In 2025, over 200 Department of Justice (DOJ) employees were fired, with thousands more resigning or being pushed out amid a politically charged environment. Many of the dismissals, including that of immigration attorney Erez Reuveni, appeared tied to resistance against politicized directives. Reuveni filed a whistleblower complaint after allegedly being asked to mislead judges and …
In a lecture at NALSAR University, Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran emphasized the need for a transparent and constitutionally grounded mechanism for removing judges in India to ensure a balance between judicial independence and accountability. Drawing on his experience with the Justice V. Ramaswami impeachment case—the country’s first attempted judicial removal—he warned against the judiciary’s growing …
Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey and a lead prosecutor in the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, was abruptly fired from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office in July 2025. No reason was given for her dismissal, which reportedly did not originate from the local office but likely from higher levels within …
In a previously unreported investigation, the U.S. Justice Department explored bringing criminal charges against Minnesota judges and defense attorneys who suggested virtual court hearings to protect undocumented immigrants from arrest by federal agents. The FBI launched a preliminary probe in early 2025, citing concerns that such practices might obstruct immigration enforcement. These virtual hearings, widely …
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has condemned the Tunisian government’s escalating repression of lawyers, warning that arrests and prosecutions of legal professionals for exercising free speech or defending politically sensitive clients pose a grave threat to judicial independence and fair trial rights. Central to the concern is the arrest of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab …
In a dramatic escalation, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on all Brazilian imports, set to begin August 1, 2025. The move comes after lobbying efforts by Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who claims the Supreme Court in Brazil is unfairly targeting his father for political reasons. Trump …
Emil Bove, a former Trump defense attorney and current DOJ official, has come under fire after being nominated by Donald Trump for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In a scathing letter to the Senate, a group of former federal prosecutors denounced Bove as the “worst conceivable nominee,” …
A decade after China’s largest crackdown on human rights lawyers—the 2015 “709 incident”—legal professionals and activists report that government control over the legal system has intensified under Xi Jinping. While once there was space for lawyers to defend civil rights within China’s own legal framework, today those involved in sensitive cases face harassment, surveillance, and …
In Turkey, the lawyer defending jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has himself been imprisoned amid what he calls a politically motivated purge. Mehmet Pehlivan, who represents İmamoğlu (President Erdoğan’s main rival), was detained in June on charges of belonging to a “criminal organization,” a charge he insists is entirely fabricated. Pehlivan told Reuters from prison …
In a dramatic shift, both the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress have increasingly deferred to President Donald Trump’s authority, signaling a rebalancing of constitutional powers in favor of the executive. The Supreme Court recently ruled that federal judges cannot issue nationwide injunctions on presidential actions—even if unconstitutional—and upheld presidential immunity for core official duties. Congress, …