Chicago’s public defenders are among the best-resourced in Illinois, but even there, massive case loads have attorneys and investigators stretched paper-thin. The Cook County Jail has swelled under ...

The FCC blocked Biden-era limits on the exorbitant rates and fees charged by prison telecom companies, leaving incarcerated ...

Congress is poised to pour tens of billions of dollars into more immigration detention, private jails, and border operations, plus new ICE partnerships with local police and sheriffs.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Donald Trump and his allies filed over 60 lawsuits to overturn results in states he lost. Courts rejected all of Trump’s attempts to halt the certification of ...

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks to reporters in January in New Orleans. A new law which dramatically restricts the ability of prisoners to seek post-conviction relief, has been a ...

Candidates bring up a criminal case that occurred on their opponent’s watch, and use it to attack them for being too lenient.

Bolts invited three organizers in Arkansas, Idaho, and Ohio for a roundtable to discuss the attacks on ballot initiatives they are each fighting in their states, and lessons they’ve learned.

State supreme courts have come under a brighter spotlight as battlefields for some of today’s most pressing issues, from abortion rights and climate to extreme sentencing and ballot access. And ...

Faced with popular initiatives to protect abortion rights and other measures they dislike, state Republicans are passing new bills that local advocates say will hollow out direct democracy. Organizers ...

And a broader dip in turnout has also caused some national alarm. Over time, the country has set up a suite of options to make voting more accessible for people who may face difficulties—for instance, ...