Law

In a More Rational World, 4.1 Percent of People Sentenced to Death Would Be Exonerated

People whose sentences are downgraded to life in prison are less likely to be exonerated than those on death row

A bowl of shark fin soup, which is sometimes made with meat from protected species of sharks

People Caught Eating Rare Animals in China Might Soon Face Jail Time

Eating endangered species was never kosher, but now legitimate punishments can finally be dished out for this crime

Pistols equipped with silencers, confiscated from drug dealers.

Sales of Gun Silencers Have Shot Up Nearly 37 Percent Last Year

Proponents argue that they make firearms safer; others say it's just the opposite

An asylum in Jacksonville, Illinois, c. 1890-1901.

In the U.S., Mentally Ill People Are Ten Times More Likely To Be in Prison Than in a Hospital

The number of mentally ill people in prison is going up, and the number in hospitals is going down

Lawyers Who Make Less Money And Get Worse Grades Are the Happiest

Money can't buy you happiness, even if you're a lawyer

If Men Get Paid to Play College Sports, Title IX Says Women Do, Too

A labor board ruled that football players at Northwestern University are “employees” and have the right to form unions

Most of us are more like the frog, than the prince.

No One Wants to Admit They're Ugly, Which Makes It Hard to Fight Beauty Bias

Nobody wants to join the ugly lobby, but that might be what we need to battle "lookism"

Congress Designates the First Wilderness Area in Five Years

32,500 acres of lakeshore along Lake Michigan have been designated as wilderness by Congress

Nineteen States Allow Teachers to Spank Children

In 2006, 223,190 students were punished physically in public schools in the United States

Programmers Across the Country Are Self-Organizing to Protest NSA Surveillance

"The Day We Fight Back" campaign seeks to reform the NSA

Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter announced yesterday that the National College Players Association would attempt to unionize.

College Football Players Push to Unionize for Medical Benefits

Are college athletes students or employees?

Threaten with emoji, go to jail.

An Emoji Death Threat Is Still a Death Threat

Death threats are illegal. Even if they come in the form of emoji.

Equal opportunity boredom.

Jurors Cannot Be Dismissed From a Case Based on Sexual Orientation

The price for being treated like an equal human? Also having to serve jury duty

Here's the Paper That Popularized Net Neutrality

Net neutrality might be done for. Here's a look at where it came from

Forty Years Ago, Women Had a Hard Time Getting Credit Cards

Despite the law, a report from 2012 found that women still pay more for credit cards

Image:

Copyright Law Kept These Famous Works From Entering the Public Domain This Year

Here is a list of books, movies, music & scientific research that would have entered the public domain today had the 1978 copyright law not been passed

Border Agents Can Search Laptops “Without Reasonable Suspicion”

A U.S. District Court judge says border agents should be allowed to search travelers' laptops

Central Park’s Horse-Drawn Carriages Could Be Replaced With Old-Timey Electric Cars

Demand for horse-drawn rides has reportedly spiked as tourists and locals alike rush in for a chance to take one last buggy ride through the park

Meet the Money Behind The Climate Denial Movement

Nearly a billion dollars a year is flowing into the organized climate change counter-movement

NSA Metadata Collection Is Unconstitutional, Judge Says

A U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the NSA's metadata surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment

Page 25 of 31