At Least 5 Capitol Rally Participants Were In A Violent ‘Patriot March’ In San Diego
Right-wingers and ultranationalists convened in the city days after the Washington insurrection, but the police crackdown that day fell on counterprotesters.
Trump Turned the Justice System Into a Black Box. Biden Could Fix It
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has suffered from years of poor funding and political interference by the Trump administration. Fixing it could be one of the most important tasks on Biden’s criminal justice reform agenda.
The Cops at the Capitol
Law enforcement officers from around the country attended and supported last week’s rally in support of President Trump that sparked a riot.
Partners in Crime: The Siege on the Capitol, Police, and White Supremacy
The historical connections were on full display during Wednesday’s violence at the Capitol.
Terry McAuliffe’s Record on the Death Penalty Is Out of Step With National Trends
McAuliffe is running to become Virginia governor a second time. If he wins, he would be the only active Democratic governor to have carried out executions in office.
Brandon Bernard’s Death Sentence Should Be Commuted Immediately By President Trump
A reasonable society does not meet trauma with more trauma in the name of justice.
Joe Biden Has to Be More Than the Man Who Defeated Trump
A Democratic president who politely listens to progressive rhetoric while failing to act on it is one who just watches the planet burn a little more slowly.
Women Have The Power To End This Presidency
Trump’s presidency began with women marching in record numbers. Now it’s going to end with women voting in record numbers.
A Media Guide For Free And Fair Election Reporting
The media, more than ever, has an important role in preserving our democracy during this election season. The more that members of the media expose false, misleading, or manipulative claims for what they are, the less likely it is for Americans to fall for President Donald Trump’s insidious tactics on and after Election Day.
A Trumpist Texas Sheriff is Running for Congress. If He Wins, His Brother Might Take Over the Sheriff’s Office.
Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls wants voters to send him to Congress despite his department’s history of jail deaths and allegations of racial-profiling.
Amy Coney Barrett’s Record on Criminal Justice Is ‘Deeply Troubling,’ Reform Advocates Say
In the midst of a national debate about changing the criminal legal system, Barrett is set to take a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Advocates see her addition as a potential setback to creating a more fair system.
Federal Judge Halts Trump’s Law Enforcement Commission
The ruling said the commission wasn’t diverse enough and gave little voice to communities affected by policing.
Feuding With Donald Trump Is Not Police Reform
Mayors of liberal cities love to criticize the president’s incendiary law-and-order rhetoric, but do precious little to check police violence and bloated budgets in their own backyards.
Communities Need And Deserve A Reset Of Policing And The Justice System. Trump Has Created A Sham Process that Excludes Them.
Under the guise of restoring public confidence in law enforcement, President Trump’s secretive and regressive Commission on Law Enforcement is stacked with old-guard failed tough-on-crime thinking that precipitated the crisis of confidence we now face.
Yes, Pack The Court – Pack It With Public Interest Lawyers
No intellect or doctrine can overcome a judiciary inclined to favor government and the powerful against the accused and the vulnerable. And that is the federal judiciary we now have.
Expanding the Supreme Court Is Not ‘Radical’
Rebalancing the nation’s highest court is a reasonable, proportionate response to a system that failed a long time ago.
The Federal Government Is Failing Communities Suffering From Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is not an acute emergency, but rather a chronic condition for low-income Americans that existed long before the current public health emergency.
The Trump Administration Is Pushing To Make It Harder For Trans People To Seek Shelter During The Pandemic
The Trump administration mishandled COVID-19, creating conditions that left transgender people even more vulnerable to housing instability than before. Now it’s pushing for a rule change that would allow homeless shelters to discriminate against trans people.
Trump’s Voter Fraud Lie Is the Oldest Trick in the Book
The president’s fearmongering over mail-in ballots is part of a long history of politicians denying members of marginalized communities, and particularly Black people, the right to vote.
Prosecutors Are Using Gang Laws To Criminalize Protest
Prosecutors in states ranging from New York to Utah are using decades-old gang laws to target participants in the largest uprising against police brutality in U.S. history.
Operation Legend Is Another Attempt to ‘Federalize’ Policing. Organizers Are Pushing Back.
President Trump and the DOJ are funding federal policing programs in cities like Detroit, Chicago, and Baltimore, but advocates say they’re unnecessary, harmful, and ineffective.
The Roger Stone Commutation Was Bad. Congress Shouldn’t Make Things Worse.
Democrats in Congress must still their impulse to legislate restrictions on clemency. Not only would such a law be unconstitutional, but it may deter future presidents from using clemency the way that the framers intended.
