On September 2 nd , 2025, the United States carried out its first airstrike  against a Venezuelan vessel suspected of drug trafficking. Media reports  later alleged that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everyone,” prompting a second strike that killed two shipwrecked survivors. Subsequent congressional testimony disputed these allegations, but the strikes have nonetheless sparked intense legal scrutiny. Some members of Congress characterize th

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution states that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, an

Crime is down in America’s cities—or so our longstanding system for national crime reporting tells us. Claiming that those numbers lie, the Trump Administration  has deployed  swarms of federal agents and National Guardsmen to urban centers across the nation it claims are ravaged with crime. At the administration’s bidding, the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has launched an investigation  into the accuracy of Washington, D.C.’s crime statistics, whic

Sexually violent crimes are among the most psychologically devastating matters in the criminal legal system. Nearly every criminal law practitioner, whether defense, prosecution, or victim advocate, will eventually work with survivors of sexual abuse. Those who enter Special Victims Units may spend their entire careers navigating the intersection of law and trauma. Modern cases such as United States v. Epstein (2019)   reveal the consequences that arise when the criminal leg

These are privately owned and operated companies that perform genetic testing and ancestry matches with obscure policies on access to critical DNA information, including access for law enforcement matters without a warrant.

Data from the Innocence Project reveals that nearly a third of DNA exonerations involved false confessions.” “The threat of the ‘trial penalty’ can make pleading guilty seem like the only rational choice, even for someone who is innocent.” “When attorneys and judges approach confessions and pleas with skepticism, empathy, and a commitment to accuracy, the criminal legal system moves closer to its promise of justice for all.”