How can qualified immunity continue to be a protective shield for officers who neglect their duties, especially in cases where lives are at stake?
Imagine waking up one day to find your car or even your home is no longer yours. Law enforcement, armed with the authority of civil asset forfeiture, has seized it, suspecting connections to criminal activity.
Even though you are innocent, the burden of proof is on you, it’s near impossible to get your case in front of a judge, and it could be years before you get your property back.
Now, this may sound like the plot of a dystopian novel, but for countless individuals across the United States, it’s a terrifying reality.
The KGB still runs Russia. In its structure of power, the same organization that inflicted terror in Soviet times is still calling the shots.
Whether you’re on the right or the left, if you care about civil rights, property rights, or liberty, abolishing civil asset forfeiture should be high on your agenda.
All over this country, prison cells are filled with innocent people falsely convicted for crimes they did not commit, and many of them will spend the rest of their lives regretting the day they agreed to talk to the police.
Trump’s executive order is exactly the kind of high-handed coercion of states that outraged conservatives under Obama.
The Cato Institute has released Policing in America—an extensive national public opinion report that explores Americans’ attitudes toward the police based on an original Cato Institute/YouGov national survey of 2,000 Americans.
December 5, 1933 is a landmark date in American Constitutional history, for it marks the only time that a constitutional amendment has been ratified to repeal another constitutional amendment.
We’re learning that while laws against police brutality exist, they don’t seem to be enforced.
Every day, AT&T adds four billion call records to Hemisphere, making it one of the largest known reservoirs of communications metadata that the government uses to spy on us.
An Associated Press investigation has revealed that, across the United States, police officers abuse their access to confidential databases to look up information on neighbors, love interests, politicians, and others who had no connection to a criminal investigation. The databases house intensely personal information—not just criminal histories, but car registration, home addresses, phone numbers, and […]
A lack of basic police accountability foments distrust within communities, especially communities of color, turning the social contract on its head.
Metro and I do not get along. Even when it isn’t on fire, which is rare, it manages to burn me up. A few weeks ago, I was on my way home from a party. I looked great, was a little tipsy, and was upset because I had dropped my phone while walking to the […]
The recent protests in major cities nationwide against police violence have showcased the degree to which the lines between the police and military have been blurred. Weapons of war, including tanks, rifles, and paramilitary units, are increasingly being used by police on American streets. SWAT raids, once used only in high-intensity situations like bank robberies […]
This week, in a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained in unlawful stops can be admitted in court if the person being searched has a warrant out for their arrest. This contrasted the lower court’s decision, which stated that the 4th amendment prevents illegally-obtained evidence from being used at trial. The […]
Last month, we noted that a police officer in San Antonio was fired after he body slammed a 12-year-old girl. In addition to his excessive use of force, the officer in question failed to properly report the incident. This case is a win for police accountability, but it’s also just one of the latest examples […]
Editor’s note: This blog post contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault. Reader’s discretion is advised. I lived in Erlangen, Germany for much of 2009, getting around on a bicycle. After the big April beer festival, the “Bergkirchweih,” my lock was cut and my bike was thrown down a hill and set on fire (it […]
Should police officers be obligated to inform suspects when they can refuse to be searched? Why might it be wise to refuse to consent to a search, even if the person being searched is not guilty of a crime and has ‘nothing to hide?’
Tensions between police and the citizens of Chicago are continuing to rise after CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in November. Even calls for the mayor’s resignation have begun echoing across the United States. Now, a top Chicago lawyer has stepped down after being accused of hiding evidence in another fatal […]
Should police officers go on trial every time they kill another person? If not, what are the appropriate considerations for police actions (and possible crimes) in the context of the line of duty, and are they used in America today? Be sure to check out our new video on police brutality in the wake of […]
Dozens of innocent people are terrorized, shot, or killed each year because of botched SWAT team drug raids on wrong houses. Dozens more are killed each year because of botched SWAT team drug raids on the correct houses. This needless suffering and death is largely a result of the massive increase in police militarization in […]
The following blog post by Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute originally appeared on Cato’s blog on December 1st, 2015. Read an excerpt below. Backpage offers 11 categories of ads, primarily facilitating mundane transactions like used-lawnmower sales and vacation rentals but also with an “adult” section broken down into titillating subcategories such as “dom[ination] & […]
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