Carrie Johnson Carrie Johnson is NPR's National Justice Correspondent.
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Carrie Johnson

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Carrie Johnson 2016
Linda Fittante/NPR

Carrie Johnson

Justice Correspondent

Carrie Johnson is NPR's National Justice Correspondent.

She covers a wide variety of stories about justice issues, law enforcement, and legal affairs for NPR's flagship programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Johnson regularly appears on the NPR Politics Podcast.

Prior to coming to NPR in 2010, Johnson worked at the Washington Post for 10 years. Earlier in her career, she wrote about courts for the weekly publication Legal Times.

Her work has been honored with awards from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, the Society for Professional Journalists, and SABEW. She served as a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University from 2019-2020. In 2021, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers honored Johnson with a rarely-bestowed Champion of Justice award for her journalism work.

She has been a finalist for the Loeb Award for financial journalism and for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for team coverage of the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.

Johnson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Benedictine University in Illinois. She sits on the advisory board for the Center for Journalism Ethics at UW-M and the Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit.

Story Archive

Thursday

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, speaks during a rally outside the White House on June 25, 2017. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption

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Susan Walsh/AP

Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy

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Wednesday

E. Jean Carroll departs the Manhattan Federal Court in New York City on May 9, 2023. ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images

Trump "Sexually Abused" E. Jean Carroll In 1990s, Jury Says

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Tuesday

Friday

Enrique Tarrio, then head of the Proud Boys, is escorted out of the area after arguing with counter-protestors at a 'Stop the Steal' protest outside of the Georgia State Capital building on November 21, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images hide caption

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Megan Varner/Getty Images

Jan. 6 Militia Leader Convicted Of Seditious Conspiracy

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Thursday

Jury convicts 4 Proud Boys members of seditious conspiracy for Jan. 6 riot

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Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, shown here at a protest in support for Cubans demonstrating against their government in Miami on July 16, 2021. Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images

Wednesday

Rodney Roberts said having to decide whether to take a plea deal "felt like I was choosing between two evils." He wound up pleading guilty — and spending 18 years in custody, both in prison and in civil confinement, before he was exonerated. Kenny Karpov/Innocence Project hide caption

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Kenny Karpov/Innocence Project

Trials have become an endangered species. A new effort is trying to change that

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Wednesday

Former Fugees musician Pras Michel found guilty of 10 criminal charges

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Jury deliberates in seditious conspiracy trial against Proud Boys members

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Tuesday

Tuesday

Monday

James Boasberg is chief judge of the U.S. District Court, in Washington, D.C. Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Meet the chief federal judge overseeing several high-profile Trump grand jury probes

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Friday

What to expect from the new chief judge at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.

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Tuesday

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 04, 2023 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Trump charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree

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Monday

Pras Michel, former member of the Fugees, center, and his lawyer David Kenner arrive to federal court in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 3, 2023. Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Saturday

What happens next in Trump indictment process

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Friday

Former U.S. President Donald Trump exits after speaking during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images

America's Presidential Indictment Era

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Thursday

Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, left, a member of the 1990s hip-hop group the Fugees, accompanied by defense lawyer David Kenner, right, arrives at federal court for his trial on March 30. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption

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Andrew Harnik/AP

Prosecutors say Pras Michel broke the law 'to get paid'

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Monday

Musician Pras Michel in a 2015 portrait taken in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Pras Michel stands trial in Washington, D.C., for conspiracy and other charges

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Tuesday

Pedestrians walk inside newly installed "bike rack" barricades outside the U.S. Capitol on March 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. Security in New York City, at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, and Washington, DC has been increased due to the possible indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Monday

House Republicans wanted to focus on their agenda. Trump dominates the conversation

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Saturday

The promise of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright that guaranteed criminal defendants the right to a lawyer has been challenged by budgets and high demand. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

You have the right to a lawyer, but public defenders note a lack of resources, respect

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