Issues

Whether to eliminate or significantly reduce cash bail — replacing it with risk-based release decisions — debated as criminal-justice equity vs. public-safety tool.

Police seizure of cash, vehicles, or property suspected of involvement in crime, often without a criminal conviction of the owner.

Whether the federal government and states should impose capital punishment — the U.S. is the only Western democracy that retains it, with 27 states authorizing it as of 2024.

Whether possession of small amounts of drugs should be a civil rather than criminal offense, and broader harm-reduction approaches to substance use.

Whether to remove cannabis from federal Schedule I, reschedule it, or fully legalize it — given that most states have legalized medical or adult use.

How the justice system should handle minors who commit crimes, including transfer to adult court, sentencing limits, and raise-the-age laws.

Federal and state laws requiring minimum prison terms for specified offenses, removing judicial discretion — debated as a deterrent vs. driver of mass incarceration.

Search warrants that authorize police to enter without first announcing themselves, used to prevent destruction of evidence or surprise armed suspects.

Mandates requiring officers to wear body-worn cameras, and policies on when footage must be recorded, released to the public, and retained.

How to structure police budgets, training, oversight, and alternative-response programs after the 2020 protests over George Floyd's killing.

Whether the federal government and states should contract with private companies (CoreCivic, GEO Group) to run prisons and immigration-detention facilities.

The judicially created doctrine that shields government officials — especially police — from civil-rights lawsuits unless they violated "clearly established" law.

Public registries of people convicted of sex offenses, including residency restrictions, registration duration, and which offenses qualify.

The use of long-term isolation in U.S. prisons and jails, and whether to set limits on duration, conditions, and the populations it can apply to.

Mandatory long or life sentences after a third felony conviction, designed to incapacitate repeat offenders but criticized for disproportionate sentences.