Read Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in Utah v. Strieff

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-3  that the exclusionary rule does not apply when an officer makes an illegal stop, runs a warrant check on the suspect’s ID, learns that the suspect has an outstanding warrant, and then searches the suspect incident to arrest on the warrant. But you need to read Justice Sotomayor’s …

Not “reproductive rights,” but reproductive justice

Read this very-good essay from Dorothy Roberts at Dissent. It includes: The language of choice has proved useless for claiming public resources that most women need in order to maintain control over their bodies and their lives. Indeed, giving women “choices” has eroded the argument for state support, because women without sufficient resources are simply …

File this under “de-criminalize poverty.”

A so-called “right to rest” bill is winding its way through the California legislature, and some city officials are nervous. The bill, from that previous link: would allow homeless individuals to sit, stand, eat or rest without it being a criminal offense. Business owners often oppose such a bill, for fear that public loitering by …

If you’ve nothing better to do…

…(and you’re in Hartford on Tuesday), I’m part of a panel at the Old State House at noon, “America’s Most Unpopular War: Dissension, Debate and the War of 1812.” As it turns out, the War of 1812 was not popular here in Connecticut. I’ll be discussing dissent in more recent times. You can register by …