Monetary sanctions, also known as legal financial obligations (LFOs), are a highly consequential yet underexplored element of the criminal legal system. LFOs consist of fines, fees, costs, restitution, surcharges, and other financial penalties that are imposed on individuals when they encounter the criminal legal system. Drawing on data from a…

Conservative governors and legislators across America are angry at the third branch of government. Some of these lawmakers are pushing legislation that could throw judges off the bench, while others are pushing to limit judicial authority. In one state, a governor unilaterally removed a justice of the state supreme court. Another Republican…

Scholarship programs authored by state legislatures may conflict with a state's constitution. In the case of "Locke v. Davey" 540 U.S. 807 (2003), Joshua Davey challenged the State of Washington's withdrawal of his Promise Scholarship claiming violation of his First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. This…

Just over a month after the Supreme Court of the United States' ruling in the Seattle and Louisville cases, news analysts and school district officials from Boston to Berkeley, California, from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Evanston, Illinois, are still trying to assess its impact on their student reassignment programs. But the community of scholars…