Who’s ready for opening statements? Donald Trump’s “hush money” election interference trial begins this morning in New York. It took just one week to select 12 jurors and six alternates. NBC News There is plenty of incriminating evidence against the former president. That doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be convicted. The New York Times The trial has changed the way the courthouse itself operates. The Washington Post Related: A guide to potential witnesses in the case. Just Security Inside the courtroom as the jury was selected. Lawfare Lawyers can and do serve on juries. Politico
Congress reauthorizes controversial warrantless surveillance law. The New York Times The U.S. Senate voted to reauthorize a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) early Saturday after rejecting proposed amendments from both Republicans and Democrats that would have added privacy safeguards to the law. NBC News Two major communications companies had threatened to stop complying with the law if it wasn’t reauthorized. The Washington Post Related analysis: Some members of Congress warned of the sweeping surveillance power contained in Section 702 of FISA. Just Security
Checking back in with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group of far-right law enforcement officials. They met last week in Las Vegas and talked about federal encroachment on local police powers for hours. Then they traded conspiracy theories and election denial stories. NBC News TMP Context: The rise of the anti-lockdown sheriffs. The Marshall Project More: Scott Miller, a member of the extremist group Proud Boys, was sentenced on Friday to more than five years in prison for assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot. The Associated Press
Solitary confinement as punishment or simply because no other cells are available. Two pending Senate bills to limit the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons are unlikely to pass this session. Witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week described isolated detention as a form of torture, but corrections officials across the U.S. persist in using solitary confinement not just as punishment but to address overcrowding. In Oklahoma and Florida, for example, prisoners were kept in shower cells. TMP’s Jamiles Lartey has the latest in “Closing Argument,” our weekly newsletter. The Marshall Project
On Friday, federal, state and local officials in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, observed the 29th anniversary of the bombing attack on the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City. KFOR A ceremony began with 168 seconds of silence to honor the victims of the bombing, still the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. The Associated Press
The Arkansas Supreme Court last week ruled that Damien Echols, a member of the West Memphis Three, can seek DNA testing from a 1993 crime scene. The ruling reversed a county circuit judge’s 2022 denial of DNA testing. Echols and two others were convicted in 1994 of murdering three children and were released in 2011. The Associated Press
Instead of passing gun safety measures to help prevent school shootings, Tennessee lawmakers are pushing for “zero tolerance” policies for students who threaten violence at school. Experts say that approach won’t likely work. ProPublica
A new ACLU lawsuit in Travis County, Texas, challenges procedures during initial bail hearings before magistrate judges, where defendants aren’t guaranteed access to attorneys. Texas Observer TMP Context: Dallas County’s secret bail machine. The Marshall Project
Another example of bureaucratic secrecy in New York City. More than $1 billion in NYPD settlements and other monetary awards were not reported in biannual summaries required by the city’s legal department. Thousands of lawsuits against the police were also omitted from those reports. City & State/New York
Burning jurors. The media and the trial judge are needlessly jeopardizing the safety of jurors in the Trump case in New York. The judge could have shielded more juror information from the public. Journalists should be treating the proceeding like a mob trial. Simple Justice
Twenty-five years later, the Columbine killers have fans. And copycats. “How little these groupies know about the murderers they obsess over is ironic.” The Atlantic
Every day the U.S. Supreme Court delays a ruling on Donald Trump’s immunity claims is a victory for the former president. “This imbroglio is a case study in how dilatory courts can aid crafty lawyers as they use legal doubletalk to delay proceedings.” The New York Review of Books More: It’s possible, but unlikely, so don’t expect Trump to go to prison even if he is convicted. The New York Times
An anti-homeless law in Oregon provides a challenge and an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court. The city of “Grants Pass insists that how it treats its poorest residents is purely a question of policy. As a matter of text and history, this is flatly wrong. The 14th Amendment centers the rights of poor people. Recognizing this fundamental truth is long overdue.” Slate
Three blue states. Three different approaches to indigent defense work. Things in Colorado and Connecticut aren’t good. Things in Delaware are much better, reports Radley Balko. Substack
“They just want these people gone.” After the demise of Roe v. Wade, federal officials have been informed of cases in which pregnant women, turned away by security guards and medical staff at hospitals, have miscarried. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday in a case about Idaho’s severe anti-abortion law. The Associated Press
Grace note. Through his grief, Azim Khamisa forgave the man who murdered his son. Then he helped the man, Tony Hicks, gain his release from prison. The Washington Post
Prosecutorial misconduct in Kansas. Terra Morehead, a disgraced former federal prosecutor, has agreed to surrender her law license and faces disbarment in Kansas. She helped frame an innocent man who spent 23 years in prison before being released. KCUR
“We are seeing progress, but we’re far from done.” The Justice Department is starting a “specialized gun intelligence center” in Chicago and will expand efforts to reduce carjackings across the U.S. The Associated Press
Introducing a “Prison Writer’s Guide to Media Writing.” Described as “a handbook and certificate program designed to educate prison writers about journalism, with expert insights, guided coursework and a reporting style guide.” The Marshall Project is an initial partner. Prison Journalism Project TMP Context: How to write for our “Life Inside” series. The Marshall Project
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