How Confirmation Bias Sends Innocent People to Prison
A new study of wrongful convictions shows the problem goes beyond misconduct by police and prosecutors.
Prosecutors
Child Sex Trafficking Prosecutions Down Under Trump
For the second year in a row, federal prosecutions for sex trafficking of children have dropped.
Acosta Resigns as Labor Secretary
He says his role in Jeffrey Epstein's plea deal has become a distraction.
Kamala Harris Is Reimagining Herself as a Progressive Prosecutor
Harris is pitching a carefully constructed narrative that seems to be at odds with her record in many ways.
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Curtis Flowers, Man Tried 6 Times for Same Crime
The high court ruled that prosecutor Doug Evans violated Flowers' constitutional rights when Evans sought to keep African-Americans off of the jury.
A Judge Called His Mandatory Sentence 'Excessive' and 'Wrong.' Less Than a Year Later He Died In Federal Prison
Frederick Turner was sentenced to a mandatory 40 years on nonviolent drug and firearm charges. He ended up in a high-security federal prison, and now he's dead.
Kamala Harris Tries (Again) to Rewrite Her History as a Prosecutor of Petty Crimes
Plus: YouTube moderation, over-the-counter birth control, craft brewery regulation, New York prostitution laws, and more...
San Antonio Prosecutor Will Stop Prosecuting Trace Drug Amounts and Petty Pot Possession
The Bexar County District Attorney plans to stop prosecuting people for trace drug amounts and less than one ounce of pot in order to focus resources on violent crime.
A Question Barr Flubbed Badly
How could Barr have allowed Deputy AG Rosenstein to participate in evaluating an obstruction-of-justice case against the President when Rosenstein was a key participant in the possibly obstructive events, and would be a witness if a charge were brought?
'Some People Might Say That Ricky Fell Through a Crack in the System. This Is Not a Crack. This Is the System.'
Over 23 years ago Missouri’s criminal justice system failed a man charged with murder. This week he’s looking at his last best chance at freedom.
Kamala Harris Offers a Crappy Apology to Parents Who Went to Jail Because Their Kids Missed School
Harris supported a truancy law that listed jail time as a punishment for parents.
Controversial Arizona Prosecutor Juan Martinez May Finally Get a Taste of Justice
Martinez faces allegations of courtroom shenanigans, leaking confidential information, and sexual harassment.
Manhattan D.A. Spent $250K in Asset Forfeiture Funds on Fine Dining and Luxurious Travel
The expenses included five-star Parisian hotels and sumptuous dinners.
California Prosecutors Move to Clear Old Pot Convictions
Recreational weed went into effect last year. Now, two prosecutors are trying to bring the criminal justice system up to speed.
Big Pretrial Justice Reforms Included in New York's Budget
Better evidence sharing and a dramatic drop in cash bail demands will help defendants challenge charges.
Preet Bharara's Boy Scout Manual of 'Doing Justice'
The former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York unconvincingly channels Atticus Finch in his legal memoir.
Waco Biker Massacre Prosecutions Continue to Fall Apart as Last Set of Original Indictments Dismissed
Special prosecutor involved in dropping charges says, "I do have a very serious problem as a lawyer with the wholesale charging of people without an investigation" in the case.
ACLU Releases Model Legislation To Unlock the 'Black Box' of Prosecutor Secrecy
"They're the most powerful player in the criminal justice system. It's really important to know how they use that discretion behind closed doors."
The Chemists and the Cover-Up
Sloppy forensics, drug skimming, and prosecutorial misconduct forced Massachusetts to throw out 47,000 convictions.
Kamala Harris Hopes You'll Forget Her Record as a Drug Warrior and Draconian Prosecutor
The senator and presidential hopeful went to bat for dirty prosecutors, opposed marijuana legalization, and championed policies that endanger sex workers.
Baltimore's Top Prosecutor Will Stop Prosecuting Marijuana Possession Cases
Whether the police will stop arresting people is another question.
Kamala Harris' New Book Tries to Massage Her Record as a Prosecutor, But the Facts Aren't Pretty
The book neglects to mention all the times Harris' office appealed cases that were thrown out for gross prosecutor misconduct.
D.C. vs. the Wide Open West
The relationship between the people who inhabit those spaces and their distant and often distrusted imperial government.
