Brett L. Tolman is the executive director for Right On Crime. He was a leading figure in the drafting and passage of the First Step Act, one of the most sweeping reforms of the federal criminal justice system in decades. Prior to entering private practice, Tolman was appointed by President George Bush in 2006 as the United States Attorney for the District of Utah and held that office for nearly 4 years from 2006-2009. In 2009 he handled the prosecution of Brian David Mitchell, the alleged kidnapper of Elizabeth Smart.
On just one Saturday night this month, three DePaul University students, all women, were robbed within half an hour on the school’s Lincoln Park campus in Chicago. One of the women was hit in the face by her assailant. Across town, numerous armed robberies and murders were taking place at the same time. In all, Chicago reported at least 22...
Justice Department traditionally offers an unforgiving, hard line on firearms offenses No one can claim surprise that the law is finally catching up to Hunter Biden. I’ve warned before that this could be “one of the biggest political scandals in American history,” and we have just witnessed the first time a son of a sitting...
The courthouse is a very bleak house, indeed. Injustice makes it so—especially when it’s justice for some, but not for all. One judge I know says she looks forward to the adoptions she officiates: “An adoption is just about the only time people come to the courthouse and everyone leaves happy,” she told me. “For...
Americans are wise to the Biden crime family’s long history of corruption Really? Are we back to “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is”? Because that’s what Democrats spinning the testimony of Biden family associate Devon Archer on Monday are going with, contending that the president may have sat in on some phone...
America’s Justice Department has become politicized and the Biden documents scandal begs the question, what did Merrick Garland know? The political weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice finally hit a wall last week as Attorney General Merrick B. Garland boxed himself into having to appoint a special counsel to examine classified documents squirreled away in multiple...
As a former U.S. Attorney with a criminal justice career that spans decades, I find it remarkable that some in the legal profession are already willing to close the case on the FBI warrant to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home based on the heavily redacted affidavit. The unredacted portions of the affidavit attempt...
The long-awaited release of the “affidavit” of probable cause in support of the Trump raid is finally here. Oh, there are plenty of redactions; more than 20 out of 38 pages are full or partial redactions. Even the list of reasons for the redactions is completely redacted except for a couple of “Agent Safety” references....
Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, yet policymakers are scrambling to explain the series of missed warning signs and communication failures that led to the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park. Much like 9/11, when law enforcement agencies had information prior to that tragedy but failed to cohesively communicate, mass...
Former federal prosecutor Brett Tolman said Friday on “Fox & Friends First” Attorney General Merrick Garland should resign if the Justice Department is not going to enforce laws to protect Supreme Court justices. “It is playing with fire,” he said. “And the attorney general right now should either resign or enforce the law impartially. And that includes enforcing...
Virginia Democrats made a critical error this month by playing partisan games and voting down four qualified candidates nominated to the Virginia Parole Board. In so doing, the Democrats have all but killed the critically needed overhaul of the parole system in Virginia. The momentum for bipartisan support of public scrutiny and more transparency ended suddenly as...
Conservative leaders have a duty to govern with a bold commitment to the principles that best serve our citizens and communities. In 2018, the voters of Oklahoma put their confidence in Kevin Stitt who received more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in Oklahoma history. In just three short years, Stitt has proven that evidence-based policy...
The idea of being alone evokes a special kind of dread for many people. Reams have been written on how to avoid this fate, and those who can’t tend to earn our sympathy. Unless, that is, they’re cut off from meaningful human contact because they’re one of the thousands of federal inmates held in solitary...