Joe Soss

Connecticut’s Clean Slate law and a look at predatory criminal justice practices CT Public's Maysoon Khan gives us the latest update on Connecticut's Clean Slate law and two professors discuss the way the legal system takes resources from marginalized communities

Many thanks to the brilliant @kbdphd.bsky.social for having @joshpage.bsky.social and me on her podcast, Disrupted. One of the best experiences I've ever had doing a podcast. www.ctpublic.org/show/disrupt...

‘Why Is This Happening to Us?’ Daily Number of Kids in ICE Detention Jumps 6x Under Trump. Advocates: ‘It’s only a matter of time before we see a child die.’ Immigration Attorney: “It’s an unmitigated horror show, and there’s no other way to put it.” www.themarshallproject.org/.../ice-kids....

The Year in Books - Inquest Inquest staff recommendations of not-to-be-missed decarceral books from 2025.

'Legal Plunder' @joshpage.bsky.social @joesoss.bsky.social @uchicagopress.bsky.social is recommended in our Year in Books by Managing Editor @adammcgee.bsky.social as "innovative and refreshingly frank."

North Carolina Prison Officials Raise Prices for Those Who Can Least Afford It An increased markup on canteen goods adds to the financial burden on incarcerated people and their families, highlighting how prison systems squeeze them for revenue.

North Carolina raising the cost of products sold in state prisons by five cents is a significant increase to incarcerated workers who typically earn between forty cents and $1.25 per day.

"Police officers say drones are rapidly becoming a routine part of law enforcement.... [When] the Law Enforcement Drone Association... began five years ago, there were few police departments with drone units, Karr said. Now there are at least 6,000 programs nationwide."

#LegalPlunder

"The use of drones has led to more fines, giving a revenue boost to city coffers. A Northern California city sent out police drones whirring 400 feet in the air this Fourth of July to hunt for people setting off illegal fireworks, and issued more than $300,000 in fines."

A Police Drone Might Be Behind Your Next Ticket Law enforcement is expanding the use of remotely controlled drones despite concerns of civil liberties groups.

Good reporting on police departments' growing use of drones to automate and expand citation-based fines and surveillance.

www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

#ICYMI: Our Co-Executive Director Joanna Weiss sat down with the authors of Legal Plunder to explore how fines & fees:
🔹 Turn courts into self-funding revenue schemes
🔹 Act as a hidden tax on over-policed communities
🔹 Push families into impossible choices

🎬 Watch now: tinyurl.com/5fje5tcy

Harvard Dismisses Director of FXB Center for Health and Human Rights | News | The Harvard Crimson Harvard forced out the director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights — another shakeup at a center whose programming on the Israel-Palestine conflict has been a flashpoint...

The incomparable health & human rights leader Dr Mary Bassett has been terminated - a shocking move by Harvard bowing to pressure 🇺🇸

Read more & sign petition

Cash Bail Fuels "Legal Plunder" Sociologist Joshua Page discusses how cash bail traps families in debt while feeding government and corporate profit.

Thanks @bailproject.org for the interview! Cash bail does not just fuel injustice and compromise public safety. It also enables widespread financial extraction that harms families and communities and intensifies inequality. #LegalPlunder cc/ @joesoss.bsky.social

Join us for a talk with Legal Plunder authors, @joesoss.bsky.social & @joshpage.bsky.social, exploring how our fines & fees system came to be & what it will take to dismantle it.

In-person registration is closed — but there’s still time to join virtually!

🗓️ 12/3, 12 PM ET
🎟️ tinyurl.com/3bnpprvb

If you're interested in hearing about my new book with @joesoss.bsky.social, Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, join us virtually this Wednesday for a spirited discussion with @finesandfeesjc.bsky.social.

Join FFJC Co-ED Joanna Weiss for a conversation with the authors of Legal Plunder, @joesoss.bsky.social & @joshpage.bsky.social, exploring how our fines & fees system took shape and what it will take to dismantle it.

🗓️ 12/3, 12 PM ET
📍 Online or at New York Law School
🎟️ tinyurl.com/3bnpprvb

Indentured Citizens - Joshua Page & Joe Soss - Inquest Making incarceration profitable—for both the state and corporations—generates untold hardship not only for incarcerated people but also for their families and communities.

