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Supreme Court Rules Police Need a Warrant to Track Your Car
January 23, 2012, 3:07pmThe U.S. Supreme Court unanimously finds police require a search warrant to place a tracking device on a suspect's vehicle.
States Coalescing Around Petitioning DEA to Reschedule Marijuana
December 8, 2011, 5:10pmThe Colorado Independent reports today that Colorado is joining Rhode Island and Washington State in “(petitioning) the federal government to change the schedule of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act." While three states have coalesced around this issue so far, more states are expected to join since 16 states (including the District of Columbia) have now passed medical marijuana laws.
Your Lying Eyes
How fallible memories send innocent people to prison
August 31, 2011Three-quarters of the defendants who are cleared by DNA evidence were convicted based on sincere yet inaccurate eyewitness testimony. The New Jersey Supreme Court highlighted that problem last week when it revised the state's rules for pretrial hearings and jury instructions based on three decades of research exposing the fallibility of human memory. Senior Editor Jacob Sullum says the decision reminds us that the most powerful testimony jurors hear may also be the weakest, subject to hidden influences that can send an innocent man to prison if they remain unexposed.
Serve and Protect
The dangers of our increasingly militarized police
August 23, 2011The paramilitary approach to law enforcement flies in the face of the idea that the police and the citizens are on the same side, writes A. Barton Hinkle. Officer Friendly, strolling the block in a blue uniform and playing a paradiddle with his baton on a white picket fence, looks like he is ready to help carry groceries for the little old lady who lives on the corner. A cop in combat gear with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder looks like he is ready to go to war. And in war, Hinkle notes, there is no presumption of innocence—and the opposing side is not a fellow citizen with constitutional rights. He is the enemy.
Cannabis Capitulation
The marijuana exception to Jan Brewer's federalism
July 27, 2011The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters last November, remains on hold thanks to Gov. Jan Brewer, who worries that it conflicts with the federal Controlled Substances Act. Senior Editor Jacob Sullum says Brewer, a Republican who proudly advocates a "new federalism" that "protects the States and [their] citizens against an over-reaching federal government," in this case seems happy to let the Obama administration override the will of Arizona's voters.
The Week of Lying Dangerously
Obama displays a Clintonian desire to have things both ways.
July 6, 2011There was a time, says Senior Editor Jacob Sullum, when Barack Obama seemed more honest than Bill Clinton. While Slick Willie notoriously claimed he smoked pot but "didn't inhale," Obama candidly admitted, "When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point."
Lately Sullum has not been so impressed by Obama's truth-telling tendencies. He says three incidents last week vividly illustrated the president's Clintonian desire to have things both ways, even if it means insulting our intelligence.
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- Your Lying Eyes
How fallible memories send innocent people to prison
Jacob Sullum
August 31, 2011 - Serve and Protect
The dangers of our increasingly militarized police
A. Barton Hinkle
August 23, 2011 - Cannabis Capitulation
The marijuana exception to Jan Brewer's federalism
Jacob Sullum
July 27, 2011 - The Week of Lying Dangerously
Obama displays a Clintonian desire to have things both ways.
Jacob Sullum
July 6, 2011 - The Devil’s Bargain
How plea agreements, never contemplated by the Framers, undermine justice
Tim Lynch
July 5, 2011 - Keeping Kids Outside the System
Alternatives to juvenile detention are cheaper and more effective.
Irene Sullivan
July 4, 2011 - Collars for Dollars
How the drug war sacrifices real policing for easy arrests.
Peter Moskos
June 29, 2011 - Among the Biotech Conventioneers
A dispatch on the value of failed drugs, new vaccines against superbugs, and the prospect of a molecular stethoscope.
Ronald Bailey
June 28, 2011 - Bad Boys
A rogue’s gallery of misbehaving prosecutors, plus three worth praising
Radley Balko
June 27, 2011 - Indefensible
Public defenders are too overloaded to protect the rights of the accused.
Clay Conrad
June 22, 2011 - Rape Factories
Why is the government doing so little to end sexual assault in prisons?
