Editor’s note: The author is a federal prisoner. The Fifth Circuit rejected his challenge to the stipulations in his case on Aug. 11, 2026, in an unpublished per curiam opinion (United States v. Castro, No. 24-11000). He has since submitted the Rule 23(d) proposal discussed here as Rules Suggestion 26-CR-39. Before a federal court accepts [...]
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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. Part 1 made the case, and Part 2 put it to work on 24 years of Massachusetts attorney [...]
The US Supreme Court’s emergency 6-3 ruling reviving the Trump administration’s expanded use of the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to cross-reference voter registries represents an alarming new frontier in the erosion of American voting rights. While framed by the executive branch as neutral administrative upkeep, the structural reality of this decision [...]
Commentary
sergeitokmakov / Pixabay
In May 2026, The Gambia’s High Court acquitted three women prosecuted in connection with the death of an infant following female genital mutilation (FGM). The court found that the child had died from injuries sustained during FGM, but in her ruling, Justice Isatou Janneh upheld a “no case to answer” submission by the defense on [...]
Commentary
1855 Cholera Map, John Snow, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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. Part 1 made the case, and Part 2 put it to work on 24 years of Massachusetts attorney [...]
Article 14(3)(f) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees free interpreter assistance to defendants who cannot understand or speak the language used in court. When a state fails to provide it, the obligation remains, but the practical burden falls on the defendant. Having faced criminal charges in Taiwan, a country whose [...]
As a US immigration lawyer who has spent years dealing with visa problems involving Russian citizens, I initially saw the recent report concerning Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov as another consular issue. Once I started looking at the rules that apply, however, it became clear that ordinary visa law only takes the analysis so [...]
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. Part 1 made the case, and Part 2 put it to work on 24 years of Massachusetts attorney [...]
Commentary
David Seymour, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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 [...]
