The building that houses the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is pictured in 2015. Emails and text messages from prosecutors in that office have come out as part of an inquiry into their handling of a case. Mary Altaffer/AP hide caption
A U.S. federal courtroom sits empty in 2017 in Honolulu. A new study finds that judges with backgrounds as prosecutors or corporate lawyers are more likely to rule in favor of employers. Jennifer Sinco Kelleher/AP hide caption
Merrick Garland, President Biden's nominee for U.S. attorney general, speaks in Wilmington, Del., on Jan. 7. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption
People walk on a tour of the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix in Collegeville, Pa., in 2018. Two brothers who were at the facility have been freed by clemency after expecting to spend their lives incarcerated. Jacqueline Larma/AP hide caption
A Philadelphia state correctional facility is pictured in June 2018. In Philadelphia, the concept of "felony murder" means someone can spend their life in prison if someone died during a felony act, even if that person did not intend to commit murder. Jacqueline Larma/AP hide caption
The new scholarship program is in part named after the late Constance Baker Motley, seen here in 2004, who was the first Black woman federal judge. Bebeto Matthews/AP hide caption
Civil liberties advocates say they fear that the kinds of measures that could be put in place after last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol could disproportionately hurt minorities. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
Merrick Garland came to national attention in 2016 when President Barack Obama nominated him to the U.S. Supreme Court. Senate Republicans denied Garland even a hearing for the post. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Zachary Terwilliger, shown outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., in October, is headed into private practice. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption