Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had reached a $470 million settlement with mega-bank HSBC related to mortgage lending and foreclosure fraud that led to the economic collapse of 2008. “This settlement illustrates the department’s continuing commitment to ensure responsible mortgage servicing,” Benjamin Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in […]
Law and Justice
Posted inLaw and Justice
New Mexico Bucks Criminal Justice Reform Trends, Moves Toward Harsher Penalties
Proponents of tough-on-crime policies aren’t throwing in the towel just yet. In late January, the Republican-controlled New Mexico House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand the number of violent felonies punishable under the state’s “three-strikes” law. Currently, New Mexico law mandates a life sentence for repeat offenders convicted of three separate violent […]
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Race-Based Gerrymandering Comes to the Court
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could have far-reaching effects on congressional representation for minority groups.
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Janus: Son of Son of Bush v Gore
Janus, like Friedrichs before it, accomplishes two things: It smashes unions and could help defeat Democrats.
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Obama Orders More Research on Gun Violence. But Will Congress Interfere?
For years, one of the federal obstacles that has most frustrated gun safety advocates is an old prohibition on gun violence research. Without robust data on the impact of guns, safety advocates say, policymakers are unable to respond effectively to the epidemic of gun violence plaguing the nation. On Tuesday, President Obama issued an executive […]
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Class-Action Suit Brings Sweeping Changes to Solitary Confinement in New York
Though there’s still much work to be done, the settlement marks a critical step for prison reform.
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Koch Campaign Strains Criminal Justice Coalition
Until recently, progressives have largely embraced the involvement of the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch in the push for criminal justice reform, including changes in mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Before conservative activists embraced the issue, the crisis of mass incarceration had largely languished on the back burner. But the involvement of the Kochs and […]
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Oregon Surveillance of Black Lives Matter Spotlights Racial Profiling Challenge
Allegations against the Oregon office tasked with combating racially targeted surveillance are reminiscent of the illegal monitoring of activists during the civil-rights movement.
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Bring Back Antitrust
Despite low inflation and some bargain prices, economic concentration and novel abuses of market power are pervasive in today’s economy—harming consumers, workers, and innovators. We need a new antitrust for a new predatory era.
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Who’s Behind Friedrichs?
The right-wing one-percenters who are funding a mega-attack on unions