Reason Foundation

Recent Research and Commentary

NJ Legislature Exploring Decriminalizing Marijuana

May 21, 2012, 11:37am

Harris Kenny

Today the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee is considering Assembly Bill Number 1465 (A1465), which would most notably decriminalize possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana, and impose a new range of civil penalties instead.

APR 2011: Corrections and Public Safety

May 2, 2012, 5:35pm

Harris Kenny

The rollout of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2011 concluded this week with the Corrections and Public Safety section, which provides an overview of the latest news and trends in public-private partnerships in corrections and public safety.

Supreme Court Rules Police Need a Warrant to Track Your Car

January 23, 2012, 3:07pm

Steven Titch

The 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, 5:10pm

Harris Kenny

The 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, 2011

Jacob Sullum

Three-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, 2011

A. Barton Hinkle

The 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.

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