Criminal Justice
Judge Justin Walker on Bar Bureaucracies, Mental Illness, and More
"[One day, t]he Bar Bureaucracy will have to answer for a medieval approach to mental health that is as cruel as it is counterproductive."
Everybody Is Losing Their Damn Fool Minds
The Reason Roundtable spits fire at street violence, poison politics, and the nationalization of every local story.
New Jersey Mayor Bills Teen Protest Organizer for Police Overtime Pay
Plus: Congress to vote on marijuana decriminalization, tech visas are getting turned down at high rates, and more...
President Donald Trump Pardons Alice Marie Johnson
Two years after commuting her life sentence, the president has pardoned Alice Marie Johnson.
Qualified Immunity Is a Disgrace, No Matter Where You Live
Even the most police-skeptical courts grant the doctrine in egregious circumstances.
Nixon May Be Trump's 'Law and Order' Model, but He Was Smarter on Crime
He did not overpromise, and he had the good sense to stop talking about a country beset by violence when he ran for a second term.
The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths
The infection and death rates have surpassed those of the general population.
Protesters Tell Rand Paul, Who Wrote the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, To Say Breonna Taylor's Name
Screaming "say her name" at the senator who sponsored a police accountability act named for Breonna Taylor
Trump Warns America: 'Biden's America' Will Look Like Trump's America
Plus: Alice Marie Johnson's RNC speech, Twitter bans bots pretending to be disillusioned black Democrats, and more...
Tucson Handyman Gets His Jeep Back After He Threatens to Fight the Forfeiture
The cops seized Kevin McBride's $15,000 car because his girlfriend allegedly used it for a $25 marijuana sale.
Chicago Police Sued Again For Botched Raid, Pointing Guns At Grandma and Child
This is the 10th lawsuit in the past few years accusing Chicago police of terrorizing families because of sloppy, outdated search warrants.
More Than a Year Before Breonna Taylor's Death, Some of the Same Cops Were Involved in Another Home Invasion Based on Dubious Evidence
The overlap suggests a pattern of shoddy investigation and reckless paramilitary tactics in Louisville.
Trump Authorizes Deployment of 2,000 National Guard Troops to Kenosha
Protests and riots have broken out in the Wisconsin city following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The Trump Administration Executes Its Fourth Federal Prisoner in Two Months
A new modern record for putting inmates to death
NBA, MLB Games Postponed as Players Protest Jacob Blake Shooting
The Milwaukee Bucks refused to come out of the locker room for their scheduled game on Wednesday afternoon against the Orlando Magic. Other teams are planning similar protests.
New Jersey Police Slashed a Man's Tires and Smashed His Window After He Filed a Complaint Against Them
Two officers pleaded guilty after vandalizing cars belonging to a civilian who filed a complaint against them.
Kenosha Doesn't Have To Be a Vision of America's Future
Neither does Portland. But the fact that the violence is continuous and seems to be escalating is cause for concern.
The Shaky Foundation of Trump's Pose As a Criminal Justice Reformer
The president's case rests on two accomplishments, while his plans for a second term echo the mindless toughness he intermittently condemns.
2 Dead, 1 Gunman Arrested In Kenosha Riots, As Family of Jacob Blake Calls for Calm
A 17-year-old Illinois teen has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
Florida Will Pay Out $4.6 Million to Female Inmate Paralyzed After Guard Beating
Cheryl Weimar's case put a gruesome spotlight on Florida's troubled prison system.
Trump Pardons Inmate-Turned-Activist Jon Ponder and Praises 'Second Chances'
"I will continue to give all Americans, including former inmates, the best chance to build a new life and achieve their own American dream," Trump said.
The Senseless Destruction of Property in Kenosha, Minneapolis, and Elsewhere Is Not Advancing Justice
Demand justice for those hurt and killed by police. Stop creating more victims.
The Onerous Burdens of Sex Offender Registration Are Not Punishment, the 10th Circuit Rules. They Just Feel That Way.
According to the appeals court, the relevant question is what legislators were trying to accomplish.
Tennessee Cops Raid Wrong Home, Point Guns at Naked Woman While Looking for Teen Suspect
Nashville officers tried to smooth things over with groceries. A traumatized Azaria Hines says what she really needs is "a peace of mind."
The Trump Administration Prepares to Set a Modern Record for Federal Executions
Lezmond Mitchell is scheduled to die Wednesday, over the objections of the Navajo Nation to which he belongs and on whose land the murder took place.
The RNC Can't Figure Out Where It Stands on Criminal Justice Reform
Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) criticizes Joe Biden's record on mass incarceration.
Tennessee's Lawmakers Respond to Police Reform Protests by Threatening Voting Rights and Gun Rights
The new law features harsher penalties, 12-hour detentions, and other invitations to abuse government power
What About…Defunding the Police?
There is an underlying belief that the active presence of a police force of the kind we are familiar with prevents the explosion of crime. But history and modern criminology suggest otherwise.
Video Shows Cop Shooting Wisconsin Man in the Back 7 Times
Witnesses say Jacob Blake was breaking up a fight before an officer grabbed his shirt and shot him at close range.
Police Unions Lose Bid To Block Release of Huge Trove of NYPD Misconduct Records
The unions argued that releasing unsubstantiated complaints would harm officers' reputations and threaten their safety.
The Cops Took This Guy's $15,000 Jeep Because His Girlfriend Allegedly Used It for a $25 Marijuana Sale
Kevin McBride argues that Arizona's civil forfeiture law is unconstitutional.
Study: More Cops in Schools Lead to Harsher Discipline, Don't Make School Safer
"Our findings suggest that increasing SRO staffing in schools does not improve school safety and that increasing exclusionary responses to school discipline incidents increases the criminalization of school discipline."
Are the Democrats Right That We Are Seeing an 'Epidemic of Gun Violence'?
The rhetoric may not be accurate, but it is definitely useful.
Democratic Party Platform Calls for 'Reining In' Qualified Immunity. Why Not Eliminate It?
Stop pandering to Joe Biden and listen to Americans who want to stop shielding abusive officers from liability.
Kamala Night at the DNC: The Party Anoints Harris and Brags About Biden's Crime Bill
Plus: Court rules for Robert Kraft in massage parlor video case, Trump talks QAnon, and more...
Mariska Hargitay Is Wrong About the Rape Kit Backlog
Untested rape kits are a national scandal, but more funding isn't the answer.
A Night of Aimlessness, Surrounded by Flames: Dispatch From Portland
An oddly enervated black bloc flows into Portland's neighborhoods
Cop Who Allegedly Kneed a Subdued Suspect in the Eye '20 to 30 Times' Gets Qualified Immunity
"I believe there is sufficient evidence of a clearly established Fourth Amendment violation," writes the dissenting judge.
The Democrats Should Not Be Presenting Houston's Police Chief As an Avatar of Reform
Trying to distract attention from the deadly corruption in his own department, Art Acevedo demands "action at the national level."
Does This Video Show a Cop Aiding and Abetting George Floyd's Murder?
Tau Thao repeatedly dismissed bystanders' concerns as his colleagues used a fatal prone restraint.
Florida Inmates Serving Outdated Drug Sentences Released Early Following Reason Investigation
A Florida prosecutor's office reviewed the cases and agreed to resentencing for nearly two dozen inmates, calling it "a matter of fundamental fairness."
A Florida Deputy Threatens To Show 'What Fucking Freedom of Speech Is' During an Arrest
The Palm Beach County sheriff said he does not "condone" the behavior in the video.
Kamala Harris May be Descended from a Slaveowner. So What?
Having white ancestry, slaveowner or not, does not make someone less "black" if they so identify.
