Criminal Justice
Sheriff Who Presided Over Violent 'Goon Squad' Tries To Play Dumb
"Nobody's ever reported that to me," Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said after his deputies admitted to brutalizing innocent people.
SCOTUS Ponders the Implications of Prosecuting Gun Owners for a Crime Invented by Bureaucrats
Several justices seemed troubled by an ATF rule that purports to ban bump stocks by reinterpreting the federal definition of machine guns.
Pennsylvania Police Settle Lawsuit With Woman Forced to Undergo 'Humiliating' Strip-Search
Even though police found no signs of drugs or other contraband, Holly Elish was strip-searched by Pennsylvania police officers.
Justice Department Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in 3 More Mississippi Prisons
Mississippi's prisons are falling apart, run by gangs, and riddled with sexual assaults, a Justice Department report says.
The Bukele Model Means Security Without Liberty
El Salvador stands at a crossroads between popular sentiment and adherence to constitutional principles.
Louisiana Legislature Advances Bills To Roll Back Criminal Justice Reforms
Criminal justice advocates say the evidence doesn't back up Republicans' claims that Louisiana's landmark 2017 reforms are to blame for violent crime.
Nikki Haley's Primary Math Isn't Mathing
Plus: A listener asks the editors for big picture thoughts on United States foreign policy interventions in other nation states.
Why Did Cops Point a Gun at a Burning Gaza Protester?
The Secret Service’s strange reaction to the U.S. airman who lit himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy.
4 Reasons Trump Says a Judge Should Dismiss Charges in the Classified Documents Case
His lawyers assert presidential immunity and discretion, criticize an "unconstitutionally vague" statute, and question the special counsel's legal status.
Mississippi Police Arrested a 10-Year-Old for Peeing Behind His Mom's Car. Now, the Family Is Suing
Third-grader Quantavious Eason was arrested and charged as a "child in need of services" after being caught peeing behind his mother's car.
Feds Target Journalist Tim Burke With Law Intended for Hackers
An escalation in the war between people who publish secrets and those who seek to keep them.
Albuquerque Cops Allegedly Got Paid To Make DWI Cases Disappear
The scandal has resulted in the dismissal of some 200 DWI cases, an internal probe, and an FBI investigation.
The Justice Department Quietly Ends Reprosecution of Man Who Received Clemency From Trump
Philip Esformes was sentenced for charges on which a jury hung. After receiving a commutation, the federal government vowed to try to put him back in prison.
Don't Let Crime Fears Undermine Americans' Rights
Amid fear of rising crime, let's take a careful and deliberate approach—lest innocent people lose their rights and property.
The New York Times Implausibly Implicates Oklahoma's Bathroom Law in the Death of a Nonbinary Student
Don’t let culture war politics overwhelm a commitment to the facts.
Proposition E Would Make It Easier for Police To Surveil San Francisco
The measure, which will be on the March 5 ballot, would greatly expand the SFPD's power while subjecting it to even less scrutiny.
Frozen Embryos Are Now Children Under Alabama Law
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker cited the Bible to explain why.
Lawmakers Want Pause on Federal Funds for Predictive Policing
The dangers inherent in targeting criminals-to-be have yet to be addressed.
Two New York Cases Lend Credibility to Trump's Complaint of Partisan Persecution
Neither Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg nor New York Attorney General Letitia James can explain exactly who was victimized by the dishonesty they cite.
Goodbye, Navalny
Plus: A listener asks if the editors have criteria for what constitutes a good law.
NYC Child Protection Agency Uses 'Coercive Tactics' To Bully Parents Into Allowing Warrantless Searches
According to a new lawsuit, NYC's child protection agency almost never obtained warrants when it searched over 50,000 family homes during abuse and neglect investigations.
The Biden Administration Is Bent on Setting an Alarming Precedent by Prosecuting Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder already has spent as much time in a London prison as DOJ lawyers say he is likely to serve if convicted in the U.S.
Tennessee Deputy Dies While Texting and Driving, Killing Suspect in the Back Seat
While the deputy's death is tragic, all evidence indicates that the woman handcuffed in his back seat died as a result of his negligence.
Prosecutor Fani Willis Touts the Value of Cash, but What About the Rest of Us?
Unfortunately, Willis’s Fulton County includes assets seized from non-prosecutors in its budget.
This Prosecutor Secretly Worked for the Judges Overseeing His Cases. Will His Victims Be Able To Sue?
Ralph Petty likely violated the Constitution. In a rare move, a federal court signaled this week that lawsuits against him may not be dead on arrival.
Alvin Bragg Is Trying To Punish Trump for Something That Is Not a Crime
The essence of the case, the Manhattan D.A. says, is that Trump "corrupt[ed] a presidential election" by concealing embarrassing information.
Israel Raids Hospital
Plus: Moscow subway stations, climate activists souping and glueing, Rachel Dolezal's plight, and more...
Iowa Cops Arrested a Sober College Student for Driving Intoxicated. His Lawsuit Is Moving Forward.
A federal judge ruled that Tayvin Galanakis' lawsuit against the officers who arrested them could go forward. He also approved part of the officers' defamation case against him.
A Florida Cop Gets Into a Shootout With an Acorn, Emptying His Gun Into His Own Patrol Car
Deputy Jesse Hernandez, whose bullets miraculously missed the handcuffed suspect in the car, resigned during an investigation that found he "violated policy."
Qualified Immunity Is Not Limited to Police Brutality. It Protects a Wide Variety of Abusive Officials.
An analysis of appeals involving the doctrine finds that less than a quarter "fit the popular conception of police accused of excessive force."
Buffalo Cops Denied Qualified Immunity for Arresting Man Who Called Officer an 'Asshole'
R. Anthony Rupp III was cited and detained after he called a police officer an "asshole" after the cop nearly drove into two pedestrians.
Biden's Cognitive Shrinkflation
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
Trump's Alleged Defiance and Deceit Distinguish His Handling of Secrets From Biden's
Unlike Biden's conduct, Special Counsel Robert Hur notes, the document-related charges against Trump feature "serious aggravating facts."
Wisconsin Police Held a Man and 3 Kids at Gunpoint During Routine Traffic Stop
Luke Weiland has filed a lawsuit alleging that police used "excessive" force.
Writer's Suspended Death Sentence Is a Reminder of China's Awful Record on Human Rights
Yang Hengjun's punishment will be commuted to life in prison if he passes a probationary period. But the espionage accusations against him are highly spurious.
Georgia Bill Would Hobble Bail Funds Even as It Expands Cash Bail
By definition, people assigned bail have been judged safe to release into the general population. Requiring them to post cash bail is needlessly punitive.
An Alabama Couple's Lives Were Upended by an Unconstitutional Police Raid. A Jury Awarded Them $1 Million.
Greg and Teresa Almond lost their house and livelihood over a misdemeanor drug crime. Sheriff's deputies never got a warrant to search their house.
Cops Arrested Him for a Fictitious Traffic Violation Because He Flipped Them Off
A federal judge allowed a lawsuit against the officers to proceed, finding evidence of several constitutional violations.
