Law Enforcement

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On reclassifying marijuana

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire announced today that they have filed a petition with the Drug Enforcement Agency asking for...
By David Scharfenberg | November 30, 2011

RI Strikes at Google

Well, if you think Google is evil, you have reason to be pleased with your home state today. Rhode Island US Attorney Peter Neronha has announced...
By David Scharfenberg | August 24, 2011

Calling the Bluff?

I'll have a piece in tomorrow's Phoenix about the state of Rhode Island's "compassion center" program. The Obama Administration has warned officials here and across the country...
By David Scharfenberg | July 13, 2011

The Pitfalls of the "Social Host"

Golocalprov's piece on underage drinking at Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman's home has focused attention on the state's "social host" law, which imposes penalties on...
By David Scharfenberg | June 13, 2011

Gobble! Gobble!

The Phoenix hits the stands today, a day earlier than usual. And we've got a fun cover story. It's our second annual Thanksgiving list of turkeys: people...
By David Scharfenberg | November 24, 2010

The 13th Annual Muzzle Awards

A year and a half into the Age of Obama, we are learning a lesson we should have figured out long ago — that repression, once in place, is rarely rolled back all the way, and that liberals no less than conservatives are reluctant to give up power.
A look at the dishonorable enemies of free speech and personal liberty in New England
By DAN KENNEDY | July 02, 2010

Charges against former UMass student to be dropped

A Mattapan man's 28-month legal ordeal ended in a Northampton courtroom last week, as the Northwestern District Attorney's office agreed to drop all charges against him pending an additional two months of incident-free pre-trial probation.
Justice Is Served Dept.
By JEREMY C. FOX | June 11, 2010

QB freak

Trying to parse the situation with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his sexual-assault allegations, one comes to some interesting conclusions. The strategy pursued by law enforcement in this case speaks volumes.
No charges for Roethlisberger, but Big Ben’s reputation might be sacked
By MATT TAIBBI | April 23, 2010

It takes an identity thief

In late April 2006, shortly before the hearing to evict his tenant Karen Keester, Lee Gersch received a phone call from Keester’s twin sister, Michelle. She had just gotten divorced, Michelle claimed, and needed to move to Boston from Arkansas for a new
How Karen Keester made off with $250,000 — and became one of Boston's most accomplished con artists
By JACLYN TROP | April 23, 2010

UMass racial-confrontation case may finally come to a close

A racial incident that rocked Western Massachusetts two years ago may finally be laid to rest this week, as a black former UMass Amherst student charged with aggravated assault returns to court, apparently having reached an agreement with the Northwester
Is justice being served?
By JEREMY C. FOX | April 02, 2010

New ways to prevent domestic violence

About eight months ago, the Sanford-based anti-domestic-violence organization Caring Unlimited launched a court-monitoring program that placed observers in York County courtrooms to take notes on domestic-violence case proceedings.
Following Up
By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 12, 2010

The war over peace

In the early infancy of this five-week-old year, Boston has been rocked by four homicides and 10 non-fatal shootings. By the time this goes to print, there may well be more.
A decade after the 'Boston Miracle,' violent crime has again overtaken parts of the city. Can the miracle makers create a new peace?
By CHRIS FARAONE | February 05, 2010

How much rock would a Woodstock stock if

Hopes are high among the quartet of rock entrepreneurs – John Roberts, Joel Roseman, Michael Land, and Arnie Kornfeld – who think they can succeed where George Wein, Newport promoter, has not.
Three-day festival of peace and music
By ELEANOR WEBER | August 14, 2009

Gates-Gate

If there was ever any doubt that race and perception are intimately linked, the bizarre arrest of Harvard superstar Henry Louis Gates Jr. — which hit the news this past Monday — should dispel it once and for all.
Banner come back
By ADAM REILLY | July 24, 2009

Reed and Whitehouse Recommend Neronha as US Attorney

Rhode Island Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse have recommended that President Obama name As...
By David Scharfenberg | May 14, 2009

Reed and Whitehouse Recommend O'Donnell for U.S. Marshal

Here's the release from the Rhode Island senators: United States Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon W...
By David Scharfenberg | April 22, 2009

Wideouts gone wild

Late February is a heavy-arrest period in American sports, for the simple reason that the college-football season is over, spring practices have not yet begun, and they have not yet deployed armed alcohol-sniffing police robots on college campuses arou
Lock the liquor cabinet and hide the keys — it's that time of year again
By MATT TAIBBI | February 18, 2009

Graffiti wars

Even though he’s headed to prison, SPEK will still be visible in Massachusetts.
Cops and taggers play a high-stakes game of cat and mouse
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 03, 2008

Freedom watch: Jailhouse bloc

With aromatic puffs of change, Bay State stoners rejoiced on Election Day.
Want to know the real reason the law-and-order set backs mandatory-minimum sentencing? They get their pockets lined by the 'prison-industrial complex.'
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE AND KYLE SMEALLIE | December 03, 2008

The son also sets

Most crime stories involving ex-athletes pushing 50 have the same plot: an end-of-the-line washout case, six weeks behind on his final car payment, and literally fleeing on foot from an army of outraged creditors and/or junk dealers punches out his wife/
Sports Blotter
By MATT TAIBBI | October 27, 2008

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