NSA oversight flawed by lack of legal adversaries, former FISA judge says

Testifying Tuesday during a federal oversight hearing aimed at scrutinizing secret government surveillance, former federal judge James Robertson said that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is independent. But he said its oversight is flawed because of a lack of legal adversaries to confront the government’s actions. “Anyone who has been…

Jul 9, 2013 6:25 PM CDT

Police use of SWAT tactics has gotten out of hand, says author (podcast)

In this podcast, Balko explains how his investigations led to his new book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces," and what the militarization trend might mean for the country.

Jul 8, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Even if ex-NFL player Hernandez didn’t fire gun, prosecutors will deal with others, lawyer predicts

An “interesting choice of words” by a prosecutor during a Massachusetts court hearing last week suggests that authorities may believe someone other than Aaron Hernandez actually fired the five shots that killed Odin Lloyd. But whether or not the government thinks the former New England Patriots tight end was the…

Jul 3, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

How did America’s police become a military force on the streets?

Jul 1, 2013 10:10 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Silence is not golden, Supreme Court says

A person may not invoke the right to remain silent by being silent and not responding to police questions. That seemingly oxymoronic statement was the holding in Salinas v. Texas, (PDF) which the U.S. Supreme Court issued June 17. The result is that unless a person explicitly invokes the right…

Jun 25, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Juries must find facts that increase mandatory minimums, Supreme Court says

Any fact that spurs a higher mandatory minimum sentence must be decided by a jury, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion (PDF) overruling Harris v. United States, a 2002 decision that allowed judges to conduct such fact-finding. Harris was decided two years after…

Jun 17, 2013 7:11 PM CDT

Hasan’s pro se defense at trial over Fort Hood slayings raises ethical issues for standby counsel

After a decision by a military judge earlier this month that Maj. Nidal Hasan can represent himself in a looming trial over the 2009 massacre of military personnel at Fort Hood, the 42-year-old Army psychiatrist has been at odds with his fired former defense lawyers who now represent him as…

Jun 12, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

SCOTUS quotes Innocence Project founders’ book in DNA opinion; did ellipses change the point?

Two ellipses in a quote in a U.S. Supreme Court opinion are getting some closer scrutiny. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy bolstered his majority decision upholding DNA testing for arrestees last week with a quote from a book called Actual Innocence, written by the founders of the Innocence Project, the New…

Jun 12, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Cuffed murder defendant bolts from courthouse, is captured; judge says trial will continue

Already serving a 54-year federal sentence over prior robberies, Keith Lauchon Jackson apparently felt he had little to lose by bolting Monday afternoon from the North Carolina courthouse where he is being tried on a first-degree murder charge. After a lunch break, the 24-year-old defendant slipped out of his leg…

Jun 11, 2013 5:12 PM CDT

Search warrants obtained by telephone are permissible in New Mexico, state’s top court rules

The New Mexico Constitution allows search warrants to be obtained and approved by telephone, despite its requirement for a written showing of probable cause, the New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled in the case of Lester and Carol Boyse of Mesilla, who pleaded no contest to 107…

Jun 11, 2013 3:25 PM CDT

How to be taken seriously? Recent grads who formed criminal defense firm fight ‘sweetie’ image

Being young isn’t necessarily a disadvantage, according to two criminal defense lawyers in Chicago who formed their law firm after graduating from DePaul law school last year. Katie Kizer, 26, and Amanda Graham, 25, acknowledge there are few young, female criminal defense lawyers starting their own law firms. When they…

Jun 6, 2013 10:59 AM CDT

Onetime Natalee Holloway suspect may wed from Peruvian jail to avoid extortion extradition

Corrected: Convicted murderer Joran van der Sloot is now jailed in Peru, where he was found guilty of slaying college student Stephany Flores. His crime there was high-profile because of extensive publicity over the still-unsolved disappearance of another young woman, U.S. citizen Natalee Holloway, who vanished in Aruba while on…

Jun 3, 2013 2:46 PM CDT

Ex-offenders face tens of thousands of legal restrictions, bias and limits on their rights

Jun 1, 2013 10:00 AM CDT

Former governor helps establish a clemency clinic

Jun 1, 2013 9:20 AM CDT

June 19, 1961: Police raid of home sparks a revolution in the criminal justice system

Jun 1, 2013 6:00 AM CDT