Lovisa Stannow
June 20, 2011 - The Crime Rate Puzzle
Did incarceration reduce the crime rate, or did it get in the way?
Radley Balko
June 20, 2011 - The Price of Prohibition
Forty years after Nixon declared war on drugs, it's time to give peace a chance.
Jacob Sullum
June 15, 2011 - The Guilt Market
Criminal snitching threatens the integrity of the justice system.
Alexandra Natapoff
June 13, 2011 - All Aboard the Latin American Drug War Gravy Train
Waging the war on drugs in Latin America is a gold mine for contractors, a waste for taxpayers
Mike Riggs
June 10, 2011 - Prison Math
What are the costs and benefits of leading the world in locking up human beings?
Veronique de Rugy
June 8, 2011 - Wrongful Convictions
How many innocent Americans are behind bars?
Radley Balko
June 7, 2011 - Declare Defeat and Go Home
The War on Drugs has failed. Let's try something else.
A. Barton Hinkle
June 7, 2011 - Locked Up, Locked Out
The social costs of incarceration
Bruce Western
June 6, 2011 - The Ends Didn’t Justify the Means
Our complicity in the devastating war on crime
Matt Welch
June 6, 2011 - Brown v. Plata Ruling Highlights Need for Reform (Not Tax Increases)
A multi-faceted approach is necessary to finally reform California's correctional system
Harris Kenny and Adam Summers
June 2, 2011 - When Punishment Is a Crime
The Supreme Court takes on California's overcrowded prison system.
Steve Chapman
May 30, 2011 - Big Brother Is Watching You
Overreaching law enforcement puts privacy rights at risk.
A. Barton Hinkle
May 25, 2011 - Home Insecurity
Two privacy rulings hit us where we live.
Jacob Sullum
May 25, 2011 - A Fate Worse Than Death Panels?
Legislation that would improve access to pain medication for the elderly is five months behind schedule, and no one will say why.
Mike Riggs
May 20, 2011 - False Forbearance
Obama breaks his promise to respect medical marijuana laws.
Jacob Sullum
May 11, 2011 - Drug Control vs. Pain Control
A crackdown on opioid prescriptions will hurt patients.
Jacob Sullum
April 27, 2011 - Watch the Watchmen
It shouldn't be a crime to record the cops.
John Stossel
April 21, 2011 - Constitutional Refuseniks
Stewart Rhodes on his controversial group the Oath Keepers and the orders they won't obey
Radley Balko
April 11, 2011 - Failing Upward in Criminal Justice
The prosecutor who wrongly put a paraplegic in prison wants to be a judge.
Radley Balko
March 22, 2011 - How Drug Cops Go Bad
We shouldn't be surprised when the police officers we ask to break the laws they enforce turn corrupt.
Radley Balko
March 21, 2011 - End the Drug War, Save Black America
Why drug legalization is a civil rights issue
John Stossel
March 17, 2011 - Mitch Daniels' Pot Luck
The Indiana governor's escape from prison taught him the importance of being tough on drug users.
Jacob Sullum
March 2, 2011 - The Mind of a Police Dog
How misconceptions about dogs can lead to abuse of humans
Radley Balko
February 21, 2011 - The Man’s Best Friend
Drug dogs sniff at the Fourth Amendment
Greg Beato
February 17, 2011 - What’s the Matter with Provincetown?
The Democrats’ two years of control delivered zero social liberalism.
Tim Cavanaugh
February 1, 2011 - Government Pills
I'm from the government and I'm here to help with new drug discovery
Ronald Bailey
January 25, 2011 - A Beating in Pittsburgh
A year after three cops beat an unarmed music student, they are still getting paid to do nothing.
Radley Balko
January 24, 2011 - Just a Matter of When?
Legalizing marijuana has failed in California. But even in defeat, Proposition 19 might mark the beginning of the end for prohibition.
Brian Doherty
January 18, 2011 - Justice for Sal
After five years, the family of a Virginia optometrist killed by a SWAT team finally gets some closure.