A Man Accused of Sex Abuse is Free Due to the Prosecutor's Drinking Problem
Elected officials must be mindful that their indiscretions can have very public consequences.
New Orleans D.A. Complains About Community Bail Funds Releasing Low-Level Offenders
Organization helps poor people cover costs to get out of jail before their trials. Why is this a problem?
Philly Police Union Sues Over Attempts to Keep Bad Cops Off the Stand
They say it's about due process. Is it really about all that sweet overtime money?
Charges Against Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Accidentally Revealed by U.S. Prosecutors: Reason Roundup
Plus: the NRA versus New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and CNN versus the White House
Alleged Synagogue Shooter May Be a Monster, but He Shouldn't Be Executed
No matter how heinous the crime, the state shouldn't be in the business of killing its citizens.
A Sexual Assault and a Pot Club: Guess Which One Alaska Treated More Harshly?
Two high-profile crimes committed in Anchorage highlight a seemingly unequal criminal justice system.
A Florida Prosecutor Is Accused of Shoplifting From Publix
Legal repercussions apply to everyone, even state attorneys who make 'honest mistakes.'
NYC Prosecutors Drop 3,000 Weed Cases
New York State as a whole seems to be moving toward legalization.
Louisiana Voters May Dump Rule Allowing Convictions Without Unanimous Verdicts
End of a Jim Crow-era law a potential win for jury nullification.
Federal Prosecutors Love Snitches; Trump Thinks They Should Get Stitches
"Flipping" should probably be illegal, Trump says. It's one of federal prosecutors' most beloved tactics, and their go-to argument for mandatory minimums.
New York Sets Up First Statewide Panel to Investigate Prosecutorial Misconduct
District attorneys rarely ever get punished for misbehavior that puts innocent people behind bars. Is that about to change?
St. Louis Prosecutor Who Handled Michael Brown Case Voted Out Of Office
Four years after Ferguson, the fallout from Bob McCulloch's decisions catch up to him.
A Public Defender Is Shaking Up the Race for San Diego D.A.
Genevieve Jones-Wright wanted to be a prosecutor but ended up becoming a public defender. Now she's running for D.A.
California Town Hired Private Law Firm to Sue Citizens, Then Tried to Conceal Massive Costs
Fontana called them "zoning fees." They were actually demanding that residents repay the cost of prosecuting them for minor crimes.
James Comey Has Craptacular Opinions on Mass Incarceration and Prosecutors
The former top G-Man thinks "mass incarceration" is a misnomer and that taking Martha Stewart down was pretty much the work of God.
D.A. in Waco Biker Case Ordered to Stop 'Revenge Porn' Harassment of Ex-Defendant
Prosecutors sent "private, intimate sexual images" taken from an arrestee's phone to lawyers representing all 177 defendants.
What Forfeiture Reforms? New Hampshire Police Bypass State Law, Keep Taking People's Stuff
The Department of Justice's loophole lets officials seize property without having to get a conviction.
City Demands $6,000 from Woman over Illegal Chickens
A municipal scheme with a private prosecution firm leads to outrageous fines in the California desert.
Alabama Prosecutor, Sheriff Threaten to Put More People in Prison in Order to Keep Seizing Massive Amounts of Property
Lawmakers are considering long-overdue civil asset forfeiture reform, and law enforcement leaders aren't happy.
Donald Trump Shouldn't Talk to the Feds. And Neither Should You.
When the feds interview a subject or target, their goal is not fact-finding or "clearing a few things up." Their goal is the hunt.
A Non-Terrible District Attorney Wins in Philly
But will he be able to follow through?
Baltimore Cops on Trial for a Criminal Conspiracy That Looks a Lot Like Everyday Policing
Armed robbery, extortion...and keeping the money for themselves.
Man Incarcerated for 6 Years Without a Trial Because He Demanded a Speedy Trial
What the 2nd Circuit's opinion in U.S. v. Tigano reveals about the state of our criminal justice system
The Feds Are Just 'Safeguarding' Money Seized Through Asset Forfeiture and Civil Fines
U.S. prosecutors in Northern Georgia alone helped collect millions in asset forfeiture actions, civil and criminal fines last year.
D.C. Prosecutors Dismiss 129 Inauguration Day Protest Cases
The government now says it will prosecute only those it can prove committed specific criminal acts.
