As Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller Will Reinforce Trump's Worst Instincts
His elevation does not bode well for anyone who hoped that Trump would moderate the policies that alienated voters in the midterm elections.
Police Abuse
Federal Judge Rules Houston Violated First Amendment Rights of Food Not Bombs Activists
Houston police issued over 100 tickets to Food Not Bombs activists for violating an anti–food sharing ordinance. That violated their First Amendment rights, a judge ruled.
Houston Voters Approve Restrictions on Marijuana Arrests and a Ban on No-Knock Police Raids
The first provision might curtail local pot busts, but the second one is unlikely to have a meaningful impact.
New Mexico Cop Charged With Taking Bribes Also Was Involved in a Bizarre Case of Drug War Infighting
Former sheriff's deputy Paul Jessen was convicted of obstructing justice because he tried to protect a confidential informant from the DEA.
Video Shows ICE Agents Slashing Portland Couple's Car Tire Then Driving Off
An ACLU complaint says the couple was recording ICE agents when they chased, boxed in, and vandalized the couple's car.
Connecticut's New Restrictions on Flock Cameras Highlight the Dearth of Meaningful Privacy Protections
Until recently, the state imposed no limits at all on automated license plate readers, which track the travels of innocent motorists across the country.
Iowa Voters Don't Want Police or Flock Tracking Their Cars. Politicians Are Still Catching Up.
Opposition to license plate surveillance is crossing party lines in Iowa, where police departments have built an extensive camera network with limited public oversight.
Mississippi Cop Who Shot 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Resigns After State Calls Shooting 'Justified'
The resignation comes after the release of bodycam footage that raised questions about the police's handling of the incident.
Texas School Police Referred Tens of Thousands of Children to Prosecutors for Minor Misbehavior
A media investigation found criminal referrals of schoolchildren age 10 to 13 grew as the number of school resource officers in Texas likewise ballooned.
2 Recent Cases Illustrate the Limits of a Doctrine That Often Blocks Civil Rights Claims
Federal appeals courts rejected qualified immunity for cops and a judge who flouted longstanding constitutional principles.
Mississippi A.G. Says Killing of 1-Year-Old Boy Over Stolen Diapers Was 'Justified'
The state offered little explanation for its finding, and the boy’s family is calling for the bodycam footage.
He Campaigned for the East Cleveland Mayor's Opponent. Then Police Came for His Truck.
A federal court recently revived William Fambrough's lawsuit, which alleges city officials—including then-Mayor Brandon King—retaliated against him for his speech.
Georgia Cop Who Shot a Miniature Donkey Says Body Camera Footage Shows an 'Imminent Threat'
HeeHaw's owner argues that “no reasonable officer…would have believed that such force was necessary or justified.”
3 Charlotte Cops Resign After Group Chat Reveals Competition To Arrest the Most Black People
The officers could face consequences beyond termination, as prosecutors review whether their past testimony and arrests can still be trusted.
How Local Governments Turn Minor Violations Into Financial Ruin
The Supreme Court will soon have a chance to rein in excessive fines.
North Carolina Woman Doesn't Have First Amendment Right to Publish Video of Cop Shooting Her Dogs, Court Rules
A North Carolina state trooper shot Lydia Nikac's two dogs, but an appeals court ruled she doesn't have a right to publish body camera footage of the shooting under the state's restrictive public records laws.
Police Allegedly Destroyed $37,000 of Legal Hemp. Georgia's Supreme Court Just Upended 60 Years of Precedent.
The ruling has major implications for property owners when the government ruins their possessions in the exercise of "police power."
Minneapolis Activists Used Encrypted Group Chats To Outmaneuver ICE. Now the Feds Want To Prosecute Them.
"I think courts are going to be very suspicious of how broad this is," one Minnesota lawyer tells Reason.
2 Lawsuits Cast Further Doubt on the Claim That ICE Agent Jonathan Ross Killed Renée Good in Self-Defense
According to complaints filed by Good's family, Ross was not in any danger when he fired three shots into her car.