Radley Balko
January 17, 2011 - When Booze Was Banned but Pot Was Not
What can today’s antiprohibitionists learn from their predecessors?
Jacob Sullum
January 13, 2011 - Follow the Bouncing Buck
The year's highlights in blame shifting
Jacob Sullum
December 29, 2010 - Beyond Bars
A new project has conservatives thinking more seriously about crime.
Radley Balko
December 20, 2010 - The SWAT Team Would Like to See Your Alcohol Permit
How police use regulatory inspections to conduct warrantless searches
Radley Balko
December 13, 2010 - Chilling Her Softly
The secret silencing of a pain treatment activist
Jacob Sullum
November 17, 2010 - “It’s No Longer a Matter of If, It’s a Matter of When”
Staying high on marijuana legalization after the defeat of Proposition 19
Brian Doherty
November 5, 2010 - The Media Aren't Liberal
Prop. 19 highlights the authoritarian tendencies of the mainstream press.
Radley Balko
November 1, 2010 - More Democracy, More Incarceration
The devastating mix of politics and crime policy
Radley Balko
October 25, 2010 - The Amazing Elastic Commerce Clause
The individual health insurance mandate tugs on an overstretched federal power.
Jacob Sullum
October 20, 2010 - America's Most Successful Stop Snitchin' Campaign
The failure to protect whistle-blowing cops is inexcusable.
Radley Balko
October 18, 2010 - How to Profit by Expanding Freedom
The case for drug legalization
Steve Chapman
October 11, 2010 - The Politics of Proposition 19
Marijuana legalization hits the big time
Brian Doherty
October 7, 2010 - Pot Prohibitionist Prevarications
Five whoppers told by opponents of California's marijuana legalization initiative
Jacob Sullum
October 6, 2010 - How to Slash the State
14 ways to dismantle a monstrous government, one program at a time
October 5, 2010 - Waiting for the Man
The long road to marijuana legalization
David Harsanyi
September 29, 2010 - Federalism and Medical Marijuana
Let the states serve as experimental laboratories.
Patri Friedman
September 24, 2010 - Needs More RAM
Another drug raid gone bad
Radley Balko
August 31, 2010 - The Government's License To Steal
Indiana's laws prohibiting police departments from enriching themselves via asset forfeiture would be much more effective if they weren't ignored.
Radley Balko
August 16, 2010 - Why Buy the Cow?
Legal weed, jokes about communists, and the perils of purchasing your own milk maker.
Katherine Mangu-Ward
August 13, 2010 - These Buds Are for You
Legal marijuana would be a boon for California consumers.
Jacob Sullum
July 28, 2010 - Police Blackout
Law enforcement agencies in Northern Virginia say you have no right to know what they’re doing.
Radley Balko
June 29, 2010 - Confirmation Theater
Elena Kagan is set to participate in a confirmation process she once dismissed as a charade
Radley Balko
June 28, 2010 - Another Marylander Arrested for Recording the Police
According to state officials, only on-duty cops have a privacy right in public spaces.
Radley Balko
June 21, 2010 - End the Drug War
Government goes astray when it tries to protect us from ourselves.
John Stossel
June 17, 2010 - Lessons from the Death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones
How aggressive SWAT tactics contributed to the death of a 7-year-old Detroit girl.
Radley Balko
May 24, 2010 - Pre-Crime Policing
Allegedly “disgruntled” man has his guns seized, and “voluntarily” surrenders to two SWAT teams and dozens of police officers for a crime that hadn’t been committed
Radley Balko
May 19, 2010 - A Drug Raid Goes Viral
A violent drug raid posted to YouTube catches fire online. But the only thing unusual about the raid is that it was caught on video.
Radley Balko
May 11, 2010 - Gin, Girls, and Governance
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman on personal freedom, free speech, and the state
Radley Balko
May 10, 2010 - Los Angeles Destroys Functioning Businesses in a Recession
But that’s OK with the city—those businesses are selling medical marijuana
Brian Doherty
May 6, 2010 - Watching the Detectives
A nebulous "right" to videotape on-duty cops isn't enough. The right needs to be enforced.
