criminal-justice

After the passage of California’s Proposition 47, which reduced criminal penalties for drug possession, felony drug arrest rates declined and racial disparities among these arrests decreased, according to new research in the American Journal of Public Health.

Opioid users referred for treatment by the criminal justice system were 10 times less likely to receive evidence-based treatments such as methadone than those referred by other sources.

When the president mulls filling a Supreme Court seat, the whole country watches. When he appoints a federal judge, few take notice. There are, after all, hundreds of federal judges. Yet these appointments, too, are for life. And because the judges wield significant power, they are at the core of a president’s legacy. In this explainer, we discuss how the federal courts work, their mandates, and how judges are appointed.

Mass shootings have increased significantly in the United States, according to the most recent data available from the FBI. Statistics show that from 2000 to 2007, mass shooting incidents averaged 6.4 incidents annually, while from 2008 to 2013, they increased to 16.4.