Nora Demleitner
norademleitner.bsky.social
Nora Demleitner
@norademleitner.bsky.social

Writer, educator, lawyer, immigrant. Served as college president & law dean. Writing on problems — and ways forward — in criminal justice & sentencing and higher education, often with a look abroad for different approaches. .. more

Nora V. Demleitner is a German-American jurist and academic administrator. She was the president of St. John's College - Annapolis from 2022–2025. Prior to this, she served as the dean of Washington and Lee University School of Law from 2012-2015 and dean of Hofstra University School of Law from 2007-2012. .. more

Political science 44%
Law 24%

If this were a movie plot, I’d call it silly, not happening. Yet, in real life,
Here we are.

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

NEW: Tina Peters is staying put in a Colorado prison.

Colorado's Department of Corrections tells me it does not intend to respond to a DOJ request to move Peters to federal custody.
www.9news.com/article/news...
Tina Peters to remain in state custody despite federal request
The Colorado Department of Corrections is resisting federal pressure to transfer a former Mesa County clerk to federal custody, despite Trump's backing.
www.9news.com

Priorities matter. Resources are limited.
Special agents at the Homeland Security Department have made fewer arrests for drug crimes and seized fewer weapons than they did the previous fiscal year, according to internal government documents reviewed by The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Drug Arrests and Gun Seizures Fell as Homeland Security Pursued Immigration
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

Special agents at the Homeland Security Department have made fewer arrests for drug crimes and seized fewer weapons than they did the previous fiscal year, according to internal government documents reviewed by The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Drug Arrests and Gun Seizures Fell as Homeland Security Pursued Immigration
www.nytimes.com

College-age daughter: how about talking to some young people?

Her diagnosis: protests feel like a parade. Where‘s the concrete goal?

Data may not tell the entire story.
Opinion | The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z?
www.nytimes.com

We underestimate the mental harm of ankle monitors and the profit margin involved.
ICE now using punitive GPS ankle monitors in almost highest numbers since 2021, nearly 35,000 people monitored this way compared to less than 5,000 in 2023.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/breaking-i...

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

ICE now using punitive GPS ankle monitors in almost highest numbers since 2021, nearly 35,000 people monitored this way compared to less than 5,000 in 2023.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/breaking-i...

How much have the 100 wealthiest Americans contributed to support the arts, local service organizations like food banks, local hospitals, the broader community?
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.

We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.

washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.

We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.

washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Presidential pardons used to be carefully vetted to spare a president embarrassment.
The vetting tried to assure the pardoned wouldn’t commit any further crimes. In this case it hasn’t even been a year.
January 6 rioter who was pardoned by Trump arrested for child sexual abuse
Andrew Paul Johnson, 44, faces multiple charges in Florida and has pleaded not guilty to the crimes, authorities say
www.theguardian.com

Headlines about Abbott‘s declaration should start with its utter illegality.
Since when do governors have the power to declare terrorist groups?
Abbott is the first state leader to make such a declaration about the organizations, according to the New York Times.

There are things about the Epstein case I don’t need to know.
Epstein had a tiny & ‘extremely deformed’ fruit-shaped penis, victim says

House Oversight Committee releases photos with blurred faces.

A surprisingly effective safeguard in this DOJ meltdown has been the Grand Jury.
As the Comey indictment unravels amidst a flurry of revelations of possible improper prosecutorial conduct, it is worth remembering that this administration has systematically dismantled the safeguards designed to ensure ethics & prevent abuse of power at DOJ. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
The Department of Justice’s Broken Accountability System
The Trump administration has dismantled its internal checks on abuses of power, and courts are grappling with the consequences.
www.brennancenter.org

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

Since when do governors have the power to declare terrorist groups?
As the Comey indictment unravels amidst a flurry of revelations of possible improper prosecutorial conduct, it is worth remembering that this administration has systematically dismantled the safeguards designed to ensure ethics & prevent abuse of power at DOJ. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
The Department of Justice’s Broken Accountability System
The Trump administration has dismantled its internal checks on abuses of power, and courts are grappling with the consequences.
www.brennancenter.org

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

Epstein had a tiny & ‘extremely deformed’ fruit-shaped penis, victim says

House Oversight Committee releases photos with blurred faces.

The curious US pivot:
anti-crime rhetoric turns apologists with a flavor of demographic bias toward the wealthy.
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.

He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com

Distressing to see that every aspect of our education system will now be overseen by DOL. it represents an ever narrower focus on immediate labor market needs rather than a comprehensive approach to education, individual & societal needs, which include labor markets but aren‘t the sole focus.
U.S. Department of Education Announces Six New Agency Partnerships to Break Up Federal Bureaucracy
ED announced six new interagency agreements to break up the federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, activities, and move closer to fulfilling the President Trump's...
www.ed.gov
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.

He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com

Today's Treasury Department website:
"President Donald J. Trump has signed a Continuing Resolution through January 30th. Thanks to the President’s decisive leadership in the face of radical left-wing obstructionism, the Department of the Treasury has now resumed normal operations."
Forms and Guidelines
FormsJoint Operations Obligation Form (This form is fillable)Joint Operations Invoice Form (This form is fillable) GuidelinesBlue BookBlue Book Exhibits:Exhibit A: TFF Agency Future Expenditure FormEx...
home.treasury.gov

Embarrassing & demeaning.
This is real. Our govt is Tweeting like a 14 year old and calling Americans imbecilic morons. We worry about children being bullied but this is the example set by the U.S. GOVERNMENT. This is so shameful. I’m embarrassed for any of you that think this is okay or make excuses for it.

This Epstein plea deal selectively chose the least bad fact, camouflaged truth & allowed for more victimization as a consequence.
Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this

Crime trending up when even watchdogs join in.

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

This is real. Our govt is Tweeting like a 14 year old and calling Americans imbecilic morons. We worry about children being bullied but this is the example set by the U.S. GOVERNMENT. This is so shameful. I’m embarrassed for any of you that think this is okay or make excuses for it.
Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this

Another customer-focused industry accountability measure goes to die.

USDOT will withdraw rule that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays.

It was a nice dream to imagine we'd get the same benefit as Europeans, Canadians, Brazilians.
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Timothy D. McBride

Medicaid changes will impact rural hospitals.
That impact, and especially closure of rural hospitals, will affect rural jails and prisons, leading to even worse care for those incarcerated and the staff there.
It will make staff recruiting harder & ultimately affect public safety.

Reposted by Nora V. Demleitner

Update from Ana Swanson
www.nytimes.com