Radley Balko
April 26, 2010 - Hash Bash
Scenes from the 2010 International Cannabis and Hemp Expo
Greg Beato
April 20, 2010 - L.A.’s Pot Revolution
How Los Angeles became the “wild West” of medical marijuana—and lived to tell the tale
Brian Doherty
April 12, 2010 - Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Country
Rigid deportation rules make a mockery of justice.
Jacob Sullum
April 7, 2010 - In the Drug War, Drugs Are Winning
The case for legalizing marijuana
Steve Chapman
March 29, 2010 - Another Senseless Drug War Death
Stunning developments in the 2009 police shooting of Georgia pastor Jonathan Ayers
Radley Balko
March 23, 2010 - Death in Juarez
The bloody consequences of America's pharmacological intolerance
Jacob Sullum
March 17, 2010 - ‘You Cut Spending’
Former New Mexico governor and possible presidential candidate Gary Johnson talks about Obamanomics, ending the drug war, and climbing the highest mountains.
Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch
March 16, 2010 - Pre-Crime Policing
Allegedly “disgruntled” man has his guns seized, and “voluntarily” surrenders to two SWAT teams and dozens of police officers for a crime that hadn’t been committed
Radley Balko
March 16, 2010 - The Other Broken Windows Fallacy
The NYPD is accused of under-reporting serious crimes while manufacturing petty ones.
Radley Balko
March 8, 2010 - Keep Your Laws Off My Body
The case for legalizing drugs, prostitution, organ sales, and other consensual acts.
John Stossel
March 4, 2010 - 4.5 SWAT Raids Per Day
Maryland's SWAT transparency bill produces its first disturbing results
Radley Balko
March 1, 2010 - Whose Body Is It?
The government should "protect" us less and respect our liberty more.
John Stossel
February 25, 2010 - Fight the Power
The unfulfilled promise of “constitutional conservatism”
Jacob Sullum
February 24, 2010 - Flashbangs Under Fire
It's time to stop using stun grenades during drug raids.
Radley Balko
February 17, 2010 - That Other War
Reagan-era drug war rhetoric is still with us, and so is the accompanying collateral damage.
Radley Balko
January 11, 2010 - Queue No More
Canada's surprising proposal for fast tracking new drugs to patients
Ronald Bailey
April 14, 2009 - Baseball's Persistent Drug Culture
Banning steroids will not prevent further substance abuse
Steve Chapman
February 12, 2009 - What Michael Phelps Should Have Said
Smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. Or the public's business.
Radley Balko
February 2, 2009 - The Drug War's Collateral Damage
Drug prohibition militarizes our police, enriches our enemies, undermines our laws, and condemns our sick to suffering.
Radley Balko
January 23, 2009 - Bongs Away!
How the crusade against drug paraphernalia punishes controversial speech
Jacob Sullum
January 16, 2009 - Death by SWAT Raid
Collateral raid damage
Radley Balko
December 5, 2008 - Environmental Costs of Hemp Prohibition in the United States
Comparing the environmental performance of industrial hemp relative to substitutes in key industrial applications
Skaidra Smith-Heisters
October 27, 2008 - Industrial Hemp Can Boost Economy, Cut Pollution
Schwarzenegger's drug war concerns are way off base
Skaidra Smith-Heisters
April 19, 2007 - Let Them Have Their Pot
The feds should stop harassing sick patients who have the legal right to use marijuana
Manuel S. Klausner
January 26, 2007 - Schwarzenegger Vetoes Industrial Hemp
Law would've helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Skaidra Smith-Heisters
October 2, 2006 - The Culture War's French Connection
Morning-after pill fuels hypocrisy on both sides
Shikha Dalmia
February 7, 2006 - Surf City's Shameful Pols
Huntington Beach's medical marijuana stand ignores state law
David Nott
February 10, 2005 - A Show of Support for Medical Marijuana
California fights feds
David Nott
October 15, 2003 - Kill DARE Now
It's Costly. It Doesn't Work. It Can't Reform.
David Nott
February 10, 2003
Experts: Drugs
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