Judge Preliminarily Blesses $1.5 Million Settlement for Victims of a Tiny Town's 'Policing for Profit'
Financially motivated traffic enforcement produced a huge surge in revenue for Brookside, Alabama, where "fines and forfeitures" accounted for half the city's income in 2020.
Cops Used AI Surveillance To Detain an Innocent Texas Driver. His Lawsuit Just Got the Program Struck Down.
AI-powered license plate readers flagged an abnormal driving pattern. Then officers made up reasons to pull him over and interrogated him, and they faked a K-9 alert to justify a nonconsensual search.
Your Right to Privacy Doesn't Disappear When You're in Public
Defenders of Flock-style surveillance systems argue that people “have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public.” They're wrong.
Miami Beach Can't Dodge First Amendment Lawsuit After Police Questioned Woman Over Anti-Israel Facebook Post
Miami Beach detectives questioned Raquel Pacheco at her house over her pro-Palestine Facebook comments. A judge ruled several key claims in her First Amendment lawsuit against the city can proceed.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Searched a Driver After a Bogus Traffic Stop
"It is clearly established that an officer cannot pull someone over without reasonable suspicion and thereafter concoct a fabricated traffic violation," the appeals court says.
Police in Texas Totaled an Innocent Woman's Car. Why Did Houston Deny Her Claim for Compensation?
Law enforcement shot bystander Abigail Trujillo's vehicle dozens of times. Her struggle to get help is part of a larger pattern.
Border Agents Search Phones Without Warrants. This Case Asks the Supreme Court if That's Constitutional
Federal appeals courts differ on whether the Fourth Amendment protects your cellphone at the border. A Texas lawyer is asking the Supreme Court to settle it.
As Police Misuse Flock Cameras, 2 Senators From Opposite Parties Demand More Oversight
Sens. Raphael Warnock and Katie Britt would seem to have little in common, but they both feel people should have more protection from bad cops with surveillance tech.
A Tennessee 1st Amendment Auditor Is Suing After Videos of Police Led to a Predawn Arrest Raid
Joshua Gibbons says his embarrassing videos of police officers in Kingsport, Tennessee, were a motivating factor in their decision to arrest him on minor charges that were thrown out of court.
The Shaky Evidence That Flock Cameras Reduce Crime Rates
Flock has been promoting a recent study of its cameras' impacts on car theft. But the paper didn't demonstrate a causal effect.
Memphis Task Force Caught on Video Arresting Activist Already Suing It for First Amendment Retaliation
The ACLU says Hunter Demster's arrest shows a continuing campaign of intimidation and retaliation by the Memphis Safe Task Force.
A Federal Judge Enjoins DHS From Threatening To Prosecute a Critic for Constitutionally Protected Speech
After David Streever castigated ICE's acting director in an email, investigators delivered a "warning notice" saying he "may be in violation of federal law."
Trump Backs Flock Cameras, Continuing His Long-Time Support for Unchecked Police Power
Trump says he supports the cameras simply because law enforcement does, no matter that they can be misused or abused.
The Trump Administration Shut Down a Police Misconduct Database. Now It's Facing a FOIA Lawsuit
The White House said the database tracking misconduct by federal law enforcement officers was "full of woke, anti-police concepts."
Study: Reimbursing Victims of Police Property Damage Would Cost Very Little
And yet governments deny reimbursement claims more often than approving them, according to the Institute for Justice.
Appeals Court Grants Immunity to Texas Cops Who Held Handcuffed Woman Face Down in a Fire Ant Hill
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Taylor Rogers didn't show that it was clearly established that it was excessive force to be held down on a pile of fire ants while handcuffed.
Why Conservative Republicans Are Worried About License Plate Cameras
Recent comments by Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis reflect a bipartisan backlash against warrantless surveillance.
A Federal Indictment Charges an ICE Officer With Lying About a Shooting That DHS Eagerly Defended
The habitually dishonest department uncritically accepted a story that was immediately contradicted by video footage and physical evidence.
