Revamping regulations
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is heading to Capitol Hill this morning to outline a sweeping overhaul of federal financial regulations. Early leaks of his testimony say the plan would extend...
View ArticleTexas case challenges Voting Rights Act in Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge today that goes to the heart of the Voting Rights Act. This landmark piece of legislation was enacted in 1965 to prevent racial discrimination at the polls. The...
View ArticlePaying for Justice? How We Elect Judges
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that judges must recuse themselves from ruling on cases that involve individuals who have spent money to help put the judge on the bench. It sounds like a fairly...
View ArticleNew Details Complicate Phoebe Prince Case
The suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince in January made international headlines and changed the way that Massachusetts schools view and prosecute bullying in schools. What was described by state...
View ArticleBilly the Kid: Pardoned After 130 Years
As one of his final acts in office, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says he will pardon the man known as "Billy the Kid," delivering one of America’s best known criminals the pardon he had...
View ArticleBilly The Kid Pardoned 130 Years Later
As one of his final acts in office, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says he will pardon the man known as "Billy the Kid," delivering one of America’s best known criminals the pardon he had...
View ArticleIs the GOP Trying to Undo Barack Obama?
When the Republican majority was elected to the House this past November, members of the GOP started talking about repealing the health care reform legislation that was the signature accomplishment of...
View ArticleNew Year Ushers in New Laws for NY
The start of a new year means several new laws go into effect Sunday. A couple of the most substantial new laws on the books for this year will mean personal income tax cuts for about 4.4 million...
View ArticleLivery Plan, And Billions in Budget Funding, Remain in Limbo
The city isn’t planning to appeal a temporary injunction against the city's 5 Borough Taxi Plan — even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the decision “worrisome.” Supreme Court Judge Arthur...
View ArticleUtter a Curse, Suffer a Fine: Massachusetts Town Outlaws Unsavory Language
No littering, no public drunkenness, no disorderly conduct... and no cursing? That could be the case if a new law up for vote in Middleborough, Massachusetts, passes. Middleborough is considering...
View ArticleChina's New Rule for Mandatory Parent Visits
Bonnie Tsui, stories editor for The Atlantic, discusses the new Chinese law requiring adult children to visit their parents. Tsui talks about what this legislation tells us about the needs of a growing...
View ArticleAgainst Blasphemy Laws
Having been their victim, Shemeem Burney Abbas, associate professor of political science and gender studies at the State University of New York at Purchase College, and the author of Pakistan's...
View ArticleMusic Decriminalized: The End of "Cabaret Cards"
Commissioner of Licenses Joel Tyler calls the signing of this bill, colorfully and enigmatically referred to on an ancient Municipal Archives catalog card as a Theatrical Fingerprinting Bill, “one of...
View ArticleNew Jersey's Liquor Laws Were Created for a Very Different Population
Finding a restaurant in New Jersey where you can order a glass of wine with your dinner isn’t easy. And it wasn't meant to be. The state’s liquor laws were created after Prohibition to limit access to...
View ArticleBefore Tattooing Was Legal in New York, This Shop Was Doing It Underground
The oldest tattoo parlor in Manhattan is celebrating its 40th anniversary today.Fineline Tattoo has been around longer than tattooing has been legal in New York City.“Whether it was underground or on...
View Article'They Know Everything': Mixed-Status Family Prepares for Trump
When 27-year-old Shareny Diaz Saldaña talked recently about her fear of deportation, her voice quivered and her eyes filled with tears. She tried, unsuccessfully, to hide it from her parents who sat...
View ArticleWhy I Steal
Alice* lives in a small town, where the work dries up in the winter. She and her husband have jobs at a seasonal restaurant, where she says they each make about $500 a week. When it gets cold, they go...
View ArticleWhy She Steals: Your Reactions
Last month, we spoke to a woman named Alice* about her shoplifting habit, how she justifies it, and her reluctance to go on food stamps. And a lot of you responded to her story. Here's just a sample of...
View ArticleQuiz: How to Change a Law
So you want to change a law. Watch our video about H.P. Liao, a Queens father who's been fighting for new traffic safety laws since a motorist killed his three-year-old daughter. Test your your...
View ArticleGothamist Returns: E-Bikes
Christopher Robbins, Gothamist news editor, Jeffrey Singer, reporter, and Zhu Xian, restaurant delivery cyclist, talk about the kick-off story for the return of Gothamist, about the intersection of...
View ArticleNew Year, New Laws
Environmental reforms, more affordable health care, and expanded rights for transgender and gender non-conforming people will be going into effect in 2019. Here's a look at a few of the changes...
View ArticleLawyer and Comedian Andrea Coleman is Here to Judge Your Laws
There's a state where it's illegal to mispronounce its name. There's another where eating fried chicken with a knife and fork is banned. Lawyer and comedian Andrea Coleman hosts a stand-up show about...
View ArticleRenewing Rent Regulations (and Tenant Protections)
New York's rent regulations expire in June and tenant advocates are counting on the new Democratic majority in the Senate to strengthen the laws in their favor, while landlords push back. New York...
View ArticleAnother SCOTUS Update with Jami Floyd
Jami Floyd, WNYC's host of All Things Considered and legal analyst, reviews the three cases decided by the Supreme Court today and talks about the new complications in the cases challenging the Trump...
View ArticleNot Ready For That Conversation
A jury has found Derek Chauvin guilty in the case that sparked a historic wave of protests last summer. This week we examine how fears over those protests are being channeled into restrictive new...
View ArticleWhy I Steal
Alice* lives in a small town, where the work dries up in the winter. She and her husband have jobs at a seasonal restaurant, where she says they each make about $500 a week. When it gets cold, they go...
View ArticleHow SCOTUS Redefined 'Religious Freedom' This Morning
Today, the Supreme Court handed down an opinion about public money and religious schools.On Today's Show:Emily Bazelon staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of Slate's "Political...
View ArticleCommission Urges Lawmakers to Appeal Sentencing Laws
New York, NY — Former inmates and prison reformers were on hand today as the New York Sentencing Reform Commission held a hearing on possibly reforming the so-called Rockefeller drug laws. REPORTER:...
View ArticleAdvocates Push for Law to Decriminalize Sex Trade for Teens
New York, NY — Advocates hoping to decriminalize teen sex crimes are urging Gov. David Paterson to sign a bill that would offer young people assistance in getting out of the sex trade, instead of jail...
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