Carrie Johnson

By a 5-4 majority along ideological lines, the Supreme Court has ruled that Illinois can't compel home health aides to pay union dues because it violates the First Amendment. The ruli...

The death penalty is in trouble — drug shortages, botched executions and lawsuits are calling the idea of a "humane" execution into question. Some states are returning to previously abandoned methods.

U.S. strategy that relies on armed drones to kill terrorism suspects overseas "rests on questionable assumptions and risks increasing instability and escalating costs," according to a year-long study by a group of prominent military, intelligence and foreign policy experts.

The report, released early Thursday by the Stimson Center, concludes ...

David Goodman says last year the Supreme Court gutted the civil rights law that Andrew Goodman and other Freedom Summer activists gave their lives for.

On Monday, a federal court made public a long-secret memo that lays out the Obama administration's legal justification for killing an American citizen in a drone strike. The memo, whi...

Whistleblowers say Customs and Border Protection employees are misusing an overtime program designed for law enforcement emergencies. It's said to be costing taxpayers $40 million a year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under fire for failing to investigate use of force along the border, ousted its longtime head of internal affairs. The new man in charge is an FBI official.

FBI Director Jim Comey serves for a decade, longer than a president or any other national official. That tenure's designed to insulate the FBI from political influence.

A law to educate inmates about their rights and how to report sexual violence crimes went into effect in 2003. But most states are still not in full compliance. Others are protesting the rules.

One year ago Thursday, Edward Snowden leaked National Security Agency documents revealing details of its surveillance program. The Obama administration still considers Snowden a fugit...

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is drawing new attention to the threat from homegrown, lone-wolf radicals. He's pulling together a group of prosecutors and FBI agents to address domestic terrorism.

The House of Representatives has voted to prohibit the Justice Department from hiring more attorneys to deal with thousands of backlogged clemency petitions in a bid to block one of the Obama administration's top criminal justice priorities.

In a vote Thursday evening, House lawmakers blessed the fiscal year 2015 spending ...

A new report from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is shedding light on some unexpected consequences of being convicted of a crime — everything from troubles with ...

Attorney General Eric Holder took his case for overhauling the criminal justice system to an unlikely location on Wednesday — a closed-door conference of prosecutors, who were meeting at their national training center in Columbia, South Carolina.

According to a person familiar with Holder's unpublicized remarks, Holder ...

A year ago, President Obama defended using drones to target terrorism suspects overseas and offered a rationale for reining in the program. Where do things stand on efforts to impose constraints?

Senior Justice Department officials have quietly notified U.S. attorneys and federal agents that they're establishing "a presumption" that agents will electronically record statements made by individuals in their custody.

In a memo obtained by NPR, Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole strongly encourages agents to videotape suspects in custody before they ...

The Senate will consider a judicial nominee who wrote legal advice approving drone strikes against Americans overseas. Critics question executive branch authority to execute citizens without trial.

A new study concludes the medical and justice system can do more to help rape survivors access medical care. Funding cuts often limit access to exams and keep test results from leading to prosecution.

In a string of commencement-speaker dropouts, would-be honorary guests are being pushed out by campus protests. Meanwhile, schools are trying to boost their reputations and promote diverse ideas.

Harvard law professor David Barron is under fire for signing memos that allowed the U.S. to kill a U.S. citizen overseas in a drone strike. Those blocking his nomination want the documents released.