The UK is preparing to criminalize the manipulation of exchange rates and other financial benchmarks. Apparently that was legal until now.
Supreme Court: It's OK for Cops to Guess Wrong About What the Law Is
A robust 8-1 majority of the Supreme Court ruled today that, contrary to folk belief, ignorance of the law is a perfectly good excuse—as long as it's a cop who's claiming ignorance. The case, Heien v. North Carolina, dealt with a car owner who ended up charged with cocaine trafficking after a police officer, who…
At least nine women in Tennessee have been arrested under a harsh new law against drug use by pregnant women that "handcuffs new mothers upon delivery."
Amazon Workers Will Not Be Paid For All Their Time at Work
The Supreme Court has ruled that Amazon warehouse workers are not entitled to be paid for the time they spend standing in line waiting for company security guards to make sure they did not steal anything.
Reminder: This NYPD Chief Fought to Keep Chokeholds Legal
"I don't feel that there's a law that's necessary to deal with that issue," NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said about police chokeholds last September. "I think there are more than sufficient protocols in place to address a problem."
The Ohio state legislature is seeking to pass a bill that would completely shield state employees, doctors, and companies involved in executions from public records law. Because more secrecy is just what our flawless capital punishment system needs.
In 2014, California Agrees to Stop Locking Down Prisoners by Race
After a lawsuit, the State of California has agreed to end its practice of imposing blanket "lockdowns" on prison inmates according to their race. The year is 2014.
It's Harder For Kiddie Lawyers to Get Rich Now
Not too long ago, any half-bright young Ivy League whelp with a taste for fluorescent lighting and endless drudgery could get an entry-level lawyer job in a big city for a fat salary. Sadly, it's not quite so easy any more.
Controversial: Should Workers Be Paid For Time They Spend at Work?
The Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case about whether or not Amazon employees should be paid while company security people search them after their shifts. Paid?? When being searched by company security is so fun?
Report: In New York, Justice for the Poor Is a Joke
One nice thing about America is that even if you are poor, you cannot legally be railroaded for any old criminal accusation; you are guaranteed justice and fair representation. A new report details just how much of a farce that promise is.
International Commission: Decriminalize Drugs Everywhere
The global War on Drugs has been a long, sustained, incredibly expensive and destructive failure. A major new report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy says: it's time to give it up.
Prosecutor Who Sent Innocent Man to Death Row Proud He's No "Pussy"
Last week, two men were released after spending 30 years in prison in North Carolina. They were falsely convicted of rape and murder in 1983. They were both exonerated by DNA evidence. The man who prosecuted them is, proudly, no pussy.
Stop Fighting One Another and Unite For Larger Airline Seats
As reclining-airline-seat rage sweeps the nation, it is time for some real talk. Sure, it's fun to fantasize about smashing those rude seat-reclining travelers who smash our knees. But the actual villain in all this is clear: the airline industry itself.
How We Imprison the Poor For Crimes That Haven't Happened Yet
America has an incarceration crisis. We imprison a much larger percentage of our citizenry than anyone else. We need to fix this. We do not need to fix it by selectively imprisoning people for futurecrimes that have not yet occurred.
Law Firms Are Some of the Dirtiest Debt Collectors
When most people think of shady, predatory "debt collectors," they probably imagine a dingy, smoke-filled boiler room with workers haranguing hapless victims on the phone. In fact, there are law firms that are every bit as perfidious.
