Appellate Practice

Judge orders new hearing for man given 30 days in controversial teen rape case

Castigated for having sentenced a former teacher convicted of raping a 14-year-old who subsequently committed suicide to only 30 days in jail, a Montana judge now says he made have made a mistake and has ordered a new hearing on Friday. But it appears that District Judge G. Todd Baugh…

Sep 3, 2013 11:05 PM CDT

Special judge will decide courthouse vault cocaine case against ex-employee, top court rules

Louisiana’s top court has put an end to a bitter dispute over the judge assigned to hear a courthouse vault cocaine-smuggling case against a former court clerk’s office employee who is also the son of another local jurist. The Louisiana Supreme Court has recused not only the civil judge assigned…

Aug 29, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

SCOTUS decision on mandatory life for juveniles applies retroactively, Iowa court rules

Saying the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision last year barring mandatory life sentences for juveniles can be retroactively applied in Iowa, the state’s highest court opens the door for dozens, possibly hundreds of cases to be reviewed. The case before the Iowa Supreme Court arose after Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad,…

Aug 21, 2013 8:11 PM CDT

7th Circuit says lawyer failed mentally disabled client by not seeking unfitness finding

An Illinois lawyer failed a mentally disabled teenager he was defending in a first-degree murder case by not seeking to prove that Melvin Newman was unfit for trial, a federal appeals court has ruled. Then 16, with a first-grade reading level and what the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Aug 14, 2013 6:25 PM CDT

2nd Circuit: Man held for 4 years is a US citizen; ruling on immigration law could also help others

After being held for more than four years as he awaited deportation, a New York auto mechanic has been determined by a federal appeals court to have been a U.S. citizen since 1994. In a Monday opinion (PDF) that could also help others in a similar situation, the New York…

Aug 13, 2013 9:00 PM CDT

Dying disbarred lawyer won’t be released from prison now, but could get out later

A 73-year-old disbarred New York lawyer who is dying in prison of breast cancer that has spread to other areas of her body has lost her bid to have her sentence vacated by a federal judge. But U.S. District Court Judge John Koeltl said he would be “prepared to give…

Aug 12, 2013 7:43 PM CDT

Judge calls law profs’ 17-year divorce-related legal battle ‘frightening’

Law professors Christo Lassiter of the University of Cincinnati, and Sharlene Boltz of Northern Kentucky University were married for 10 years after wedding in 1986. Their divorce-related legal battles have lasted for 17 years, sparking criticism from multiple judges involved in the Hamilton County, Ohio, case, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.…

Aug 12, 2013 5:59 PM CDT

Ex-judge who blasted appellate counsel is reprimanded; might have been removed if still on bench

A former Kentucky judge who resigned earlier this year after being suspended, with pay, has been reprimanded for blasting an appellate lawyer in a high-profile murder case and refusing to allow a defendant in an unrelated case, who was not represented by counsel, to make arguments on his own behalf.…

Aug 12, 2013 5:23 PM CDT

Dying disbarred lawyer asks federal judge to vacate sentence, after compassionate release is denied

Denied compassionate release from federal prison, a 73-year-old disbarred civil rights lawyer serving a 10-year term for passing messages from an imprisoned client in a terrorism case to his followers in Egypt is taking another approach. Lynne Stewart, who is dying of cancer in a Texas prison, is asking the…

Aug 6, 2013 6:34 PM CDT

Ex-judge convicted of lying to FBI should be suspended, disciplinary panel says

A former Ohio judge who was convicted and served time for lying to the FBI should be suspended indefinitely from the practice of law but not disbarred, a disciplinary board has recommended to the state supreme court. Bridget McCafferty, 47, who served on the Cuyahoga County common pleas court from…

Aug 5, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Was ‘beautiful ladies’ comment in Roe v. Wade the worst courtroom humor of all time?

Bad jokes and poor judgment can be disastrous in the courtroom. Salon has a list of eight horrible courtroom jokes, leading with the knock-knock joke told by George Zimmerman’s lawyer, Don West, during opening statements. Here is West’s joke: “Knock-knock. Who’s there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? All right, good.…

Jul 30, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Court worker is fired after providing sample motion, which inmate uses to win DNA test and release

A court worker who provided a copy of a winning motion for seeking post-conviction DNA testing helped Robert Nelson win the reversal of a 1984 rape conviction for which he had been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison. But doing so also cost Sharon Snyder her job after…

Jul 29, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Phase out court reporters, judge says; How would a ‘price point law firm’ work?

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Nebraska sang the praises of digital audio recording as an alternative to court reporters at Hercules and the umpire. Digital audio recordings can be quickly uploaded for public consumption, Kopf wrote. “By uploading the digital audio recording of a trial or hearing every…

Jul 26, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Appeals court puts brakes on state judge’s order derailing Detroit bankruptcy

Injunctive relief granted Friday by a Michigan judge who ordered the city of Detroit to withdraw its Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing was stayed Tuesday by the state court of appeals. It stayed all three orders issued Friday by Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina while the appellate court decides whether…

Jul 23, 2013 8:30 PM CDT

Woman jailed for extramarital sex after complaining of rape is pardoned, along with alleged attacker

A Norwegian woman who was stunned to be jailed for 16 months for having extramarital sex after complaining to authorities in Dubai that she had been raped has received a pardon. Marte Deborah Dalelv, who authorized public use of her name, told the Associated Press she is “overjoyed” to be…

Jul 23, 2013 5:15 PM CDT