How Police Reform Bills in Congress Compare
Everybody is talking about changing law enforcement, but not all proposals are equally worthy—or serious.
Criminal Justice
The War on Drugs Drug Spurred America's Current Policing Crisis
Police strategies have changed dramatically in the past few decades—and not because of soaring crime. America's War on Drugs is a prime culprit.
Juneteenth, America's Other Independence Day, Is the Holiday We Need Right Now
Frederick Douglass: "There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour."
Chicago Mayor Introduces Major Reforms to Punitive Vehicle Impound Program
Reason showed how Chicago's impound program traps innocent owners in thousands of dollars of debt in 2018.
The Guilt or Innocence of the Cop Who Killed Rayshard Brooks Has Nothing to Do With George Floyd's Death
The felony murder charge against Garrett Rolfe hinges on whether he reasonably believed Brooks posed a threat.
Tennessee Passes Drug-Free School Zone Reforms Following Reason Investigation
The harsh laws covered large swaths of Tennessee's cities in enhanced sentencing zones and locked away minor drug offenders for years.
John Bolton Is Still Mad That Donald Trump Wouldn't Let Him Bomb Iran
Plus: A majority of Americans support policing reforms, say goodbye to Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, and more....
Originalism in the State Courts: Justice Tom Lee of the Utah Supreme Court on the Due Process Clause of the Utah Constitution
"The original meaning of the constitution binds us as a matter of the rule of law. Its restraint on our power cannot depend on whether we agree with its current application on policy grounds. Such a commitment to originalism would be no commitment at all. It would be a smokescreen for the outcomes that we prefer."
Business Licensing Makes It Too Easy for Politicians To Punish People They Don't Like
Making a living is a right, not a privilege, and should be respected as such.
Drakeo the Ruler Recorded an Album on a Prison Phone
The rapper, whose real name is Darell Caldwell, is speaking out about his lyrics and videos being used against him in a murder trial.
NYPD Cops Claimed Shake Shack Employees Put Bleach in Their Milkshakes. An NYPD Investigation Found Otherwise.
Cops have a long history of thinking fast food workers are out to get them.
Senate Republicans Have Introduced Their Own Police Reform Bill
The bill would incentivize police to ban chokeholds and create a national use-of-force database.
What Is Dexamethasone? A Potentially Life-Saving Treatment for Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients
Plus: The U.S. Supreme Court stops an execution at the last minute, a senator argues that you shouldn't get HBO GO for free, and more...
Racially Skewed Policing Is Not a Statistical Mirage
One need not believe every cop is a bigot to recognize that the problem goes beyond a few "bad apples."
Treating All Neck Restraints As Deadly Force Would Help Curtail Police Brutality
That uniform rule is different from the policies favored by Donald Trump and House Democrats.
Conservative Intellectuals Took a Calculated Risk on Trump and Won, but It Has Become a Pyrrhic Victory
Donald Trump didn't start the protests, but the fires he's stoking will scorch the nation and discredit the conservative movement.
'Without Police, There Is Chaos': Trump Signs Police Reform Executive Order
It does not touch qualified immunity or police unions.
Pro Choice Carpet Cleaning & Restoration
I wouldn't have expected abortion politics there ....
Textualism and Purposivism in Today's Supreme Court Decision on Discrimination Against Gays, Lesbians, and Transsexuals
The decision in Bostock v. Clayton County is well-justified from the standpoint of textualism (a theory associated with conservatives), but less clearly so from the standpoint of purposivism (often associated with liberals).
Want an edited copy of the Title VII Decision?
I edited the 120-page decision down to about 30 pages.
In Other Supreme Court News . . .
SCOTUS did more today than decide that Title VII applies to employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status.
While Culture Warriors Debate Language, Police Reformers Change Policy
Sifting through some positive criminal justice developments on the Reason Roundtable.
Radley Balko on George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the Libertarian Case for Criminal Justice Reform
How to reduce police killings and enact lasting change.
Report: Solitary Confinement in U.S. Prisons Spiked by 500 Percent When Coronavirus Hit
In a matter of weeks, the number of inmates in solitary jumped from 60,000 to nearly 300,000.
Was the Shooting of Rayshard Brooks 'Lawful but Awful'?
Every encounter with armed agents of the state has the potential to end tragically, which is a good reason to minimize such encounters.
The Cops Who Sicced a Dog on a Surrendered Suspect Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Won't Hear the Case.
"I have previously expressed my doubts about our qualified immunity jurisprudence," writes Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in a dissent.
The Libertarian Roots of Police Reform: Q&A with Radley Balko
How to stop police killings and enact real, lasting reforms.
'It's Not Easy Doing Time in Here': Michael Thompson Shouldn't Die in Jail for Pot Crimes
Michael Thompson is serving a 40- to 60-year sentence for a pot crime in a state where both recreational and medicinal marijuana are currently legal
Treating Mental Illness With Care, Not Punishment, Goes Beyond Defunding Police
We need to remove all the ways that government deters people from seeking treatment.
Justice Thomas (Dissenting) Further Arguing Against Qualified Immunity
He views the doctrine as likely not authorized by the text of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, or the legal principles that it may have implicitly absorbed; instead, he argues, it was created it just "because of a 'balancing of competing values' about litigation costs and efficiency."
BREAKING: Supreme Court Holds Title VII Prohibits Discrimination Based Upon Sexual Orientation or Transgender Status (Updated)
Justice Gorsuch writes for six-justice majority that discrimination based upon sexual orientation or transgender status is sex discrimination under Title VII.
The Atlanta Cop Who Killed a Black Man in a Wendy's Parking Lot on Friday Night Has Been Fired
Plus: "Twitter Robespierres," Trump's campaign does a weird flex on a bad poll, and more....
The Return of Court-Packing
Some progressive activist groups are trying to resuscitate the idea. Whether they succeed remains to be seen.
Washington Supreme Court Waives Bar Exam Requirement
for all J.D. graduates of law schools accredited by the American Bar Association who are already registered for the July or Sept. 2020 bar exams.
The Former Cop Who Killed George Floyd Will Get $50K Annual Pension Even if Convicted of Murder
The family of George Floyd probably won't be able to successfully sue Derek Chauvin in civil court because of qualified immunity, but they will help pay for the killer cop's retirement.
Criminal Justice Divides the 'Conservative' Judiciary
Pundits often speak of the judiciary in terms of liberal or conservative judges issuing liberal or conservative opinions. The reality is far more complicated.
Dave Chappelle's '8:46' Expresses Righteous Rage Over George Floyd's Murder
The comedian expresses rage over police brutality while offering optimism for a better world.
