http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-21T18:26:54-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/convicted_of_murdering_ex-client_lawyer_is_fighting_attorney_disciplinary/ Convicted earlier this year of murdering a former matrimonial client and her baby, and sentenced to life in prison, an Illinois attorney is fighting a subsequent legal ethics case. In a handwritten answer (PDF) submitted in response to a complaint (PDF) filed last month by… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Family Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Illinois Tue, 21 May 2013 10:55:52 -0500 44290.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspended_and_facing_ethics_case_judge_blames_president_jurist_claims_she/ An Alabama judge facing a legal ethics case over the unlawful arrest orders she is accused of entering against parties and witnesses in divorce cases is now blaming the jurisdiction's former top jurist for her plight. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Dorothea Batiste denies in court filings that she abused her… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Family Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, Alabama Tue, 21 May 2013 10:18:19 -0500 44289.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/after_lawyer_is_indicted_in_witness-interference_case_clients_trial_is_post/ A West Virginia lawyer representing a police officer in a felony case has been criminally charged, along with an investigator, in an alleged conspiracy to interfere with a witness. Attorney Paul J. Harris, who practices in Wheeling, and the private investigator, Franklin D. Streets Jr., were indicted by a grand… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, States, West Virginia Tue, 21 May 2013 08:40:19 -0500 44286.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/juror_in_contempt_for_posting_comments_in_newspaper_article_about_trial_of_/ A juror has been held in contempt for posting online comments, during trial last year, in a newspaper article about the felony-murder case against one of nine defendants accused of playing a role in the slaying of a Kansas attorney. James M. Reeder must either pay a $1,000 fine or… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Trials & Litigation, Juries, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Kansas Tue, 21 May 2013 08:20:48 -0500 44285.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_secretly_got_warrant_for_fox_reporters_email_claiming_that_his_news-ga/ News that federal authorities had apparently looked at the personal email of the chief Washington correspondent for Fox News under a search warrant secretly obtained in a criminal investigation of his 2009 news-gathering activities elicited outrage Monday from media organizations and others. The warrant, which was both issued and unsealed… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Executive Branch, Media & Communications Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, D.C. Circuit Court, States, District of Columbia Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:48 -0500 44284.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_jails_estate_lawyer_as_flight_risk_calls/ A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer's effort to revoke his guilty plea in a controversial $30 million elder insurance fraud case was a "bizarre" and unjustified "hatchet job" on Joseph Caramadre's former counsel, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge William Smith not only nixed Caramadre's bid for a… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Elder Law, Insurance Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 1st Circuit Court, States, Rhode Island Tue, 21 May 2013 06:09:54 -0500 44283.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_denies_defense_motion_to_withdraw_during_penalty_phase_in_arias_murde/ Lawyers for convicted murderer Jody Arias asked the court to declare a mistrial Monday, on the basis that a key witness was receiving death threats. The judge declined to do so and also denied their motion to withdraw as counsel, which the Associated Press reports was done… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Trials & Litigation, Juries, Verdicts & Settlements Mon, 20 May 2013 17:33:47 -0500 44279.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/technology_blocks_smuggled_cell_phones_but_not_911_calls_at_maryland_prison/ Maryland corrections officials recently adopted technology that blocks contraband cellphone use at one prison facility and plan to use the technology at other facilities soon. The technology kicks smuggled cellphones off the facility's network, the Baltimore Sun reports, but allows calls made by phones on an approved… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction Mon, 20 May 2013 15:07:39 -0500 44270.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/woman_arrested_over_unpaid_traffic_ticket_died_on_courthouse_floor_from_unt/ Arrested and jailed over an allegedly unpaid 2008 traffic ticket, Dwana Voncia London-Richardson died, at age 45, on an Alabama courthouse floor days after sheriff's department and jail workers failed to provide her with medical treatment, a federal lawsuit says. It names as defendants the St. Clair County sheriff, county… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Government Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 11th Circuit Court, States, Alabama Mon, 20 May 2013 10:16:21 -0500 44268.