What qualified immunity actually covers — and what it doesn't
The doctrine shields officials from damages lawsuits unless they violated "clearly established" law — a test that has frustrated courts across the political spectrum.
Colin Reyes
How cash bail actually works — and who stays in jail before trial
Money release is the default in most US counties, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics counts who that leaves behind.
Monica CummingsAnalysis & Opinion
What qualified immunity actually shields government officials from
The doctrine is not immunity from all lawsuits. It is a specific, court-made rule about what a plaintiff must prove before a case against an official can go to trial.
How federal compassionate release works, and what the Supreme Court just narrowed
A judge can shorten a federal sentence already being served, but only through a specific statutory door. Two rulings on May 28, 2026 moved its frame.
FCC delays promised drop in prison phone call rates
A 2024 order meant to roughly halve prison and jail calling costs has been replaced with higher interim rate caps, after sheriffs, telecom vendors and Republican attorneys general pushed back on the original rules.
How the Labor Department recovers stolen wages, and how much workers get
Federal wage-theft enforcement hit a five-year high in 2025, but the recovery process, and its limits, are less understood than the headline number.
Society
More in Society →What qualified immunity covers, and where it stops
The doctrine shields officials from most civil rights lawsuits unless the right they violated was already "clearly established" — a standard that has grown narrower since the Supreme Court adopted it in 1982.
Aarya KapoorRights News
More in Rights News →
The Grants Pass ruling reshaped homeless encampment policy — and litigation moved to the states
Devon ClarkeHow the FCC sets price caps on prison phone calls
A 2023 law told federal regulators to make prison and jail calling rates "just and reasonable." The caps they've set have moved twice in two years — down sharply in 2024, then back up in 2025.
Devon Clarke