Under a state law enacted this year, individuals can face additional penalties if they’re caught wearing a face covering while committing a crime.
The governor is calling for closure of an unspecified prison as a cost-saving measure. The state’s inmate population is down 45 percent from its peak in 2006.
Corrections work shouldn’t be a stressed-out, dead-end job. There are promising ideas for turning it into a mission-driven profession.
The new administration has aggressively pulled back from consumer protection and corporate regulation, leaving it up to the states to protect Americans from abusive business practices.
The new laws will make it easier for long-term inmates to apply for parole and for ex-inmates to expunge their criminal records after serving time.
With bipartisan support, the legislature has passed one of the nation's most expansive bills offering protection to abuse survivors convicted or accused of a crime connected to their abuse. Other states may follow.
Rather than limiting curfews to downtown, police could give teens a half-hour to disperse from any part of the city at any time.
Diverting young people who commit low-level offenses to community support programs can help them avoid incarceration down the line. Girls in particular may benefit from these tactics.
Too often people think of jury service as a hassle and a financial burden, rather than an empowering way to participate in justice. Some courts are trying to fix that and, in the process, make it easier to diversify their jury pools.
Above all, staff needs support. And there are techniques for keeping violence in check. Everybody — officers, inmates and communities — benefits.
Legislators are expected to pass a bill this week that would take oversight of the police away from the city. That Civil War-era approach had been ended by state voters in 2012.
Police have increasingly adopted drones and ground robots to supplement their work. But departments often lack clear policies on the tools’ uses.
GOP Gov. Brian Kemp is pushing hard for a civil litigation overhaul, contending that excessive damages are harming businesses and driving up insurance costs. Opponents say it would give too big a break to negligent companies.
Threats and harassment have become common, prompting an Oregon proposal to criminalize such behavior. Although limited to threats of imminent violence, critics say it would still stifle free speech.
Jeff Landry has secured $42 million to reopen a youth prison in the Baton Rouge area, part of his push to expand juvenile incarceration facilities.
Mike Madigan, a former state Democratic Party chair, had been the longest-serving chamber leader in U.S. history. A jury has found him guilty of multiple counts in a wide-ranging bribery scandal.
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