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_investigates_personal_id_theft_case/ As an Oregon judge, Christopher Marshall had presided over many an identity theft case. So when the Multnomah County circuit court jurist himself was victimized in a health club gym locker break-in, he quickly developed a game plan. In addition to canceling his credit card accounts, he found out where… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Judiciary, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Oregon Mon, 20 May 2013 05:34:47 -0500 44259.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/oj_simpsons_lawyer_says_he_knew_about_guns_said_no_deal_no_way_when_told_of/ Reluctantly testifying about his former client, O.J. Simpson, a Miami attorney on Friday contradicted key aspects of Simpson's earlier testimony during a hearing about whether the former football great should be granted a new trial in his Nevada armed robbery case. Called to the stand by prosecutors and reminded that… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Nevada Fri, 17 May 2013 17:35:48 -0500 44238.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/did_convicted_cold_blood_murderers_in_capote_novel_also_kill_a_florida_fami/ When four members of a Kansas farm family were found dead in their home in 1959, the detective in charge of the investigation thought the culprit must be a local man with a grudge against the head of the family. Authorities hesitated for several days before pursuing a lead from… Criminal Justice, Legal History, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Florida, Kansas Fri, 17 May 2013 14:44:59 -0500 44237.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/man_faces_deadly_weapon_bulldozer_burglary_case_his_lawyer_protests_extreme/ A Washington state man pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to nine charges related to his alleged use of a deadly weapon—“to wit, a bulldozer”—to level the homes of neighbors during what prosecutors are calling a burglary. Barry A. Swegle could get as much as life in prison without parole if… Criminal Justice, Real Estate & Property Law, States, Washington Fri, 17 May 2013 12:28:51 -0500 44235.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspect_in_homicide_of_nj_attorney_is_arrested_in_philadelpia/ A man well-known on the Web as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" has been arrested in Philadelphia and charged in the homicide of Joseph Galfy Jr., a 73-year-old New Jersey lawyer who was found dead at his home in Clark earlier this week. Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, 24, was arrested at a… Criminal Justice, States, New Jersey Fri, 17 May 2013 11:50:58 -0500 44227.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/man_accused_in_beating_death_of_zoo_monkey_is_sentenced_to_up_to_seven_year/ A 22-year-old Idaho man accused in the beating death of a monkey at a Boise zoo has been sentenced to up to seven years in prison, though he may be able to avoid jail time if he completes a treatment program. Reuters, the Associated Press… Animal Law, Criminal Justice Fri, 17 May 2013 10:22:13 -0500 44233.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/plans_for_brooklyn_da_news_series_bring_lawsuit_and_a_defense_lawyers_objec/ An election opponent of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes isn’t happy about an upcoming news series about the DA’s office that will begin airing on May 28. Nor is a lawyer defending a landlord accused of manslaughter in a tenement fire. The six-part CBS series, Brooklyn D.A., offers a look… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Election Law, Law in Popular Culture Fri, 17 May 2013 09:16:54 -0500 44232.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_avvo_linkedin/ Last month, Arizona criminal defense attorney Matt Brown noted at Tempe Criminal Defense that he was taking a break from blogging to go on a 700-plus-mile hike. But he checked into the office periodically. "At some point after climbing onto the Colorado Plateau, however, the volume… ABA Journal, @BlawgWhisperer, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Marketing & Consulting, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Immigration Law, Trials & Litigation, 6th Circuit Court Fri, 17 May 2013 08:30:27 -0500 44228.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/blinks_of_paralyzed_victim_lead_to_guilty_verdict_appeal_is_planned/ A Cincinnati man has been convicted of murder based on the blinks of a paralyzed shooting victim. Jurors in Hamilton County, Ohio, convicted Ricardo Woods on Thursday after prosecutors played a tape in which the now-deceased victim blinked his eyes three times to identify his attacker, report the Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements Fri, 17 May 2013 07:34:24 -0500 44230.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/boston_woman_is_accused_of_extorting_lawyer_to_pay_for_breast_implants/ A lawyer’s cooperation with police led to the arrest of a Boston woman accused of trying to extort him to pay for breast implants. Deborah Yi, 24, has pleaded not guilty to extortion by false claim, report the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.… Criminal Justice Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:20 -0500 44229.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/reward_money_for_info_on_texas_prosecutor_murders_will_go_unpaid/ Reward money for information in the slayings of two Texas prosecutors will not be paid because police made arrests based on their own work rather than tips by the public, according to the group that raised the cash. The Kaufman County, Texas, Crime Stoppers will return money from the fund… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, States, Texas Fri, 17 May 2013 05:45:30 -0500 44220.abajournal.com