Biden Expands Pardons for Marijuana Possession
It's a commendable, but very modest, expansion of a step he took last year.
Criminal Law
The Flimsy RICO Case Against Atlanta's Cop City Protestors
Law enforcement officials appear to have tarred ad hoc bands of protesters as members of an organized criminal movement.
Illinois Youth Lockup Is 'No Place for Children,' According to ACLU Lawsuit
Children held in the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center are routinely subjected to solitary confinement, inadequate meals, and filthy cells, according to legal documents.
Overcrowding Causes 'Unsafe and Unsanitary' Conditions for Youth In Philadelphia Jail
According to legal documents, children have been forced to sleep on the floor of offices and gymnasiums, with limited access to bathrooms and showers.
In French Thriller Anatomy of a Fall, the Law Is No One's Friend
A tricky, excellent legal drama shows just how hard it can be to pin down the truth.
Spousal Rape Conviction Reversed Because Lower Court Didn't Give Defendant Access to Accuser's Immigration Records
One of the defense's theories was that "the requested immigration records" might "support [the ex-wife's] motive to fabricate because claiming she was a victim of a sexual assault would provide a way to continue her legal residency in the United States without assistance from Appellant after her divorce."
Target Shuts Stores as Criminal Justice Reform Gets Mugged
We need less intrusive law enforcement, not the treatment of crime as a lark.
Three Interviews About the Criminal Cases Against Trump and his Possible Disqualification under the Fourteenth Amendment
I recently did interviews on these topics with Reason TV, the Washington Post, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Alabama Says Helping With Out-of-State Abortions Is 'Criminal Conspiracy'
Alabamans have no right "to conspire with others in Alabama to try to have abortions performed out of state," argues Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Alabama Set To Try New, Untested Execution Method
The state has filed a motion to set an execution date for Kenneth Eugene Smith, who survived a previous execution attempt.
Prosecution in Apple's iPads-for-Concealed-Firearms-Licenses Bribery Case Can Go Forward
"This appeal raises a question not yet addressed by any California court: whether a public official may be bribed with a promise to donate to the official's office."
Limits on Using Prior Acquittal of Sexual Assault as Evidence of Guilt in a New Sexual Assault Case
"[T]he Government argue[d] that when considering that the charged offenses occurred after the acquittal, the [appellant's] tactics were emboldened and this factor weighs in favor of admissibility."
Court Reverses Sentence Because of Denial of Allocution
"Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i) ... commands that the court must address the defendant personally to afford him the chance to speak or present evidence in mitigation."
Fani Willis Is Abusing Georgia's Terrible RICO Law
Trump and his acolytes' conduct was indefensible, but the state's RICO law is overly broad and makes it too easy for prosecutors to bring charges.
The Georgia Case Against Trump
Trump's Georgia indictment has much in common with the most recent federal case against him. But also breaks some new ground.
Jack Goldsmith Responds to Critics on the Dangers of Prosecuting (or not Prosecuting) Trump for Trying to Overturn the 2020 Election
I was one of the critics he responded to, and in this post I offer a rejoinder.
Idaho Keeps Scheduling This Inmate's Execution Even Though It Lacks the Means To Kill Him
A federal judge ruled in favor of an Idaho death-row inmate who says that the state is "psychologically torturing" him.
The Dangers of Giving Trump Impunity are Far Worse than those of Prosecuting Him
Giving presidents impunity for using force and fraud to try to nullify election results is far worse than any potential risk of prosecuting Trump.
Clearing up Common Misconceptions About the Charges Against Trump
Recent articles by Lawfare and Walter Olson perform a valuable service on this front.
Retribution, Deterrence, and the Case for Prosecuting Trump for Conspiring to Overturn the 2020 Election
His attempt to stay in power despite losing an election is well worthy of prosecution and punishment, on grounds of retribution and deterrence.
He Spent 10 Years Behind Bars Without Being Convicted. He'll Have To Wait Longer To Have the Case Resolved.
Maurice Jimmerson finally got a trial after a decade of pretrial detention. It ended in a hung jury.
What it Will Take to Make Government Color-Blind
Achieving this goal will require a lot more than banning racial preferences in college admissions. That includes some measures that will make the political right uncomfortable, as well as the left.
Alabama Isn't Ready To Kill Inmates By Nitrogen Hypoxia. It Wants To Try Anyway.
James Barber is set to be killed next month, the first execution after a string of botched lethal injection executions in the state.
A Troubling Supreme Court Habeas Decision
The Supreme Court was wrong to deny relief to a man imprisoned for activity that Court's own rulings indicate was not illegal - one who never had an opportunity to challenge his incarceration on that basis.
Congress Considers Bipartisan Bill Curbing Asset Forfeiture
The FAIR Act would be a significant step forward. It just passed the House Judiciary Committee on a unanimous 26-0 vote.
Against the "Banana Republic" Critique of Indicting Trump
The real banana republic danger is if high officials can commit serious crimes with impunity.
He Spent a Decade in Jail Without Being Convicted. Now His Lawyer Says His Case Should Be Dismissed.
Maurice Jimmerson has spent 10 years in jail awaiting trial for a 2013 murder charge.
The Supreme Court Has Halted Richard Glossip's Execution
The state's own attorney general has said Glossip deserves a new trial.
"Citizen Non-Cooperation and Police Non-Intervention as Causes of Justice Failure and Crime"
"Such inaction is not irrational but the result of strong incentives against citizen cooperation and against active police intervention."
Is It "Abuse of Corpse" to Have Sex on Mattress That Partly Covers Your Ex-Girlfriend's Dead Body?
One might have hoped this question would never have come up .... [UPDATE: Commenter QuantumBoxCat adds, "Worst threesome ever."]
As Oklahoma's Attorney General Calls for Clemency, the State Keeps Planning To Execute Richard Glossip
Two damning investigations and a request from the state attorney general haven't been enough to stop the execution.
This Georgia Man Has Been Jailed for 10 Years Without a Trial
In 2013, Maurice Jimmerson was charged with murder. Ten years later, he's still languishing in a Dougherty County jail, awaiting trial.
U.S. Government Borrows Russian Tactic To Muzzle Pro-Russian Critics
The Department of Justice emulates the Kremlin in smearing government critics as foreign agents.
Oklahoma Says Richard Glossip Was Denied a Fair Trial. An Appeals Court Still Won't Overturn His Conviction.
"While I respect the Court of Criminal Appeals' opinion, I am not willing to allow an execution to proceed despite so many doubts," said Oklahoma's attorney general.
Will Ohio Kill The Death Penalty?
Recent efforts from the governor, the attorney general, and state legislators suggest the state is moving away from capital punishment.
A "Water Pistol Unnecessarily Preceding" a "Missile-Launching F-35 Attack": Thoughts on the New York Trump Indictment
Trump very much deserves to be prosecuted and punished. But the New York case is far more dubious than the other charges likely to be brought against him.
Oklahoma Almost Killed Him 3 Times. Now, the State Is Trying To Vacate His Conviction.
"It is critical that Oklahomans have absolute faith that the death penalty is administered fairly and with certainty," said the state's attorney general in a Thursday press release.
He Got 30 Years for Murder After a Cop Killed His Friend
Lakeith Smith's case epitomizes the issues with the "felony murder" doctrine.
With the Trump Arraignment, Americans Are Seeing the Power of the Local Prosecutor
Alvin Bragg's case against Donald Trump has put the once-obscure position of district attorney into the national spotlight.
