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Dial T for Tyranny: While America Feuds, the Police State Shifts Into High Gear
by John W. Whitehead, Commentary, The Rutherford Institute
What characterizes American government today is not so much dysfunctional politics as it is ruthlessly contrived governance carried out behind the entertaining, distracting and disingenuous curtain of political theater. And what political theater it is, diabolically Shakespearean at times, full …
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More from this issue:
- Courts Have Made Social Media a Landmine for Defendants. Could It Change Soon?, by Steve Horn
- $600,000 Awarded Missouri Man in Legal Malpractice Verdict After 17 Years in Prison
- Denver Under Fire For Law That Critics Describe as Legalized ‘Car Stealing’, by Derek Gilna
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Search Warrant Required for Nonconsensual Entry into Any Residence to Carry Out Arrest Warrant, by Richard Resch
- Mississippi Supreme Court Clarifies that Appellate Courts Never Serve as ‘13th Juror’ for Motion for New Trial, by David Reutter
- New Mexico Supreme Court: Seriousness of Charged Crime Itself Not Sufficient to Deny Defendant Pretrial Release, by Dale Chappell
- #Policetoo: 35 States Allow ‘Consensual’ Sex Between Police and Detainees, by Christopher Zoukis
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces ‘Finality’ Under Sentence Enhancement Provision for Out-of-State Convictions Governed by Texas Law, by Dale Chappell
- Durham, North Carolina, Opts Out of Military-Style Training for Police, by Christopher Zoukis
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Suppression of Evidence Because Traffic Stop Unreasonably Prolonged, by Christopher Zoukis
- Montana Supreme Court Holds Failure to Instruct Jury on State’s Burden of Proof is Plain Error, by Dale Chappell
- Utah Supreme Court: Procedural Due Process Violated Where Failure to Participate in Sex Offender Treatment Program Used to Deny Parole to Prisoner Not Convicted of Sex Offense, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Florida Drug Trafficking Statute Indivisible and Overbroad for Removal Under Immigration and Nationality Act, by Dale Chappell
- Biased Facial Recognition Systems Are Coming to a Law Enforcement Agency Near You, by Christopher Zoukis
- Washington Supreme Court: Nexus Between Property Searched and Probation Violation Required for Warrantless Search of Probationer’s Property, by Dale Chappell
- Missouri High Court Holds Checkbox-Style Search Warrant Constitutes an Unconstitutional General Warrant, by Dale Chappell
- $1 Million Paid by NYC to Settle False Arrest Claim
- Government Eyes Are Watching You: We Are All Prisoners of the Surveillance State, by John W. Whitehead
- Kansas Supreme Court: Judge’s ‘Thwarting’ of Defendant’s Right to Self-Representation was Structural Error Requiring Reversal of Convictions, by Dale Chappell
- New Jersey Supreme Court: Substantive Error to Amend Indictment to Change Degree of Felony on Eve of Trial, by Matthew Clarke
- Seattle to Toss Old Pot Convictions
- Missouri Supreme Court Clarifies No Resisting Arrest Charge Once Arrest is Completed, by Dale Chappell
- Fifth Circuit Grants § 2255 Petition Challenging Failure to Register Conviction for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by Christopher Zoukis
- FBI Data Reveal ‘War on Cops’ is Nonexistent, by Dale Chappell
- South Carolina Supreme Court Clarifies When Court Can Deny Right to Self-Representation; Orders New Trial, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Vacates Intellectually Disabled Prisoner’s Death Sentence, by Christopher Zoukis
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Rule to Allow IAC Claims for Fine-Only Sentences, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: Younger Abstention Not Appropriate in Habeas Case Challenging Lack of Constitutionally Sufficient Bail Hearing, by Christopher Zoukis
- Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Criminally Negligent Homicide Because Conduct was ‘Too Remote’ from Cause of Death, by Dale Chappell
