Washington Supreme Court Just Decriminalized Simple Drug Possession. Legislators Shouldn't 'Fix' the Overturned Law.
The court said criminalizing unknowing possession violates the right to due process.
Cuomo Asks America To Hold Off on Believing Women This Time
Plus: QAnon comes to CPAC, Virginia votes to legalize marijuana, and more...
A California Man Died After Cops Knelt on His Neck During a Mental Health Call. Then the Department Tried To Hide It.
Angelo Quinto's family has filed a wrongful death claim.
In June Some House Moderates Voted To Abolish Qualified Immunity for Cops. Now They're Not So Sure.
Strategic politicking, police union influence, or both?
So Long as You Carry a Cellphone, the Government Can Track You
A phone in your pocket may as well be a GPS beacon strapped to your ankle.
Belly of the Beast
A new documentary explores forced sterilizations in California's women's prisons.
What Happened When Life Sentences Got Out of Control
The prisons are filled with aging inmates who no longer pose a public threat.
Arizona Lawmakers to Cops: You Should Convict People Before You Take Their Stuff
Civil forfeiture reform failed last year. But now more legislators are on board.
SCOTUS Rules Against an Innocent Man Who Was Choked and Beaten by Cops, but He May Still Get His Day in Court
The justices did not address one of James King's key arguments, which the 6th Circuit will now consider.
'Everything Has Been Criminalized,' Says Neil Gorsuch as He Pushes for Stronger Fourth Amendment Protections
The justice weighs in during oral arguments in Lange v. California.
Federal Suit Seeks Damages for Men Illegally Recorded at Florida Massage Parlors, Falsely Smeared as Sex Traffickers
Two women still face felony charges, though the cases against all male defendants were dropped.
Despite Its Own Warning That 'Congress Itself Is the Target,' the Capitol Police Did Not Expect Anything Like Last Month's Riot
The agency also missed an FBI bulletin citing "specific calls for violence."
States Can Provide Their Own Civil Remedies for Police Abuse
They need not wait for the Supreme Court or Congress to restrict or abolish qualified immunity.
A New Report Shows Elijah McClain Was Killed by a Cascade of Constitutional Violations
An independent panel concludes there was no legal justification for stopping, frisking, arresting, or assaulting McClain.
A Prison Guard Who Pepper-Sprayed an Inmate Without Provocation Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Disagreed.
An encouraging sign from the Supreme Court
Merrick Garland's Worrying Record on Criminal Justice Reform
What to expect from Joe Biden’s pick for attorney general.
