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"We believe firmly that children should be kept in school and out of courts," says Justice Department official Robert Listenbee. In his new role leading the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, he's trying to help stop what experts describe as a "school-to-prison pipeline."

Just before opening a new front in the debate over the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Eric Holder attended a Washington event about a topic that hit close to home.

Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement officer, is calling for a sea change in the criminal justice system. The attorney general is joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who want to overhaul prison sentencing policies.

The shakeup comes as Republicans step up pressure over the agency's failed gun trafficking operation. Kenneth E. Melson has stepped down. B. Todd Jones, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, will be the agency's new acting director.

Ten years ago, an Albanian immigrant agreed to help the Justice Department build a case against an accused mobster. In exchange, he says, federal prosecutors promised him a green card and protection for his family. Now the informant says the U.S. reneged on its commitment — with violent results.

A staff member at the Securities and Exchange Commission has complained to Congress that thousands of investigative documents have been destroyed by the agency, including some relating to huge investment banks. But an SEC spokesman says there's nothing wrong with how it handled internal records.

Stepping on big toes is pretty much the job description of the Justice Department's Michael Horowitz. He's boss of about 450 employees who sift through allegations of misconduct at Justice, the FBI and ATF. One looming item: a report on the gunrunning operation called Fast and Furious.

From the day a grand jury indicted former Sen. John Edwards on six felony charges nearly one year ago, the case drew jeers from election lawyers and government watchdogs. After a mistrial on most counts, the jury foreman says Congress should clarify campaign laws that were at the heart of the case.

Advocates for prisoners have long argued that confinement conditions in prisons violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. On Tuesday, they made their case before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, complete with a replica prison cell in the hearing room.

Republican lawmakers in Congress have spent months pursuing allegations that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives knowingly allowed assault weapons to enter Mexico. Did a key whistle-blower in the case face retaliation?