The legal fortunes of Darryl Barnes have waxed and waned over the many years since he was shot by a police officer on a Bronx street--a wound that left him paralyzed--but finally ended for good this week. Darryl Barnes was shot in 1988 by NYPD Officer Franz Jerome, who apparently saw Mr. Barnes running down the street carrying a Tec-9 assault pistol. When Jerome ordered Barnes to stop, Barnes shot at the policeman, who returned......

Though a long-time custom in West African countries, a federal appeals court in NYC will rule whether genital mutilation is grounds for granting women asylum in the United States. According to the NY Sun, three women will be serving as a test case regarding whether the cultural custom--and their opposition to such a practice--is sufficient grounds for asylum in front of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Mutilation is a loaded term: Proponents......

In a decision that sets a new standard for what constitutes a legal search by police, as well as serving to remind why doing crack is a terrible idea, The New York Court of Appeals ruled that "reasonableness" should remain the touchstone for searches in order to not violate the 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Defining reasonableness was the basis of the case in question, which involved the searches of body cavities.......