"Penal operations that isolate, deprive, and control do more than just warehouse; they make incarcerated populations productive by ushering them into projects that generate substantial public and private revenues." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on prisons & $$$

Very much looking forward to this event in NYC with @finesandfeesjc.bsky.social. Please join us in person or online for a spirited discussion about Legal Plunder. cc/ @joesoss.bsky.social

Folks can join online as well!

If you're in or near NYC on December 3, I hope you'll join us for this important conversation. Free and open to the public.

Picture of Ace Frehley in his signature makeup and outfit, holding a beautiful electric guitar

The moral arc of The New York Groove is long, but it bends toward "a wicked lady sittin' by my side, sayin', where are we?" RIP Ace Frehley.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Bernie Sanders 200000 Number of Donations 150000 100000 50000 Elizabeth Warren 60000 40000 20000 01 25 50 Donor Age 75

Hakeem Jeffries 40000 30000 20000 10000 Nancy Pelosi 100000 Number of Donations 75000 50000 25000 Suzan DelBene 2000 1500 1000 500 25 50 75 Donor Age

AOC has just officially become the top House fundraiser, beating out Hakeem Jeffries. Now lemme take a big sip of coffee as I look at the age distribution of donors to AOC vs Jeffries

Just... wow

Unwarranted: How the Criminal Justice System Expands ICE’s Reach Email from FWD.us October 16, 2025 Just a Minute on Warrants Bad premises beget worse policies. Spend just a minute with us so that we can do better.     Mathieu Lewis-Rolland via Getty Images In the

Important: @fwd.us just posted a nice short piece on how ICE agents are using bench warrants -- often for unpaid criminal legal debts -- as pretexts for raiding private properties and indiscriminately detaining residents. #LegalPlunder
myemail.constantcontact.com/Unwarranted-...

The Supreme Court’s majority right wing indicated in oral arguments that they think racism is over on the same day that the vice president defended the “I love Hitler” guy, and that the NYT reported that the current administration plans to accept only white, English-speaking refugees.

Oct. 15, 2025 PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION STATEMENT Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution. The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all. PPA

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

Trump Halts Billions in Grants for Democratic Districts During Shutdown (Gift Article) The Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion primarily located in Democratic-led districts, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Trump is upfront in saying he will use the shutdown to punish Democrats, and here are the receipts. About $27.2 billion cut from Dem districts compared to about $0.7 billion in GOP districts.
We all complain about the media, but need this type of in-depth journalism.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Worth Rises — How the “Big Beautiful Bill” Has Transformed the Prison Industry One hundred days ago, on July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), which launched a dangerous and sweeping escalation of indiscriminate U.S. immigration en...

Great post from @worthrises.bsky.social on how the "big beautiful bill" is showering public funds on the prison industry, supercharging profits and transforming detention and incarceration in America. #LegalPlunder
worthrises.org/blogpost/202...

@biancatylek.bsky.social
@joshpage.bsky.social

This week, our colleague Dr. Mark Bray came under attack by Turning Point USA’s Rutgers chapter for his public scholarship. Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union condemn this campaign and stand in solidarity with our colleagues. Read our full statement here: https://loom.ly/BDXasRY

Minnesota law enforcement asset seizures up last year • Minnesota Reformer Minnesota law enforcement agencies seized and kept over $6 million in cash, vehicles and other property in 2024, according to the state auditor’s most recent asset forfeiture report. That’s 14% more t...

Excellent report on asset seizures in Minnesota and Minneapolis
#LegalPlunder
minnesotareformer.com/2025/10/09/m...

Court Rules in AAUP v Rubio: Trump Admin Violated First Amendment The AAUP and partners sued to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty members for ideological reasons.

Once again, it is *faculty*—not administrators—who brought this case and won. Including UC Faculty Association chapters of the AAUP.

Cover of legal plunder: the predatory dimensions of criminal justice

Excited to read this! Thanks @joesoss.bsky.social & @joshuapage.bsky.social

Thanks, Don!