Trump’s Planned Trip To Mount Rushmore Puts Lives And A Fragile Ecosystem At Risk
The July 4th event will only serve to endanger the Black Hills National Forest, spread contagion, and continue the president’s pattern of sowing hatred and division.
How the Federal Government Lost Track of Deaths in Custody
The Department of Justice is leaving researchers, policymakers, and advocates in the dark about deaths in police custody, prisons, and jails.
As The Trump Administration Restricts Legal Immigration, It’s Expanding A Class Of Vulnerable Guest Workers
Farmworker and labor advocates say these workers are among the most exploited in the country.
For Trump, There Is No Policing Without Violence
A president who openly endorses police brutality struggles with a nation rejecting it.
Coronavirus In Jails and Prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis, numbers of infected and dead, around the nation.
Don’t Look to the DOJ to Keep Federal Prisons and Their Surrounding Communities Safe During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Experts are urging large-scale releases. But the Department of Justice often operates contrary to expertise.
Lessons from Hurricane Katrina For The COVID-19 Recovery To Come
Powerful interests exploited Katrina to enrich themselves and transform the city. As a reporter who covered the fallout explains, our government’s lax oversight means the same could happen now, leaving those who most need help behind.
The Voices Warning Trump About COVID-19 In Prisons Are Growing Louder. Will He Listen?
There are no good reasons for the president to keep vulnerable people behind bars any longer.
Our Leaders Have the Power to Release People in Prison. Now They Must Use It.
State governors and the president have the authority to grant commutations and reprieves to people in prison across the country as COVID-19 spreads.
The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Brought Out Society’s Alarming Disregard for People With Disabilities
Politicians and the general public are ignoring the health and safety needs of those with disabilities and chronic conditions.
In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk.
A No-Holds-Barred Assault on Prosecutors
Attorney General William Barr pushed back against reforms by progressive prosecutors—but perhaps his greatest vitriol was reserved for the Boston DA’s attempt to rein in police.
The Carceral Feminism Of Linda Fairstein
A nearly 30-year-old New York Times Magazine profile of the infamous prosecutor may reveal as much about Linda Fairstein as Ava DuVernay‘s acclaimed new Netflix series.
‘Cage The Bastards’
Former prosecutor and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro inspires Trump’s rhetoric of dehumanization and incarceration.
Trump Has Turned the War on Trafficking Into a War on Immigrants
The president is drawing on two decades of bipartisan support for crackdowns on traffickers to secure support for his agenda at the border.
California Governor Jerry Brown is Fighting Trump With Pardons. Will Other Governors Follow Suit?
The departing governor has chosen to pardon immigrants whose past criminal offenses put them in danger of deportation.
A Trump Favorite For His Hardline Anti-Immigration Stance, Maryland Sheriff Now Faces Re-Election
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins seeks a fourth term as critics blast him for a record that includes poor jail conditions, in-custody suicides, and the deaths of two young people at the hands of his deputies.
Rural Oregon Sheriffs Lead Charge to Repeal State’s Sanctuary Law
More than one dozen sheriffs support Measure 105 that would allow for cooperation with federal authorities even when an immigrant suspect has not been apprehended for any crime.
Justice in America Episode 4: A Conversation With John Legend
Josie and Clint talk with the artist about criminal justice reform and his #FREEAMERICA campaign.
US Attorney’s Office That Prosecuted Inauguration Day Protesters Has History of Misconduct Findings
Prosecutors on the "J20" case faced grave allegations of misconduct after withholding exculpatory evidence contained in videos from defense attorneys. But this is far from the first time that this office has found itself in hot water.
What Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court Would Mean for Criminal Justice
Trump’s pick to replace Justice Kennedy would most likely undermine the rights of criminal defendants and stall progress on solitary confinement, prisoners’ rights, and the death penalty.
Conservatives Are Obsessed With Prosecutorial Overreach
Unfortunately for millions of Americans, only one case matters: Trump's.
Trump’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Immigration Policy Has an Antidote
New bail funds aren’t just getting immigrants out of detention—they’re helping them stay in the country permanently.
Alice Marie Johnson is free. Now it’s time to free thousands more prisoners with unjustly long sentences.
Kim Kardashian's successful campaign to free a 63-year-old grandmother serving a life sentence in a drug case is a reminder that we need to go big on clemency. A 52-year-old grandfather named Euka Wadlington, also doing life in a drug case, would be a great place to start.
Chaos in the Courthouse as Border Arrests Surge
Public defenders say immigrants arrested under Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy are being denied their due process rights.