Outside the Beltway

We need to do better.

tl;dr: Trump is a nightmare client & nightmare clients don’t do well in criminal courts

With the help of Popehat, I call out issues with the Fulton County case &, in doing so, piss everyone off

“Classical liberals” really need to rediscover self examination

An example of why its a good idea to wait for data before making policy decisions.

Another example of the arbitrariness of the death penaly

When belief is more important than facts

Police and the Punisher Skull

Are we too regulated for our own good?

“Protect and Serve” is just a slogan, not a guarantee.

Despite their military trappings and propaganda, they’re seldom heroes.

It doesn’t appear the Uvalde TX police were underfunded

An example of security theater with proven negative social impacts

Very little progress has been made towards racial justice.

Tragedy has played out so often that it has become a statistic.

The 45th President was a psychopath.

A follow on from yesterday.

An extraordinary example shines light on coercive factors that incentivize plea deals

A former Virginia police officer has been found guilty, partly on the testimony of a former colleague.

A potentially more representative map that still underscores deep flaws in our system.

Two hundred-odd people have pled or been found guilty. One has been acquitted.

Most people liked it more than I did.

Two notorious cases indicate a policy shift on federal prosecutions of cases already tried in lower courts.

An example of how lack of regulation leads to practices that damage public faith in policing

Surprisingly, yes.

A protest against vaccine mandates is growing with a little help from our adversaries.

But from what? Comparing two stories from Tennessee that show our society’s contradictory impulses when it comes to “protecting the children.”

Did the President exceed his mandate? Does it matter?

Not Mayberry. Not even close.

The safety gap between affluent, white and poor, minority communities has grown over the last three decades.

A necessary but likely irrelevant gesture.

We’re likely to see more instances like the Capitol Riot and the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings.

A long peek at history in the making.

Kimberly Webb Joyner, my first wife and the mother of my children, has been gone a decade.

A just verdict—but just a verdict.

A depressing magazine piece argues it is.

The reactions to a verdict that were predictable (indeed, predicted) are over the top.

Too woke! Not woke enough!

Running against Trump didn’t work this year.

Officers are under enormous pressure–including from the Federal government–to write tickets.

There is a lot of anger out there.

Pretrial rulings strengthen his self-defense claims.

An amusing incident highlights how far we’ve fallen.

Eleven years after it was canceled, the police procedural is being brought back for a 21st season.

The weirdest goddamn story you’re likely to read today.

When “the news” isn’t just “the news.”

The Philippine president is taking a novel approach to the problem.

An emotional day set the tone for the investigation.

Emotional testimony from police will kick off the event.

Oh, FFS.