Outside the Beltway

The Supreme Court begins another term faced with the prospect of having to spend much of their time dealing with the fact that they’re short a member.

After four straight losses, prosecutors in Baltimore are throwing in the towel in the Freddie Gray case.

Thirty five years after trying to kill President Reagan, John W. Hinckley Jr. is close to being a free man.

A horrific night in Dallas.

When it comes to the protections of the Fourth Amendment, it doesn’t matter if you’re “guilty” or “innocent,” it protects all of us.

An acquittal in one of the six Freddie Gray cases, but not an unexpected one.

Pfizer has become the latest drug maker from barring its products from being used in executions.

In a huge step forward for criminal justice reform, Virginia’s Governor has restored voting rights for some 200,000 people who have paid their debt to society.

A victory in the fight to reform civil asset forfeiture laws.

The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination.

A setback for prosecutors in the Freddie Gray case.

Yesterday, cable news networks, and most especially MSNBC, showed their profession at its most pathetic.

We still don’t know very much about Robert Dear, the man who shot and killed three people at the site of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado, but that hasn’t stopped the usual suspects from politicizing the case.

In the wake of the attacks in Paris, some people have argued that American solidarity with France, in contrast to seeming disregard for tragedy elsewhere, is something we should feel bad about. That argument is ridiculous.

Senator Bernie Sanders wants to let states decide how to regulate marijuana, or to not regulate it at all if they choose. Intellectually honest conservatives should support his effort.

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

To the surprise of nobody who was actually paying attention to political reality, Vice-President Biden announced today that he will not be a candidate for President.

Canada’s Liberal Party ran on a platform that includes nationwide marijuana legalization. With the election won, it seems only a matter of time before Canadians will be able to light up legally.

When may I shoot a student?

Up to 13 people are dead and as many 20 injured after another mass shooting on a college campus.

The problem goes beyond the War on Drugs.

Removing the responsibility to investigate police misconduct from the prosecutors who have to work with those police on a daily basis is a good idea.

A good first step, but there’s a lot more than needs to be done to reform the criminal justice system.

A Republican political consultant says Hillary Clinton is in danger of losing the nomination.

If you’re under 21 in Hawaii, you’re still technically an adult but you can’t buy tobacco.

A Cleveland police officer has been acquitted of manslaughter and other charges in a case that resulted in the death of two African-American individuals.

Rand Paul held the Senate floor for nearly twelve hours yesterday to talk about the PATRIOT Act, but it’s unclear if he accomplished anything.

An elite FBI Forensics unit gave flawed and false testimony in cases over a period that lasted more than 20 years.

A new Justice Department report has found widespread racial bias in the Ferguson Police Department, but it’s a problem that goes far beyond one Missouri suburb.

Nearly three years to the day after it started, the George Zimmerman case is essentially over.

Reflecting a growing national trend away from the barbarity of capital punishment, the Governor of Pennsylvania has imposed a moratorium on executions in the Keystone State.

Nebraska and Oklahoma are suing Colorado over the Centennial State’s decision to legalize marijuana, but they don’t seem to have much of a case.

Even leaving aside the fact that it is far too early to be making such assessments, the idea that Rand Paul is the front runner for the Republican nomination in 2016 fails the logic test.

Many have suggested that prosecution of cases involving police misconduct should be handled by prosecutors who don’t work with local police departments on a regular basis. They’re right.

Not surprisingly a new poll finds that African-Americans perceive the American justice system far differently than whites.

A former RNC chair says a black man’s life isn’t worth a ham sandwich.

Regardless of the outcome of the Michael Brown investigation, there are legitimate problems that need to be addressed.

We appear to be just days away from an announcement from the Grand Jury investigating the Michael Brown shooting, and the consensus seems to be that there will be no indictment at all.

Rebranding alone isn’t going to fix what’s causing the GOP to lose ground among a whole host of demographic groups.

The Koch Brothers are putting money behind an effort to reform a part of the legal system that is ignored far too often.

New York State’s gun law takes rights away from nearly 35,000 people without any due process whatsoever.

Everything old is new again.

The numbers don’t lie.

One of last members of President Obama’s original cabinet is stepping aside.

17-year veteran of the LAPD says, “If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me.”

In some sense, justice has prevailed.

The Grey Lady sees the light on a major part of the War On Drugs.