In this five-part series, data analyst David Stasior argues that AI has made it possible to turn court and disciplinary records into data at scale, allowing the rule of law to be measured rather than just assumed. Here in Part 1, he makes the case. In Part 2, he puts it to work on 24 [...]

“A government of laws, and not of men.” John Adams (1775) What if US President Donald J. Trump gives the order to launch nuclear weapons? If the order appeared incoherent or irrational to designated commanders, would these military officers still follow it without question, on decisional “autopilot”? Or would they correctly acknowledge that chain-of-command obligations [...]

In July, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released an updated Youth Justice: A Guidebook for Legislators and refreshed its Juvenile Justice Toolkit. The timing matters. State lawmakers continue to confront questions about age of jurisdiction, diversion, transfer to adult court, restorative justice, and data reporting while trying to balance rehabilitation, accountability, and public [...]

The Department of Justice has moved to enter a Minnesota assault case on the side of the defendant. Hennepin County charged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two motorists. Morgan sought to move the case to federal court, claiming [...]

“I’m scared of those women in chadors.” “There’s nothing to be scared of. Not all of them are supporters of the government. Look at my aunts. They dress like that.” “Yeah, but you can’t trust them. Look at the way they’re looking at me. I feel like they’re going to come and choke me. I’m [...]

Imagine the vast Pacific, with its rhythm of trade winds and currents, warming as though a fever were spreading across its surface. Fishermen along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador notice their nets returning empty, rains arrive where deserts once stood, and drought grips lands that once thrived. This recurring phenomenon is known as El [...]

As a physician, I have spent a career on the far side of a fact pattern I did not choose. This is the moment when something prescribed or administered goes wrong inside a body that trusted it not to. I have seen that more than once. It would be more comfortable to cast myself as [...]

There are evenings when I walk through my apartment as if the apartment were a badly designed republic whose entire constitutional order depends upon the imagination of one person, and I take upon myself, with a seriousness that is immediately undermined by the absurdity of the situation, the role of the president of the United [...]

On January 14, 2026, the US Department of State announced that it would suspend immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries beginning one week later. The stated concern was public charge: the State Department described the affected nationalities as at high risk of relying on public benefits. The instructions sent to US embassies and [...]

An Iranian court has announced that crude removed from the US-owned Advantage Sweet tanker has been sold for $36 million to $37 million. The proceeds, held by Iran’s judiciary, are intended to satisfy a damages judgment for 771 Iranians with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) over sanctions-related barriers to medical supplies. The vessel was released in 2024. [...]