Law

Politics & Government

With Holder In The Lead, Sentencing Reform Gains Momentum

11:21am August 07, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement officer, is calling for a sea change in the criminal justice system. The attorney general is joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who want to overhaul prison sentencing policies.

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Trains that once deposited travelers for shopping and dining in dusty Sierra Blanca, Texas, no longer stop here. Interstates further eroded the local economy as more people chose to live and shop in El Paso, 85 miles away.

National

Border Drug Busts Putting Strain On Texas County's Budget

7:25pm August 06, 2013

The federal immigration checkpoint in Hudspeth County rounds up a lot more illegal drugs than undocumented immigrants. The feds used to help the county prosecute the low-level drug cases, but that money is drying up and the county is going to stop bringing minor cases to court, much to the sheriff's displeasure.

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National

DOJ Sues Bank Of America Over Mortgage-Backed Securities

7:25pm August 06, 2013

by Chris Arnold

The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America, alleging that the company lied to investors about the relative riskiness of the mortgage loans backing the residential mortgage-backed securities, made false statements after intentionally not performing proper due diligence and filled the securitization with a disproportionate amount of risky mortgages.

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Maj. Nidal Hasan faces 13 charges of murder and 32 of attempted murder for the November 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.

National

Court-Martial To Begin Tuesday In Fort Hood Shooting Rampage

10:59am August 06, 2013

by Doreen McCallister

Former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with opening fire in a troop processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, and killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in 2009.

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With Budgets Tight, Small Towns Go Without Courthouses

6:06am August 06, 2013

by Emily Green

Across the country, courthouses are closing in response to financial woes. California is in the process of shuttering almost 80 courts, many in remote locations. Litigants must now travel long distances to handle small claims, criminal cases and other legal matters.

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The U.S. Trade Representative has overturned a ban on the import of the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2.

Trade Case Puts Apple In Washington's Sights

7:08pm August 05, 2013

by Laura Sydell

Apple has been notoriously disinterested in Washington politics. But two recent decisions coming from the Obama administration — one involving iPhones, the other dealing with e-books — indicate that Washington is increasingly interested in Apple.

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At 18, Gabrielle Turnquest is the youngest person in the history of the English legal system to be admitted to the bar.

Education

U.S. Teen Is Youngest Ever To Pass Britain's Bar Exams

6:38pm August 04, 2013

by NPR Staff

An 18-year-old from Florida is the youngest person to be admitted to the bar in the United Kingdom.

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John Ryan, CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, speaks during a press conference about a child sex trafficking operation on Monday in Washington.

National

Online And Anonymous: New Challenges To Prosecuting Sex Trafficking

1:50pm August 04, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Internet is changing the tactics used by both pimps and law enforcement. While sex traffickers can conduct business anonymously online, investigators can mine Internet data to try and catch them.

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Daniel Ellsberg was a military analyst in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret study of U.S. government decision-making in Vietnam.

Pentagon Papers Leaker Daniel Ellsberg Praises Snowden, Manning

4:49pm August 03, 2013

by Scott Neuman

The man who in 1971 went public with the comprehensive study of two decades of U.S. policy in Vietnam spoke with NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday.

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Chris Viehland helps her daughter Jenna try on shoes for the new school year at a Famous Footwear store in Fenton, Mo., Aug. 9, 2012.

As Back-To-School Shopping Begins, Consumers May Turn Frugal

6:01pm August 02, 2013

Most economists say this year's back-to-school sales will be slower than last summer's because consumers have been coping with more expensive gasoline and higher payroll taxes. Still, several states are offering tax-free shopping to encourage purchases.

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