Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
Articles by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
British court OKs investigation into assassination of Russian ex-spy Litvinenko
At the height of Russia's hosting of the Winter Olympics, Britain's High Court on Tuesday gave a green light for a public investigation of Moscow's presumed role in the 2006 assassination of a former Russian spy in London. Published February 11, 2014
Italian court convicts Amanda Knox of murder for second time
An Italian court conducting a second retrial has again found Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaelle Sollecito guilty of the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher. Published January 30, 2014
Probe of Russian ex-spy’s death could strain London-Moscow ties
Ever since Alexander Litvinenko's death on Nov. 23, 2006, British authorities have wrestled with how to deal with the case without creating an international incident with the Kremlin. Published January 22, 2014
NSA snooping programs taken to federal court
A public interest lawyer who says the government is "messing" with his text messages pleaded with a federal judge Monday to halt the government's electronic snooping programs, in a case that tests whether Americans will be able to challenge the NSA's phone-records collection in regular courts. Published November 18, 2013
SHAPIRO: No Dachau? No Auschwitz? Ignoring just as evil as denying
Last weekend, I flew from London to Munich to visit Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, built in 1933. I'd never been to Germany before, and since I was already in London on business from the United States, I decided to use my weekend to make the journey. Published October 17, 2013
Knox retrial raises questions about extradition
The retrial of Amanda Knox on murder charges in Italy and the imminent extradition of Playboy Playmate Brandi Brandt to Australia on drug charges have reignited discussion about extradition treaties and the rights of Americans accused by a foreign state. Published October 1, 2013
SHAPIRO: Lifting the right to carry firearms
The Second Amendment applies not just at home, but in public Published September 30, 2013
High-profile cases show a pattern of misuse of prosecutorial powers
ANALYSIS: It's hard to imagine the U.S. as a place where citizens have to fear overzealous prosecution, but last week's reversals in the cases of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and five New Orleans police officers are part of a troubling pattern reminiscent of the Soviet criminal justice system — a system in which the state is always right, even when it is wrong. Published September 22, 2013
SHAPIRO: Why intervention in Syria is legal
President Obama has convinced the Senate that military intervention in Syria is just and necessary, but, pending House approval, he also must convince the world that our actions will be justifiable under international law. Published September 8, 2013
SHAPIRO: The ‘heartless’ murder of Christopher Lane
As narcissism proliferates, indifference to humanity rampages Published September 8, 2013
SHAPIRO: Why Justice has no case against Zimmerman
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has promised to use the power of the U.S. government to investigate the death of Trayvon Martin, calling the teen's death "tragic" and "unnecessary." Published July 17, 2013
SHAPIRO: The Zimmerman prosecutors’ overreach
A jury in the Trayvon Martin case acquitted George Zimmerman after 15 hours of deliberations, but the state should have dismissed its case before it was submitted to a jury, and outcries for federal prosecution are inappropriate under the circumstances. Published July 15, 2013
SHAPIRO AND ANDREWS: Transforming democrats to dictators
Ever since Barack Obama was nominated in 2008 as the Democratic candidate for the president of the United States, his staunchest critics have implied that he had the makings of a dictator. Published May 20, 2013
SHAPIRO: New York’s defiance of the Second Amendment
Earlier this year in the wake of the tragic Sandy Hook Shootings, the state of New York defied the U.S. Supreme Court by passing the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, a complete ban on magazines that hold more than seven rounds. Published April 4, 2013
SHAPIRO: Obama’s birth certificate proves Americans are powerless
Many Americans were shocked yesterday when President Obama finally released his long-form birth certificate from the state of Hawaii. The real surprise, however, is that for the past three years, our democratic institutions did not address the matter. The media refused to tackle this issue with the same investigative drive with which they investigated Watergate, President Clinton's alleged indiscretions and the George W. Bush administration's missteps in Iraq; the courts declined to hear a single case on the issue; and Congress failed to hold any hearings on the matter. Published April 27, 2011