- Is FBI Using Classified Tools for Everyday Investigations?, by Christopher Zoukis
- Legally Thrown in Jail for Wanting to File a Complaint Against Police
- District Court Grants Bail in a Drug Case Over Government’s Typical Assertion That ‘No Condition or Combination of Conditions Would Reasonably Assure the Defendant’s Presence at Trial’
- Powerful District Attorney Lobbies Improperly Influence Law Making, by Matthew Clarke
- NYPD Hands Out Business Cards So Suspects Can Rate Their Encounter with Cops
- State Attorney in Vermont Won’t Prosecute Misdemeanor Opioid Treatment Drug Cases, by Betty Nelander
- News in Brief
- Ninth Circuit Rules Weekends in Jail Count as Time ‘In Prison’, by Dale Chappell
- The Long, Dark History of Law Enforcement’s Warrantless Bus Searches, by Steve Horn
- Louisiana Supreme Court: Jury May Not Speculate on Guilt When Evidence Is Lacking, by Dale Chappell
- Risk Assessment Software: Biased and No Better Than Human Behavior Prediction, by Christopher Zoukis
- Daily Caller Investigation Lays Opiate Crisis at Feet of DEA, by Derek Gilna
- SCOTUS: Warrantless Invasion of Curtilage to Conduct Search Unconstitutional, by Richard Resch
- Dial T for Tyranny: While America Feuds, the Police State Shifts Into High Gear, by John W. Whitehead
- Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts Give Prosecutors ‘Awesome Power’ and Have Racist Roots, by Dale Chappell
More from John W. Whitehead:
- Welcome to 2025: Where Your Freedoms Go to Die, April 15, 2025
- A Gift America Can’t Return: The Police State Is America’s New Crime Boss, Feb. 15, 2025
- You’d Better Watch Out: The Surveillance State Is Making a List, and You’re On It, Dec. 15, 2024
- Overthrowing the Constitution: All Sides Are Waging War on Our Freedoms, Nov. 1, 2024
- The Steady Slide Towards Tyranny: How Freedom Dies from A to Z, Sept. 1, 2024
- Down with Big Brother: Warrantless Surveillance Makes a Mockery of the Constitution, Aug. 1, 2024
- Watchlisted: You’re Probably Already on a Government Extremism List, March 15, 2024
- The White House Goes Rogue: Secret Surveillance Program Breaks all the Rules, Jan. 15, 2024
- We the Targeted: How the Government Weaponizes Surveillance to Silence its Critics 2372, Dec. 15, 2023
- A Nation of Snitches: DHS Is Grooming Americans to Report on Each Other, Nov. 1, 2023
More from these topics:
- Idaho Prisons Are Full. Costs for Incarcerating Inmates in Jails and Out of State Are Skyrocketing, Feb. 1, 2026. Out of State Transfers, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Overcrowding.
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Federal Funds Now Available for Police Drone Purchases, Jan. 1, 2026. Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Wisconsin DOC Is Not Tracking Work Release Data, Jan. 1, 2026. Work Release, Prison Labor, Statistics/Trends, Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Mass Surveillance for Profit: Flock’s AI Reports “Suspicious” Movement to Police, Dec. 15, 2025. Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Protests, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Police AI and “Sycophancy”: New Evidence Tools May Tell Cops Exactly What They Want to Hear, Dec. 15, 2025. junk science, Police State-Surveillance, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations.
- New York State Closes Yet Another Prison, Dec. 1, 2025. Transfers, Work Strikes, Statistics/Trends, Staffing, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Prisoners and Detainees in the Gulf Coast Are Particularly at Risk from Natural Disasters, Dec. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Shelter, Exposure to Heat, Hurricane Katrina, Immigration Detention.
- ICE Amasses Mass Surveillance Arsenal Targeting U.S. Citizens and Protesters, Nov. 15, 2025. Protests, First Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance.
- Washington Prisoners Gain Access to Crisis Hotline, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference, Compassionate Release.
