The Department of Justice Practice That Robs TaxpayersThird-party contribution requirements are rife with opportunities for political cronyism.
Man hit with felony charges for handing out jury nullification fliersA Michigan man was arrested and charged with a felony for handing out fliers informing people of their jury nullification rights on the sidewalk in front of a courthouse. Keith Wood, 39, faces a felony charge for obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor for attempting to influence jurors.
‘Pay-to-stay’: Jails regularly charge inmates for food, basic servicesA 1982 state law allows Illinois corrections officials to sue inmates for their periods of incarceration, but the practice was rarely used until recently. Since 2010, Illinois has sued 31 former inmates or parolees, with 11 suits occurring in the first 10 months of 2015, according to the Chicago Tribune.
US court blocks release of memos justifying targeted drone killings of American citizens abroadThe controversial subject of US targeted drone killings came up again, as an appeals court blocked the initiative to disclose documents that tackle the legality of using unmanned vehicles to kill American terror suspects abroad.
Man suing police ‘armed to the teeth’ for using SWAT tactics during a ‘welfare check’It started out as a “welfare check,” but even without a warrant or probable cause, the police encounter transformed into a full scale SWAT-style raid. That is just part of the ordeal for which one man is suing the Albemarle County Police.
Too powerful and invasive: Federal judge lays out strict rules for ‘Stingray’ surveillance warrantsCiting privacy concerns, an Illinois judge has issued requirements that federal law enforcement working with local police must follow when applying for a warrant to use cell-site simulators, also known as ‘Stingrays,’ during an investigation.
‘Cop kicked in the door’: NC police fatally shoot man who told them to get warrantA North Carolina sheriff’s deputy visiting a home during an investigation was told a suspect no longer lived at the residence and to get a search warrant. The deputy then kicked down the door, beat and tased John Livingston, finally fatally shooting him.
America Disregarded 4,000 Years of History In Responding to the Great RecessionWe’ve known for over 4,000 years that debts need to be periodically written down, or the entire economy will collapse. After all, debt grows exponentially … while economies only grow in an s-curve. The ancient Sumerians and Babylonians, the early Jews and Christians, the Founding Fathers of the United States and others throughout history knew that private debts had to be periodically forgiven.
Tor Project accuses FBI of paying university to ‘deanonymize’ users without warrantTor Project, the world’s largest anonymous online network, claims the FBI illegally paid security researchers at a leading university $1 million to unveil the identities of the site’s users, based on court documents in a Silk Road 2.0 trial.
U.S. Probes Treasuries Niche That Investors Claim Is Rigged by Big BanksU.S. officials investigating the $12.8 trillion market for U.S. Treasuries are zeroing in on a practice of trading the debt before it’s issued, said a person familiar with the matter — spotlighting trades that several recent lawsuits allege are part of big banks’ efforts to rig Treasury markets.
Condi Rice, ICANN, and millions paid to lobby the US govt for total internet controlSpecial report Just minutes after the board of internet overseer ICANN applauded the results of a review into its accountability – announced at a public meeting in Dublin – the mood soured.
Harvard Law School Launches “Free the Law” Project with Ravel Law to Digitize US Case Law, Provide Free AccessCAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwired – October 29, 2015) – Harvard Law School today announced that, with the support of Ravel Law, a legal research and analytics platform, it is digitizing its entire collection of U.S. case law, one of the largest collections of legal materials in the world, and that it will…
‘Intrusive’ and ‘secretive’: ACLU obtains government docs on Stingray surveillanceThe ACLU has acquired the Justice Department’s guidelines on the use of Stingray technology, showing the surveillance tools are capable of tracking targets, recording and listening in on calls – even of innocent parties – and bugging.
Wikimedia vs. NSA lawsuit dismissed in US over lack of surveillance proofA lawsuit brought by Wikimedia against the NSA for spying did not see the light of day, as a US federal judge dismissed the case, stating there was no way to know whether the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, was actually under surveillance. US District Judge Richard D.
‘Jailhouse shakedown:’ ACLU sues Mississippi town that jails poor in debtor’s prisonA lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union accuses Biloxi, Mississippi of illegally arresting and jailing poor people without a hearing or representation by legal counsel. The three plaintiffs in the suit were arrested and jailed for failing to pay fines. ” It’s essentially a jailhouse shakedown.
‘Little Guantanamos’: Super-secret US prison units axe communications for inmatesAn investigative journalist is speaking out about the Bureau of Prisons’ use of Communication Management Units to house political and religious prisoners, primarily Muslims. Once inside, inmates have restricted rights to visits, phone calls, and letters. ” The people who are there …
Chicago PD detained 7,000 people at off-the-books interrogation siteMore than 7,000 people have been detained, ‘disappeared’ and not given access to an attorney at a police-run facility in Chicago, Illinois, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. This number is much higher than previously believed.