RJ Vogt
Select stories as published by Law360, McSweeney's Literary Quarterly, Outside, VICE, The Myanmar Times and more
Virus, Protests Fuel Push To Reopen Access To Justice Office
Law360 | August 09, 2020
Created by the Obama administration and closed by the Trump administration, the Justice Department's Access to Justice Office was a first-of-its-kind federal effort to ensure the right to counsel and boost funding for legal aid. Amid a historic pandemic, will lawmakers reopen it?

As COVID-19 Safeguards End, Eviction Wave
Begins
Law360 | July 12, 2020
In 12 days, a federal eviction moratorium will expire. Most state and local protections have already come and gone. Without more grace periods and direct rental payment assistance, experts say recent eviction filing spikes in some cities look likely to turn into a nationwide "tsunami."

Broken Promise: Visa Program Leaves Crime Victims In Limbo
Law360 | March 08, 2020
To overcome the deportation fears that often deter undocumented people from reporting crimes to police, the U.S. government offers visas to victims and witnesses who assist with investigations. But backlogs and processing delays mean those who come forward must wait years for protection against the attackers they exposed.

DC Sniper Case Stokes Debate Over Juvenile Life Sentences
Law360 | October 06, 2019
Lawyers for a notorious mass murderer are headed to the U.S. Supreme Court to argue that his sentence of life in prison without parole, issued for crimes he committed at 17, is unconstitutional. The fates of at least a dozen other lifers hang in the balance.

How Courts Could Ease The White House's Clemency Backlog
Law360 | August 24, 2019
The Department of Justice reports that there are more pending bids for pardons and commutations than ever before. Why is the process of presidential mercy so backed up — and does the First Step Act offer a new workaround for inmates?

Mistaken Identity: ID Barriers Plague Nonbinary, Trans People
Law360 | June 29, 2019
For trans and nonbinary people, updating legal documents is a burdensome process that often requires court orders, proof of expensive surgeries and notarized affidavits — barriers that prevent most of them from having IDs that match who they really are.

Value Of Exonerees’ Lost Time Depends On Where They Live
Law360 | March 02, 2019
A city granted a $21 million settlement to an exonerated man who spent 37 years behind bars, less than a year after the state paid just $1.95 million. The discrepancy in sums raises the question: how much is a wrongfully convicted person’s lost time really worth?

Discharged In The Dark: Immigrant GIs Fight For Due Process
Law360 | February 23, 2019
More than 530 immigrant soldiers enlisted in the military through a program that promised to naturalize them as citizens, only to be discharged without warning due to purported security concerns. Now they're fighting for due process in the country they pledged to serve and facing potential persecution in the countries they left behind.

Clean Slate: How Ditching A Criminal Record Is No Easy Task
Law360 | February 09, 2019
An estimated 100 million Americans have criminal records that follow them for life. Some states have moved to ease the burden by passing record-sealing laws for certain offenses, but the process of clearing your name can be byzantine, expensive and futile in an age where mugshots are searchable online.

Justices' Jokes In Seized SUV Row Have Advocates Grinning
Law360 | December 01, 2018
Can a state seize your car if you're caught speeding, and does it matter if that car is a Bugatti or a beat-up old clunker? The U.S. Supreme Court asked these questions and more in a case that could have huge ramifications for America's booming fines and fees industry.

Legal Aid Funder Faces Existential Crisis
Under Trump
Law360 | October 27, 2018
The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to shut down the Legal Services Corporation, America's largest single funder of civil legal aid. It's not the first time federal funding for low-income legal assistance has faced the chopping block, and it may not be the last.

NY AG Schneiderman Resigns After Report He Abused Women
Law360 | May 07, 2018
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his resignation late Monday night after The New Yorker reported that he’d subjected four previous romantic interests to “nonconsensual physical violence" including choking, hitting and threats to kill them if they broke up with him.
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Stephen Reinhardt, 9th Circ.'s Liberal Lion,
Dies At 87
Law360 | March 29, 2018
U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt has died at age 87, a Ninth Circuit court spokesperson confirmed Thursday, bringing an end to the 38-year appellate court career of a liberal lion who made a name for himself authoring key opinions on topics ranging from gay marriage to immigration.

For the Rohingya Football Club, Just Existing Is a Political Statement
VICE | April 19, 2017
The Rohingya in Myanmar have been persecuted by their government and ignored by the rest of the world. Now a group of refugees is turning to soccer in their quest for global recognition and a more hopeful identity.

Golden Promises Turn Sour in
Indawgyi
Myanmar Times | July 22, 2016
The precious metal in the ground around Indawgyi Lake in Kachin State is proving to be more of a curse than a blessing: scientists are estimating that damage caused by pollution from gold mining in the area could cause what is currently Myanmar’s largest lake to shrink by one-third within 10 years.

Boozy Battleground: A Turf War Brews in Myanmar
Myanmar Times | June 17, 2016
Domestic brands such as Myanmar and Dagon have dominated the beer market since the early 1990s, when the military regime founded Myanmar Brewery Limited. But, like everything else in The Golden Land lately, the beer landscape is changing – rapidly.

An Afternoon with a 14-Foot Python Covered in Cash, Believed to be a Reincarnated Princess
Atlas Obscura | January 05, 2016
At the end of a dirt road that twists along Bago River in the old Myanmar capital of Bago, just a 90 minute train ride from country’s largest city, Yangon, a serpent of epic proportions sits on a bed of cash.

Joy, Relief As Mandalay Runs Red
Myanmar Times | November 9, 2015
After weeks of concerns over incorrect voter lists, suspect ID cards and a novice electorate, the National League for Democracy's Mandalay headquarters began to breathe easy last night as initial results suggested a landslide victory over the ruling military party.

In Magwe, Flood Relief Gets
Political for NLD
Myanmar Times | August 13, 2015
In the flood-ravaged town of Sidoktaya in Magwe Region, an electric murmur fills the air, buzzing louder as National League for Democracy officials form human barriers around a small walkway. The crowd surges forward, clamouring and thrusting smartphones over the barricade of bracing bodies. The occasion is momentous for the remote village – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is here.
