Ex-client guilty of threat to kill lawyer; another man fights case over lawyer face-slap
After less than an hour of deliberation, a federal jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Wednesday convicted Leon Houston of threatening to kill his former attorney, James Logan, during a jailhouse conversation with his girlfriend.
Houston, who will be sentenced at a later date, had argued that what he said wasn’t illegal. He had previously been tried, convicted and sentenced to five years in the same case, but a federal appeals court reversed the guilty verdict in July. His sentencing for the new conviction will be held at a later date, according to the News Sentinel (sub. req.) and WBIR.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case, a Massachusetts man has pleaded not guilty to slapping his lawyer in open court during a murder trial.
Although the jury wasn’t present, a mistrial was declared after attorney Elliot Levine said he could no longer represent Janleer Povez, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (sub. req.), MassLive.com and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
