Policy & Politics
Maine Legalizes Assisted Suicide
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The state becomes the eighth to allow terminally ill people to end their lives with prescribed medication.
Policy & Politics
Legalized Abortions Tied to Crime Drop of 1990s
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As a wave of tougher abortion laws spreads across the U.S., a new study finds that crime dropped significantly between 1997 and 2014 in the five states where abortion was legalized in the 1970s, before Roe v Wade. The reason, according to the authors: Fewer unwanted children grew up in adverse circumstances that influenced future criminal behavior.
Policy & Politics
Inimai Chettiar Joins Justice Action Network
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In her new role as federal Legislative and Policy Director, she is expected to spearhead efforts by reformers to build on the progress of last year’s First Step Act and in the leadup to the 2020 election. She previously directed the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
Domestic Violence
DOJ Targets Domestic Abusers with Guns
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There has been an 80 percent increase over the last two years in the number of people charged under the federal law banning those convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from possessing firearms.
Congress
Jon Stewart Lashes Out at Congress Over 9/11 Victims Fund
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The firefighters, police officers, and others came to a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing despite illness and injuries, Stewart said, but some members of the committee chose not to show up.
Congress
House OKs Lawsuits Over Ignored Subpoenas
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The legislation authorizes the Judiciary Committee to take Attorney General William Barr to federal court for access to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s unredacted report and underlying evidence. It also empowers Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to begin legal proceedings to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to cooperate with the panel’s obstruction probe.
Policy & Politics
Trump Calls Pelosi ‘Horrible’ After Her ‘Prison’ Remark
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President Trump, in a Fox News interview, attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “a nasty, vindictive, horrible person” after she told colleagues she would like to see him in prison rather than impeached.
Viewpoints
How a 13th Amendment Loophole Created America’s Carceral State
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The 1865 amendment ended slavery, but it also contained a clause that condemned millions of African Americans to a different form of servitude— in a prison system that robbed them of their rights as citizens, writes a former Black Panther. He calls on the 2020 presidential candidates to endorse a campaign to “amend” the amendment.
Immigration
Why Trump’s Muslim Ban Isn’t the End of the Road for Humane Immigration Policy
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Despite the 2018 Supreme Court ruling to uphold President Trump’s executive order restricting entry of foreign nationals from Muslim and other countries considered sources of terrorism, a legal expert says advocates still have plenty of room to protect individuals affected by the ban.
Policy & Politics
NY Law Will Allow Prosecution of People Trump Pardons
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New York Attorney General Letitia James sought the new measure, which will permit her to file charges against anyone who is convicted of a federal crime and pardoned by President Trump.