opinion
DESPAIR
The policy is in effect now and probably will be indefinitely once the Supreme Court reviews its merits. The administration finally found a way to cover its flawed justifications.
Andrew Cohen has covered the law-and-justice beat for 21 years. He is senior editor at The Marshall Project, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and a legal analyst for CBS News Radio.
GET OFF THE BENCH
In 2002, a prosecutor defended the death sentence for a murderer. Now he’s a federal judge and refuses to recuse himself in the same case.
Unfair Trial
He offered inconsistent confessions for his daughter’s murder, and the DNA of another man—a serial rapist—was found at the crime scene. But South Carolina was determined to convict. Now the Supreme Court can bring him justice.
Magna Carta Holy Crap
A panel in North Carolina handed down 276 indictments in just four hours. This spits on 800 years of protection against unjust prosecution.
Mercy
The Justice Department wants lawyers to help non-violent drug offenders get clemency to leave jail. It’s a great idea to ease overcrowded prisons. Will bureaucrats screw it up?
CHURCH AND STATE
A Buddhist family sued Sabine Parish School Board for violating their right to religious freedom. The lawsuit contains a shocking list of religious indoctrination.
Macabre
Inmates are gasping for air and worse thanks to untested drugs. No longer able to hide behind science, Americans are about to remember the truth about capital punishment.
Checks ‘n’ Balances
The Supreme Court is certain to declare the White House’s filling of jobs without the Senate’s approval illegal. The question is how far the court, which rather likes executive power, will go.
Oklahoma’s legislature voted to reduce the state’s skyrocketing, budget-busting prison population, but ideological state officials are trying to make sure it doesn’t happen.
Fired for Toking
Veterans may be lining to buy legal marijuana, but others who fear being fired for testing positive are staying home. How one court case could free them to ‘recreate’ responsibly.