criminaljustice
Last week, a federal judge ruled that B.G., a rapper known for the hit 1999 song "Bling Bling," must give the government copies of the lyrics to any new songs as a condition of his supervised release. While prosecutors can generally place a wide range of otherwise illegal restrictions on released prisoners' conduct, critics argue this restriction is an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech. In 2012, B.G., whose real name is Christopher Dorsey, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for illegal gun possession and obstruction charges. After serving 11 years, Dorsey was released in February. In...
Reason
This week's featured article is "What Caused the D.C. Crime Wave?" by Joe Bishop-Henchman. This audio was generated using AI trained on the voice of Katherine Mangu-Ward. Music credits: "Deep in Thought" by CTRL and "Sunsettling" by Man with Roses The post <I>The Best of Reason</I>: What Caused the D.C. Crime Wave? appeared first on Reason.com.
Reason
Consider the following hypothetical: You are jailed for two years as you await trial for murder. You are facing the death penalty. You have cancer, which relapsed during your incarceration without access to adequate treatment. And it turns out you were charged based on a false witness confession, which the local prosecutor allegedly destroyed evidence to obscure. Now imagine suing that prosecutor and being told you have no recourse, because such government employees are entitled to absolute immunity. This is the backdrop for Justice Sonia Sotomayor's opinion Tuesday arguing that the Supreme Co...
Reason
Challenging the federal prosecution stemming from his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Donald Trump argued that former presidents can be prosecuted for "official acts" only if they are first impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate based on the same conduct. The Supreme Court today rejected that claim, which is based on an implausible reading of the constitutional text. At the same time, the Court held that a former president enjoys "absolute" immunity for "actions within his exclusive constitutional power," "presumptive" immunity for other "official acts," and ...
Reason
The Supreme Court on Friday narrowed the interpretation of a federal criminal law under which many January 6 rioters have been charged, throwing hundreds of such cases into at least partial uncertainty. It was yet another 6–3 decision. But despite the immensely politically-charged nature of the case, it was also yet another time that the votes did not come down along exclusively ideological lines. The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, the latter of whom wrote...
Reason
The Supreme Court today rejected the statutory interpretation underlying a criminal charge against some of the Donald Trump supporters who participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The same charge—obstructing an official proceeding—also figures in the federal indictment accusing the former president himself of illegally attempting to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors alleged that rioters obstructed an official proceeding by interrupting the congressional ratification of the election results. In Trump's case, they argued that he interfered...
Reason
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that people whom the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would like to levy civil penalties against for alleged fraud violations are entitled to a trial by jury. That decision, though consequential in isolation, will likely have effects that extend far beyond that one agency. At the heart of the ruling is George Jarkesy Jr., a hedge fund manager who oversaw the investment advising firm Patriot28, LLC. The SEC accused him and the company of "misrepresenting the investment strategies that Jarkesy and Patriot28 employed," "lying about the identity of the fund...
Reason
In June 2022, the Supreme Court clarified the constitutional test for gun control laws, saying they must be "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." To illustrate the public safety implications of that ruling, Bloomberg Law reported last year that the decision had "forced the Justice Department to abandon a firearms charge against an Iranian American drug user with suspected ties to foreign terrorism." As reporters Ben Penn and Seamus Hughes told it, "The firearm charge against Ali Hemani, 26, appears to have served the same purpose as when it's often brought...
Reason
Julian Assange was released from prison this week after agreeing to plead guilty to conspiring to disclose classified documents related to national security. After five years behind bars, it's hard to exactly call this a win for the WikiLeaks founder. But on the surface, it is a loss for the U.S. government, which wanted to put Assange away for a much, much longer period of time. And yet, on some level, authorities got exactly what it seems they wanted: a warning to anyone who would dare to publish information that makes the government look bad. It provides a clear view of what happens when yo...
Reason
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the right to a trial by jury and to due process apply to people who face a steep sentencing enhancement under federal law, in a ruling that transfers some power from the hands of judges to the public and will affect many criminal defendants' future punishments. The procedural history of the case is a bit of a whirlwind. But at its center is Paul Erlinger, who was charged in 2017 with being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 15 years under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which increases the punishment for that offense—felon in posses...
Reason
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