Mar 4th, 2010 · A sheriff's deputy in Adair County, Kentucky, was looking around a new county judicial center, when he accidentally locked himself in a jail cell. It gets worse because the deputy suffers from claustrophobia. His boss says the deputy pulled out his gun and tried to shoot his way out of the cell. The deputy lost his job because of the damage to the new jail.
Jan 26th, 2010 · Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said Tuesday that judicial independence in the state courts will be severely compromised by last week's Supreme Court decision striking down bans on corporate spending in elections. More than 80 percent of the judges in the states are elected.
Dec 31st, 2009 · When the Supreme Court reconvenes in January, it will decide a case that could redefine the role of corporations in political campaigns. Meanwhile, in the lower courts, the number of judicial vacancies has doubled during President Obama's time in office — as Republicans try to minimize his effect on the courts.
Dec 31st, 2009 · When the Supreme Court reconvenes in January, it will decide a case that could redefine the role of corporations in political campaigns. Meanwhile, in the lower courts, the number of judicial vacancies has doubled during President Obama's time in office — as Republicans try to minimize his effect on the courts.
Dec 30th, 2009 · James Bain was 19-years-old in 1974, when he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy. He was convicted largely because the boy identified him in a police lineup. After serving 35 years in prison, James Bain was recently freed after DNA testing — which he pleaded for when he was initially accused — found him innocent of the crime. Bain talks about his life as a freed man and whether he holds any resentment toward the judicial system for the life-changing error.
Dec 13th, 2009 · Last week's murder conviction in Italy against American student Amanda Knox outraged many Americans. Some denounced it as a miscarriage of justice. Knox and her Italian boyfriend were convicted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli says much of the coverage on both sides of the Atlantic was distorted by cross-cultural misunderstandings like language mistakes, differences in judicial systems and general U.S.-European clashes.
Dec 2nd, 2009 · The U.S. Supreme Court hears a dispute over efforts to prevent beach erosion. Property owners say their land extends to the water's edge. Whether a decision by the judicial branch can amount to improper taking is one of the great unanswered constitutional questions remaining in American law.
Nov 17th, 2009 · The Senate votes Tuesday on whether to end a Republican filibuster of President Obama's first judicial nominee. So far, the White House has little to show for the president's efforts to make sure candidates won't raise objections at the Senate level.