Private prisons hold over 100,000 people in the U.S. Some say they provide needed flexibility as corrections populations change and budgets shrink. But what really happens when punishment is about profit?
Lauren-Brooke Eisen is Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center’s Justice Program and author of Inside Private Prisons: An American Dilemma in the Age of Mass Incarceration.
Read MoreJohn from Dayton calls in with another question: how does the discovery process work in civil law, and how does it apply in criminal cases?
Read MoreThe killing of Antwon Rose, an unarmed African American teenager shot by police in East Pittsburgh, PA, is a recent and tragic example of what can go wrong when local law enforcement agencies are too small.
Read MoreDavid joins the panel on WESA's The Confluence July 20 to discuss SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh's judicial record on criminal justice, individual rights, and civil liberties.
Read MorePrisons in the U.S. frequently use long-term solitary confinement, even though the evidence makes clear that solitary has devastating effects on prisoners’ mental and physical health. Some authorities call long-term solitary nothing short of torture. So what can we make of our prisons using solitary for people with significant disabilities? If solitary devastates so-called normal prisoners, what does it do to those with severe physical or cognitive impairments?
Read MoreHow might we expect Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to rule on criminal justice issues? His record on criminal cases is sparse, but there are some telling details...
Read MoreAn update on Kentucky lawyer Eric Conn, who pled guilty to one of the biggest cons in the history of Social Security only to flee the country.
Read MoreIn the US, we incarcerate our fellow citizens at the highest rate in the world. And once they are in prison, we give the incarcerated not another thought. But one program works to help improve our imprisoned population, by teaching them college courses inside – along with college students, from the outside.
Read MoreAt the close of a momentous U.S. Supreme Court term, producer Josh Raulerson joins David to review the most important decisions on criminal justice cases.
Read MoreWith the news of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, we review some of the important decisions in which he played a key role, and consider how his departure may affect the Court's approach to criminal justice cases.
Read MoreIn what's turned out to be a week of bombshell Supreme Court news, a lesser-noticed (but still notable) ruling in Carpenter v U.S.: a 5-4 majority concurs that police need a warrant to track someone's location using data from cellular towers.
Read MoreEvery four years, the whole sports-loving planet is watching soccer’s World Cup. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport – so how did its governing body, FIFA, become the focus of the most massive corruption scandal in sports history? And why was that scandal broken by U.S. law enforcement?
Read MoreThe Trump administration has claimed its policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border is required under existing laws. That's true -- if you choose to carry out blanket criminal prosecution of all illegal border crossings, including those made by legitimate asylum-seekers. Why has every previous administration opted to enforce the law through civil proceedings only? And what does today's executive order actually do?
Read MoreU.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared war on legal marijuana in January. How's that working out?
Read MoreWe often hear that police work requires split-second responses to keep officers and the public safe. But this might be less true than we think. Can we build a better cop, by training them to slow things down?
Read MoreTechnological change is disrupting seemingly every field. How will it impact criminal justice systems around the world in the future?
Read MoreWhy would a defense attorney decide not to put up a defense at all? Dave answers a question from Liddy in Long Island.
Read MorePolice need a warrant to search your home and surrounding property... but not your vehicle. What if your vehicle is parked on your property? A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling settles the matter.
Read MoreA disability lawyer in Texas demonstrates why, when you're in a hole, it's best to stop digging.
Read MoreThe word “torture” conjures images of Abu Ghraib in Iraq, or waterboarding at CIA black sites. But in the 70s and 80s, torture went on in parts of the Chicago Police Department for years. We’ll learn what happened, and we’ll talk about the consequences for civilians and the justice system.
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