The Courts Won’t End Gerrymandering. Eric Holder Has a Plan to Fix It Without Them.
On a frigid March morning, Eric Holder strode into a brick union hall on the west side of Milwaukee, across from a credit union and an auto body shop. The Merrill Park neighborhood was once the center of the city’s Irish political machine, filled with stately Victorian houses—including the childhood home of Spencer Tracy—but it…
Protesters Want Mayor Pete to Address Racial Violence in His Hometown. On the Campaign Trail, He’s Dodging the Issue.
Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a forum on Friday, June 21, 2019, in Miami.Brynn Anderson In one of his first appearances back on the campaign trail since a white police officer shot and killed a black man in his city, South Bend mayor and 2020 Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg…
More People Than Ever Say They Support Trans Rights. But Do They Support the Policies?
LGBTQ activists and supporters rally in support of transgender people at New York City Hall in late 2018.Drew Angerer / Getty Images A survey by the Public Religion Research Institute made headlines last week with its finding that 62 percent of Americans say they have become more supportive of transgender rights in the last five years. Media…
The Los Angeles County DA Has Put 22 People on Death Row. Not One of Them Was White.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie LaceyAlex J. Berliner/AP In Los Angeles County, only people of color have been sentenced to death in the last seven years. In a new report titled “The California Death Penalty Is Discriminatory, Unfair, and Officially Suspended: So Why Does Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey Still Seek to Use…
South Dakota’s “Riot-Boosting” Law Aims to Curb the Next Standing Rock Before it Even Starts
Dakota Access pipeline protesters face off with law enforcement during the final raid of the Standing Rock prayer camp on February 22, 2017.Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/Zuma During the 2016 protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, Dallas Goldtooth became internet famous for his broadcasts from “Facebook Hill,” the one area of the prayer camps on the Standing Rock…
California Is Considering Ending Criminal Court Fees and Wiping Out Billions in Debt
Susann Prautsch/Getty Three years ago, during Brandon Greene’s first week working as a lawyer in a new clinic affiliated with the East Bay Community Law Center, he was handed a stack of cases to review. Each involved a client who was struggling to pay down the fines and fees that easily accumulate in California’s criminal justice system. It was his job…