by OpenFile | Jun 13, 2019 | North Carolina, The Open File Blog
Much about the U.S. Supreme Court is deeply opaque. It’s very hard – maybe impossible – to know which petitions the Justices will grant, what issues they care about, or how they will adjudicate any given case. One thing we do know is that several Republican-appointed...
by OpenFile | Mar 8, 2019 | The Open File Blog, Virginia
In the words of Tammy Wynette, “sometimes it’s hard to be a woman.” Just as she sang, being a feminist who supports survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence and also believes in decarceration and criminal justice reform can be difficult, especially when trying...
by OpenFile | Feb 8, 2019 | Illinois
Ah, our old friend: unreliable jailhouse informant testimony. When the state’s case is based on weak evidence, when prosecutors are under added pressure to convict for, say, the murder of a cop, here it comes. Prosecutors just keep on using it. Maybe they do so...
by OpenFile | Dec 18, 2018 | National
A run of recent developments and news commentary this week underscores the powerful role that line prosecutors play in perpetuating a culture that favors abuses of power, overreach and misconduct in local DA offices. A recent article in The American Conservative...
by OpenFile | Dec 7, 2018 | Louisiana
The Louisiana federal prosecutor known for his prolific online rants (about cases his office was prosecuting, no less) has been held to account by the state’s highest court. Six years after former senior litigation counsel Sal Perricone of the U.S. Attorney’s...
