Criminal Justice
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Beer innuendo, fishing in the mail, and the finality trap.
Courts Grant Qualified Immunity to Cops in More Than Half of Cases When Invoked
A Reuters investigation reveals courts "growing tendency" to grant cops immunity from civil rights lawsuits.
An LAPD Cop Had Already Shot 3 People on the Job Before Beating the Crap out of Someone
Officer Frank A. Hernandez, who beat a suspect while his hands were behind his back, once shot an innocent bystander in the leg.
It Took Georgia Officials 2 Months To Arrest and Charge Father and Son With Ahmaud Arbery's Murder
In February, two white men shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a black 25-year-old.
Are Spaniards "Persons of Spanish Culture"?
A strange affirmative action classification in Boston suggested that the answer is no.
The NYPD's Violent COVID-19 Arrests Show It Hasn't Learned Much in the 6 Years Since Eric Garner's Death
To the NYPD, everything still looks like a nail.
Texas Will No Longer Send People to Jail for Violating Strict Social Distancing
Gov. Greg Abbott made the change after a Dallas salon owner was jailed for reopening her salon.
Alberta Cops Handcuffed a Woman in a Star Wars Costume Because Someone Complained About Her Fake Blaster
Considering Stormtroopers aren't known for their aim, the police had nothing to fear.
Lawmakers Call Out Cuomo and Other Governors for Letting Prisoners Die of COVID-19
Plus: "Karenology," failing fashion brands, and more...
Weed Warriors Who Mistook Tea for Marijuana Will Pay Their Victims $150,000
After seven years of litigation, a Kansas couple finally obtains some compensation for a comically inept drug raid.
A New York Cop Beat Someone Up Over Social Distancing. Will NYPD Policing Finally Change Now?
The same weekend, the NYPD tweeted pictures of its officers peacefully handing out masks.
How COVID-19 Will Affect the Future of Policing
Like all of us, law enforcement will face a world of reduced public interactions, devastated economies, and changed ways of life.
Federal Judge Rules Forced Catheterization by South Dakota Police Violates Fourth Amendment
Suspected low-level drug crimes don't "justify subjecting the plaintiffs to involuntary catheterization, a highly invasive—and in these cases—degrading medical procedure."
Celebrity Criminals Are Leaving Prison Early Because of COVID-19. What About the Drug Offenders?
If officials want to ease the burden of the pandemic behind bars, there are hundreds of thousands of inmates who can help them do it.
8 of The Top 10 Biggest U.S. Coronavirus Hotspots Are Prisons and Jails
And those numbers are likely an undercount.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Didn't Stop This California Cop From Getting Physical During a Teen Smoking Arrest
Some officials want to reevaluate enforcement of low-level, nonviolent offenses during the pandemic. For others, it's business as usual.
The First Federal Female Inmate To Die of COVID-19
Andrea Circle Bear was serving a 2-year sentence for a nonviolent drug crime.
Condemned to Death by a Split Jury in Florida
Requiring unanimous juries underscores the gravity of a death penalty sentence.
D.C. Circuit Rejects Trump Reforms of EPA Science Advisory Committees
Another big legal victory for environmental groups this week.
Challenge to Harris County's Face-mask Mandate
This case could head to the Texas Supreme Court soon
What will happen next in the Sixth Circuit's "basic minimum education" case?
Will the 6th Circuit vacate take the case en banc sua sponte?
Prisoner in Ohio Halfway House Complains About Lack of COVID-19 Preparations. He's Sent Back to Prison. Now Ohio Prisons are Exploding with COVID-19.
While his own prison is not yet facing a huge problem, Brandon Baxter had a prescient complaint for which he seems to be being punished.
Did Justice Alito lose the majority in Ramos? (Updated)
Linda Greenhouse speculates that Gorsuch's dissent became the majority opinion
Supreme Court Upholds Broad Reading of Clean Water Act
Environmental groups were worried the Court would curtail CWA jurisdiction in Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. It didn't.
Miami Has Recorded No Homicides in 6 Weeks Despite Deliberate Decline in Police Enforcement
Miami’s police chief orders officers to reduce ticketing and public interactions. Mayhem doesn’t ensue.
DOJ Dismisses Indictment of Machine Gun Prosecution While Cert Petition Was Pending
How often does the SG dismiss an indictment while a cert petition is pending, without a confession of error? And is there a connection to the Obamacare case?
SG Confesses Error on Secret Immigration Docket, SCOTUS GVRs
Thanks for Marcia Coyle for tracking down the Solicitor General's confession of error, which was not publicly available
Law Schools Still Accepting Applications for the Incoming Fall Class
My law school is. Anyone else?
Automated License Plate Readers, the Mosaic Theory, and the Fourth Amendment
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court weighs in.
Bureau of Prisons Reverses Coronavirus Home Confinement Policy
"What they are doing to people is cruel and unusual. It isn't right."
"Litigating Citizenship" in Print in Vanderbilt Law Review
On due process and citizenship litigation
Grandchildren in Sandboxes, Elephants in Watering Holes
Gems from Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian
