Most Civil Forfeiture Victims Never See the Inside of a Courtroom
Modest reforms have helped, but civil forfeiture remains legalized theft by government agencies.
Police Abuse
Lawsuit Says a Memphis Police Task Force Waged a Harassment Campaign Against People Who Filmed Them
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a judge to block the Memphis Safe Task Force from retaliating against anyone who exercises their First Amendment right to record the police.
Thomas and Alito Take a Regrettable Position in a Qualified Immunity Case
The two judicial conservatives continue to disappoint criminal justice reform advocates.
A Tennessee Man Jailed for 37 Days Because of an Anti-Trump Meme Will Get $835,000 for His Trouble
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems preposterously claimed that Larry Bushart had threatened "mass violence" at a school.
A State Assault Case Against an ICE Agent Could Illustrate the Limits of Supremacy Clause Immunity
That defense applies only when an officer "reasonably" believed he was acting within his federal authority.
Filming Cops Is a First Amendment Right. The Feds Keep Harassing People for It Anyway.
Most federal appeals courts have recognized the right to record police. DHS employees nevertheless seem to view it as a crime.
He's a U.S. Citizen and Combat Veteran. ICE Tear-Gassed, Jailed, and Falsely Accused Him.
"I didn't do anything wrong," George Retes, a U.S. citizen imprisoned for three days, tells Reason.
Advocates for Asian Massage Workers Decry 'Sexist, Racist' Raids in Seattle
Bothell police set out in search of sex trafficking and ended up shutting down five businesses for code violations.
Alabama Supreme Court to Cops: It's OK To Force a Pastor Watering Flowers To Show His ID
The court ruled that police can demand a physical ID under the state's stop-and-identify law.
San Jose's 'Creepy' and 'Deeply Intrusive' ALPR Camera System Is Unconstitutional, a New Lawsuit Says
The city has created a network of nearly 500 cameras that routinely monitor innocent people as they go about their daily lives.
'Blue Power' and the Rise of Police Union Politics
Stuart Schrader's new book details how police unions became a dominant force in U.S. politics.
Innocent Property Owners Deserve 'Just Compensation' When Cops Wreck Their Homes or Businesses
Two petitions ask the Supreme Court to uphold the remedy required by the Fifth Amendment.
Police Destroyed Innocent People's Property—and Left Them With the Bill. Will the Supreme Court Step In?
The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause promises "just compensation" when private property is taken for public use. But some courts have ruled that it does not always apply when police are involved.
A Jury Approves Damages After 2 Texas Cops Snatched a Supposedly 'Abandoned' Girl From Her Home
The jurors concluded that the officers violated the Fourth and 14th amendments when they seized a 14-year-old without evidence that she was in danger.
Minnesota Bills Would Create State Right To Sue Government Officials for Constitutional Violations
Two different pieces of legislation aim to create state workarounds to the procedural quagmire of federal civil rights litigation.
Donald Trump and Markwayne Mullin Insist That Politics Should Prevail Over Principle
The president and his new DHS secretary are enraged by jurists and legislators who refuse to toe the party line.
Arresting a Reporter for Asking Questions Was a 'Blatant First Amendment Violation,' Sonia Sotomayor Says
The justice dissented from the Supreme Court's denial of a petition from a Texas journalist who was charged with felonies for practicing journalism.
The DOJ Wants To Drop Charges Against 2 Cops Who Played a Crucial Role in Breonna Taylor's Death
But for a fraudulent and misleading warrant affidavit, Taylor would not have been killed during a fruitless late-night drug raid.
Review: This Podcast Details the Brutal Effects of the War on Drugs
Collateral Damage tells some of the many stories of drug enforcement gone wrong.
Jury Clears Afroman of Defamation for Mocking Cops Who Raided His House
Ohio sheriff's deputies raided Afroman's house in 2022 based on a bogus tip, then sued the rapper after he released music videos mocking the deputies.
Police Investigate German Historian for Hitler-Putin Meme
Germany’s law against Nazi symbolism "is being misused to silence people with dissenting views," Rainer Zitelmann tells Reason.
He Was Arrested Over Bogus Drug Tests. Now He's Suing.
Bryan Getchius was arrested, jailed, and spent seven months on house arrest before eventually being cleared by official lab results.
Kristi Noem's Lies About DHS Shootings Don't Seem To Have Figured in Trump's Decision To Fire Her
The president himself portrayed Renée Good and Alex Pretti as would-be murderers, and he did not seem troubled by the homeland security secretary's slander of them.
Department of Homeland Security
In Senate Testimony on DHS Shootings, Kristi Noem Lies About Her Lies
The homeland security secretary blatantly misrepresented what she said about Alex Pretti on the day he was killed.
A Minnesota Police Chief Said ICE Was Harassing Residents. Here Are Some of Their Stories.
Residents of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, say in interviews with Reason that encounters with ICE left them afraid and angry.
Iowa Officials Arrested This Guy for Criticizing Them—Twice. A Federal Judge Says They Are Liable.
A mayor and a police chief "mistook their authority to maintain order for a license to suppress criticism," says U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose.
Police Drug Tests Are Notoriously Unreliable. They Got This Man Wrongly Charged With Trafficking Fentanyl.
Roughly 30,000 people every year may be getting wrongfully arrested because of unreliable field drug tests, according to one estimate.
As a Former Cop, I Have to Ask: What the Hell Is ICE Doing?
Videos of recent immigration enforcement raise serious questions about authority, escalation, and the professional standards officers are trained to follow.
A Tiny Alabama Town Ran an Outrageous Speed Trap. Now It Will Pay $1.5 Million To Settle a Lawsuit.
Brookside, Alabama, made national news in 2022 after investigations revealed it was bankrolling itself through predatory traffic enforcement.
Once Again, a Federal Judge Orders ICE To Stop Unlawful Warrantless Arrests
Another judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to follow federal law, even as the Trump administration argues it has broad authority to conduct warrantless immigration arrests.
