Law

Cutting Public Defenders Can Cost Federal Government More

1:32pm August 26, 2013

by Ted Robbins

With the sequester, the Public Defender's Office in Tucson, Ariz., has lost a quarter of its staff. But everyone is entitled to legal representation, so judges are appointing expensive private attorneys in the public defenders' place.

Queue Listen Now

Troy Wallace with his wife, Lynda. Wallace is suing Suffolk County, N.Y., contending its new sex offender monitoring law violates his civil rights.

National

N.Y. County Outsources The Job Of Monitoring Sex Offenders

11:17am August 25, 2013

by Charles Lane

Suffolk County, on Long Island, is giving enforcement authority to a victims' advocacy group. Lawmakers call it a cost-effective way to keep citizens safe. But a local attorney who often represents sex offenders calls it a "vigilante exercise."

Queue Listen Now

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King waves to supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington.

National

Why It's Difficult To Find Full Video Of King's Historic Speech

12:11pm August 24, 2013

by Eyder Peralta

Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech is copyrighted, limiting its presence online. One organization, however, has decided to provide ready access to the video.

Queue Listen Now

The Crosstex NGL Pipeline is just one such project in the country that has forced long, unwanted legal battles between oil companies and landowners.

Legal Battles Over Land Rights, Pipelines Are On The Rise

2:24pm August 22, 2013

by Mose Buchele, KUT News

The industry estimates that the U.S. will need to add 2,000 miles of pipeline per year, and that's just natural gas. Oil will need its own infrastructure. That means there will be a lot of pipeline going through a lot of private land — along with sometimes long, drawn-out legal fights with landowners.

Queue Listen Now

The Eastman Kodak Co. corporate headquarters in Rochester, N.Y.

Kodak Reinvents Itself As Judge Approves Bankruptcy Exit

1:54pm August 22, 2013

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper has approved Kodak's plan to emerge from court oversight. That paves the way for it to be a much smaller company focused on commercial and packaging printing.

Queue Listen Now

Closing Arguments Begin Thursday In Fort Hood Shooting Trial

12:43pm August 22, 2013

by Wade Goodwyn

The court martial of Army Major Nidal Hasan is heading into its final phases at Fort Hood in Texas. Hasan has elected to offer no defense. Closing arguments begin Thursday morning, and then the case is set to go to the jury. Hasan faces the death penalty, accused of massacring 13 people and shooting 32 others.

Queue Listen Now

Lawyers For Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales To Ask For Leniency

12:43pm August 22, 2013

by Martin Kaste

The sentencing hearing for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales continues near Tacoma, Wash. He's pleaded guilty to attacking two Afghan villages last year, massacring 16 men, women and children. Because of the guilty plea, Bales is guaranteed a life sentence. The only question is whether he'll have a chance at parole.

Queue Listen Now

National

FISA Court: NSA Surveillance Program Was Unconstitutional

12:43pm August 22, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

The National Security Agency illegally collected emails of tens of thousands of Americans. The numbers are revealed in a newly declassified secret court opinion. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found the collection of those emails unconstitutional and ordered the NSA to fix the problem.

Queue Listen Now

John Willis, also known as "White Devil John" in Cantonese, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for money laundering and drug charges.

Chinatown's 'White Devil John' Sentenced To 20 Years

3:29pm August 18, 2013

by Hansi Lo Wang

In Massachusetts Thursday, John Willis was sentenced in federal court to 20 years in prison for money laundering and drug charges. Willis formed unlikely ties with one of Boston's Asian gangs after joining a Chinese family and learning to speak Cantonese as a teenager.

Queue Listen Now

Martin Luther King Jr. attends Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the Voting Rights Act on Aug. 6, 1965. During this time, the drug war was expanding.

National

The Shift In Black Views Of The War On Drugs

11:57am August 17, 2013

by Arun Venugopal

Attorney General Eric Holder called this week for sweeping changes to America's drug laws. He's part of a growing movement of black leaders pushing for major changes to the nation's 40-year war on drugs. But for decades, many African-American leaders supported tough sentencing rules.

Queue Listen Now