Criminal Justice & Rule of Law

A primer on how special grand juries work, what federal law actually permits them to do, and why this one might backfire.

In the seashells case, the FBI searched for proof that gangsters used “86” to mean “kill” and that Comey knew it. Now an expert says their theory is “preposterous.”

The United States has increasingly used civil forfeiture to recover cryptocurrency stolen by transnational scam networks. The strategy has produced important seizures—but it remains structurally fragile ...

A draft law before China’s legislature would let prosecutors sue foreign firms over an undefined “national interest,” in courts the prosecution itself supervises.

Last week, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its first case in 30 years. We dive into DOJ’s awakening of a controversial court.

Ukraine can now prosecute Russian soldiers for crimes committed in Syria—but its 2024 law leaves the practical mechanics unresolved.

Microsoft’s dispute with Nightmare Eclipse reveals what’s at stake when companies conflate disclosure with criminality.

Trump v. Slaughter’s silence on the civil service raises concerns of executive aggrandizement.

A review of W. Fitzhugh Brundage, “A Fate Worse Than Hell: American Prisoners of the Civil War” (Norton, 2026).

And why the answer is less important than you might think.