The Devil's Bargain
How plea agreements, never contemplated by the Framers, undermine justice
Features
Keeping Kids Outside the System
Alternatives to juvenile detention are cheaper and more effective.
'Long Prison Terms Are Wasteful Government Spending'
Criminologist Mark Kleiman on replacing severity with swiftness and certainty
Less Time, Less Crime
Conservatives lead a movement toward "tough and smart" sentencing policies.
Muddled Masses
The immigration detention system treats suspected illegal aliens like criminals, but with fewer rights.
Dead Kids Make Bad Laws
New Jersey may soon repeal one of the most onerous driving restrictions in the country. That doesn't mean legislators have learned their lesson.
What Sub-Saharan Africa Can Teach San Francisco
Mass transit doesn't have to mean massive government spending.
Unpacking Jared Lee Loughner
If you're the Southern Poverty Law Center, the media will treat your guesses like gold.
From Reefer Madness to the Hays Code
Pundits go mad looking for Tucson massacre scapegoats.
Gun Control Couldn't Have Stopped It
The Tucson massacre should not lead to new restrictions on firearms.
The Deadliest Rhetoric
Critics who link anti-government speech to violence ignore the violence committed by a government at "war."
Just Your Typical Would-Be Assassin
Jared Loughner fits the profile of a killer- but not in the way you might think.
Loco Over Four Loko
How a fruity, brightly colored malt beverage drove politicians to madness in two short years
Internet Cop
President Obama's top man at the Federal Communications Commission tries to regulate the Net.
Grading Barack Obama
Libertarian legal scholar Richard Epstein on his former University of Chicago colleague
Demonized Drinks
Four Loko's predecessors in infamy
Just a Matter of When?
Legalizing marijuana has failed in California. But even in defeat, Proposition 19 might mark the beginning of the end for prohibition.
Labor's Last Stand?
A new accounting rule will either sink private-sector unions or trigger the next major bailout.
I'll Show You My Genome. Will You Show Me Yours?
Our science correspondent reveals his genetic code. Soon you will too.
The Appearance of Corruption
Both Theodore Roosevelt and John McCain tried to save their reputations by pushing campaign finance regulations.
Doctors' Orders
The government's war on medical "price fixing" squelches speech without helping consumers.
Forget the Crowbar
What's the best way to open markets overseas? Keep those imports coming.
RICO and the Man
When an ambitious prosecutor meets a bad law, no one is safe
Bill Bennett's Blinders
In his heart, he knows he's ambivalent.
Cultivating Independence
Farmers and government policy must both change if American agriculture is to escape the subsidy trap.
It Can Happen Here
Government really can be cut: case studies from Canada, New Zealand, and the United States
