All Law & Courts
Threats to judges mount, challenging independence, norms, and rule of lawWith threats against and violence toward judges doubling in recent years, the rule of law now feels more vulnerable to intimidation than ever.聽
First LookSupreme Court orders Trump to release $2 billion in foreign aid paymentsThe Supreme Court left in place a lower court鈥檚 decision to pause the Trump administration鈥檚 spending freeze. The administration had appealed U.S. District Judge Amir Ali鈥檚 deadline to give the federal government until Feb. 26 to pay out $2 billion in aid.
Mexico faces US gunmakers in Supreme Court, saying they fuel cartel crimeDo U.S. arms manufacturers bear responsibility for the guns fueling cartel violence in Mexico? Mexico is arguing that case before the Supreme Court.
Trump has reduced US safeguards against corruption and white-collar crimePresident Trump is scaling back enforcement efforts against white-collar crimes. Could that become an invitation to corruption and tax evasion?
First LookSupreme Court halts Trump attempt to fire head of whistleblower office 鈥� for nowThe unsigned order keeping on job the head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers is the court鈥檚 first word on President Donald Trump鈥檚 agenda.聽
Uproar over Mayor Adams deepens concern about Justice Dept. politicization under TrumpThe Justice Department鈥檚 effort to dismiss an indictment against New York鈥檚 mayor is igniting charges that U.S. courts are increasingly politicized.
The Supreme Court has helped presidential power expand. Trump may test its limits.The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed presidential power to steadily expand in recent decades. Now the court may review Trump administration efforts to expand executive branch authority.
As judges say 鈥榮top,鈥� the question is whether Trump will complyCongress and the courts are a check on presidential power. But what if the executive branch, charged with enforcing laws and rulings, doesn鈥檛 heed them?
But is it legal? Musk鈥檚 DOGE is stripping agencies before judges can rule.F鈥媟om accessing computers to halting spending and firing workers, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are testing the legal limits of executive branch power.
Trump pledges FBI reform, but big purge of agents could backfirePossible widespread firings of FBI鈥� agents are raising concerns about 鈥媡he agency鈥檚 ability to keep the public safe and to be politically independent.
Trump鈥檚 order ending birthright citizenship could upend 150 years of lawPresident Trump鈥檚 order curtailing birthright citizenship faces lawsuits over the 14th Amendment. This may be prelude to other efforts to end it.
Do Biden鈥檚 preemptive pardons offer a safety valve or set bad precedent?Joe Biden鈥檚 eleventh-hour preemptive pardons for his family and Trump critics are raising further questions about the use of presidential pardons.
First LookBiden says Equal Rights Amendment should be considered ratifiedPresident Joe Biden聽says the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the Constitution. The national archivist disagrees.
As Trump cases end, what next for presidents and the law?Two years ago, a former American president faced four criminal trials. Three of them didn鈥檛 happen. The fourth gave no penalty. Was justice served?
Outside the DC jail, where Jan. 6 rage and devotion live onParticipants in the vigils argue there has been a miscarriage of justice that they hope will be righted when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
First LookDOJ concludes Tulsa Race Massacre was horrific. But there鈥檚 no one left to prosecute.The more than 120-page report released on Jan. 10 outlined the scope and impact of the attack that left as many as 300 people dead. Investigators found federal reports written just days after it happened, in 1921, but no evidence prosecutors evaluated them.
From the MagazineThis police unit put away its riot gear. Now it walks and talks with protesters.In Columbus, Ohio, police are rethinking how to manage unruly Gaza street protests. Their 鈥渄ialogue unit鈥� could become a model for other U.S. cities.
New York judge gives Trump an 鈥榰nconditional discharge鈥� sentence, but a felon labelThe judge in Donald Trump鈥檚 hush money case sentenced the president-elect to an 鈥渦nconditional discharge.鈥欌�� His conviction stands, but with no more penalties.
The ExplainerPublic safety or free speech? What鈥檚 at stake in the TikTok case.The Supreme Court will hear the TikTok case Friday, ahead of a Jan. 19 ban. What鈥檚 at stake for the media platform and its users in the United States?
New Orleans attack intensifies watch against US terrorism, political violenceNew Year鈥檚 Day attacks show a changing threat matrix for U.S. cities, amid the rising use of vehicles as weapons and the embrace of political violence聽by some Americans to address grievances.
