Prosecutors
Postnatal Drug Tests Turn Mothers Into Felons
A Mississippi mom was charged with a felony years after she gave birth for drug use early in her pregnancy.
On Remand, the 5th Circuit Again Blocks a Lawsuit by a Texas Reporter Arrested for Newsgathering
Even if Laredo cops punished Priscilla Villarreal for constitutionally protected speech, the appeals court says, they would be protected by qualified immunity.
Trump Is Weaponizing the DOJ Just Like He Accused Democrats of Doing
Trump's appointees are wielding federal power in a manner that appears every bit as corrupt as what he complained about on the campaign trail.
Should the Charges Against Mayor Adams Now Be Dismissed With Prejudice … Because of Prosecutorial Misconduct?
That's the powerful argument that Mayor Adams's lawyers are making, citing (among other grounds) the leaking of a resignation letter containing "the wildly inflammatory and false accusation that Mayor Adams and his counsel had, in essence, offered a quid to the Department of Justice in exchange for the quo of dismissal."
A State Cop Lionized for Nabbing Drunk Drivers Is Suspected of Taking Bribes To Let Them Off the Hook
New Mexico State Police Sgt. Toby LaFave, "the face of DWI enforcement," has been implicated in a corruption scandal that goes back decades and involves "many officers."
Pervasive Police Corruption in Albuquerque Explains Why a Teetotaler Was Arrested for DWI
A driver who was acquitted of drunk driving joins a class action lawsuit provoked by a bribery scheme that went undetected for decades.
Albuquerque's Ever-Expanding Police Corruption Scandal Goes Back Decades and Involves 'Many Officers'
In the latest guilty plea, a local defense attorney says he had been bribing cops to make DWI cases disappear "since at least the late 1990s."
Corrupt Albuquerque Cops Had Friends in High Places, Including Internal Affairs
For a decade and a half, officers made DWI cases go away in exchange for bribes, relying on protection from senior officers implicated in the same racket.
A Guilty Plea Implicates 'Almost the Entire' Albuquerque DWI Unit in Longstanding Police Corruption
Federal prosecutors say the city's police department was the main focus of a 15-year bribery scheme that also involved the sheriff's office and the state police.
A Small Minnesota County Pumps Out 40 Percent of the State's Drug-Free Zone Sentences
Local news reports detail how Polk County, Minnesota, charges drivers and petty offenders with drug-free zone violations like no other county in the state.
Amanda Knox Was Falsely Charged With Murder. Italy Calls Her Coerced Confession 'Slander.'
"I can tell you that I have never been put in a position of doubting my own sanity like I was in the hands of those police officers," Knox tells Reason.
Trump's Blanket Clemency for Capitol Rioters Excuses Political Violence
The president drew no distinction between people who merely entered the building and people who vandalized it or assaulted police officers.
Biden's Preemptive Pardons Undermine Official Accountability and the Rule of Law
His last-minute acts of clemency invite Trump and future presidents to shield their underlings from the consequences of committing crimes in office.
Trump Would Have Been Convicted for Election Interference, Says Jack Smith
In the first volume of his final report, Special Counsel Jack Smith laid out a damning case against the former and future president.
Alvin Bragg's Misbegotten 'Election Interference' Case Against Trump Ends With a Whimper
Aside from a felony record that may yet be erased on appeal, the president-elect will face no punishment for trying to conceal his hush payment to Stormy Daniels.
2 Florida Men Who Thought They Were Freeing Illegally Caught Sharks Are Now Felons
Federal prosecutors argued that John Moore and Tanner Mansell stole property when they hauled in a fishing line they mistakenly believed had been set by poachers.
Trump's January 6 Pardons Could Address Some Real Injustices
The president-elect makes valid points in highlighting potential abuses of prosecutorial power.
5 Years After Giving Birth, a Mississippi Mother Was Arrested for a Felony Based on a Postnatal Drug Test
Brandy Moore, who stopped using meth midway through her pregnancy, was charged with "aggravated domestic violence" because she decided not to have an abortion.
When Deciding Whether To Investigate His Opponents, Trump Says, He Will Defer to 'Very Fair' Kash Patel
Trump's pick to run the FBI has a long list of enemies he plans to "come after," with the legal details to be determined later.
The President Still Has Time To Show His Mercy Extends Beyond His Own Son
The draconian penalties that Hunter Biden escaped affect many people whose fathers cannot save them.
Indiana Cops Seized Their Cash From a FedEx Hub. Prosecutors Just Agreed To Return It.
A class action lawsuit claims Indianapolis law enforcement is using civil asset forfeiture to seize millions in cash from packages routed through a major FedEx hub, without notifying the owners of what crime they're suspected of committing.
Hunter Biden's Pardon Features Several Shades of Hypocrisy, Including the Gun Policy Implications
Joe Biden says his son did not deserve prison for violating firearm laws that the president vigorously defends and has made more severe.
Florida Drug Deaths Rose Dramatically as Pam Bondi Did Her 'Incredible Job' of Reducing Them
The attorney general nominee's record as a drug warrior epitomizes the predictably perverse consequences of prohibition.
The Dismissed Federal Cases Against Trump Involved Substantial Evidence of Serious Misconduct
In response to charges that he illegally interfered with the 2020 election and improperly retained presidential records, Trump insisted that he was entitled to do whatever he wanted based on preposterous claims.
An Alabama D.A. Filed Legally Impossible Charges Against School Board Members Who Crossed Him
A board employee and a local reporter were arrested on the same bogus charge of divulging nonexistent grand jury secrets.
Body Cam Footage Shows Atlanta Cop Knew Felony Charges Against Cop City Protesters Were 'a Reach'
In bodycam footage, the police major—now the deputy chief—asks for "anything we can get" after being told felony charges would be difficult.
Harris' Career As Prosecutor Left Her Totally Unprepared for a Fair Fight
Coercing defendants into plea deals is poor training for convincing people to vote for you.
Vance Downplays Trump's Promises To Use 'Lawfare' Against His Opponents
The vice presidential hopeful displayed his dishonesty on Joe Rogan's podcast last week.
Partisanship Determines What Americans Believe About Crime
Americans' ignorant or capricious views on crime rates may seem inconsequential, but they have very real effects in setting prosecutorial policy.
The Georgia Case Against a School Shooter's Father Treats an Inattentive Parent As a Murderer
The charges, which could send Colin Gray to prison for the rest of his life, are part of a broader attempt to criminalize parental failures.
Reason's New Documentary on Backpage.com Is Streaming Exclusively on CiVL
The film ties together years of reporting on a legal saga with broad implications for both free speech and sex work.
A Houston Drug Cop's Murder Conviction Highlights the Potentially Deadly Consequences of 'Testilying'
Similar scandals across the country suggest the problem is widespread.
A Prosecutor Allegedly Told a Witness To Destroy Evidence. He Can't Be Sued for It.
Absolute immunity protects prosecutors even when they commit serious misconduct on the job.
Georgia A.G. Drops Frivolous Money Laundering Charges Against Cop City Bail Fund
The three defendants remain under indictment for racketeering, along with 58 others.
Prohibition Killed Matthew Perry
Three people have pled guilty and two will go to trial over the actor's death.
Houston Officials Trusted a Dishonest Drug Cop for Decades Before His Lies Killed 2 People
But for a disastrous raid, narcotics officer Gerald Goines would have been free to continue framing people he thought were guilty.
Houston Cop Who Lied To Justify a No-Knock Drug Raid Says He Is Not Responsible for the Resulting Deaths
Former narcotics officer Gerald Goines faces two murder charges for instigating the home invasion that killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas.
A Georgia Teenager Killed 4 People at His High School. Why Is His Father Charged With Murder?
The case is another example of stretching criminal laws to hold parents accountable for their children's violence.
A Revised Trump Indictment Tries To Overcome the 'Presumption' of Presidential Immunity
In charging the former president with illegal election interference, Special Counsel Jack Smith emphasizes the defendant's personal motivation and private means.
Criminal Justice Reform Took a Back Seat at the 2024 DNC
The official Democratic Party platform no longer endorses abolishing the death penalty, decriminalizing marijuana, or repealing mandatory minimums.
Feds Seek 20-Year Sentence for Backpage Co-Founder Michael Lacey
It's an insane ask for someone convicted of just one nonviolent offense.
A Day Care Worker Who Says She Was Documenting Diaper Rashes Got 126 Years for Taking 8 Photos
The Maryland Supreme Court deemed the evidence sufficient to convict the defendant on sexual abuse and child pornography charges.
Don't Blame Dealers for Fentanyl Deaths. Blame Drug Warriors.
Prosecutors' attempts to convert accidental overdoses into homicides are dangerous and morally dubious.
Lawsuit Claims Indiana Unconstitutionally Seizes Millions in Cash From FedEx Packages Every Year
The Institute for Justice says Indianapolis police and prosecutors are exploiting one of the biggest FedEx hubs in the U.S. to seize cash for alleged crimes they never explain.
'Too Much Law' Gives Prosecutors Enormous Power To Ruin People's Lives
In a new book, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch describes the "human toll" of proliferating criminal penalties.
