Criminal Procedure

Supreme Court Orders Hearing on Death Row Inmate’s Innocence Claim

A death row inmate who claims the Eighth Amendment bars his execution because he is innocent of the crime will get a hearing before a federal district judge, thanks to intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. In an unusual order issued today, the U.S. Supreme Court told a Georgia federal…

Aug 17, 2009 4:32 PM CDT

Pennsylvania Judge Fines DA’s Office for Failing to Disclose Informant

A district attorney’s office that refused a Pennsylvania judge’s order to reveal the name of a confidential informant has been held in contempt of court and fined $5,000. Prosecutors in the York County District Attorney’s office dismissed charges against a drug defendant in an effort to avoid having to reveal…

Aug 5, 2009 5:26 PM CDT

Abner Mikva Chastises Prosecutors for Publicity in High-Profile Cases #ABAChicago

Retired federal judge Abner J. Mikva, who heads up a panel investigating clout in the admissions process at the University of Illinois, decried the growing practice by prosecutors of holding press conferences to announce indictments and other developments in high-profile corruption cases. Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney for the Northern…

Jul 30, 2009 7:19 PM CDT

Surviving Dad Seeks No-Contact Order for Defense Counsel in Family Murder

A father and physician who was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion in Connecticut is seeking a court order barring the suspects and their legal counsel from contacting him. The motion filed this week on behalf of Dr. William Petit of Cheshire seeks a court order barring such…

Jul 17, 2009 9:28 PM CDT

Lawyer Vindicated After Long Fight for Wrongfully Convicted Brother

A Massachusetts lawyer portrayed by Hilary Swank in a recently completed movie says a $3.4 million settlement vindicates the years she spent fighting for the release of her wrongfully convicted brother. Betty Anne Waters worked her way through law school and became a lawyer at the age of 40 to…

Jul 15, 2009 4:27 PM CDT

Judge Sent Homeless Man to Jail for Failing to Support Boy Who Wasn’t His

Updated: A judge who put a homeless man in a South Georgia jail for more than a year for failing to pay the costs of supporting his “son” knew there was no biological tie. On Wednesday, the judge released Frank Hatley after his new lawyer from the Southern Center for…

Jul 15, 2009 12:37 PM CDT

Even Routine Law Practice is Difficult and Dangerous in Russia

The courtroom gallery brimmed with lawyers during the trial in January of four men accused of murdering Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta who was gunned down in 2006 at the elevator of her Moscow apartment. The newspaper had paid a high price for its investigations…

Jul 5, 2009 3:00 PM CDT

Text Message May Explain Missing Murder Witness

A chilling text message discovered by prosecutors handling a Cincinnati murder trial is creating problems in the ongoing case. Prosecutors say witness Derrick Johnson sent the suspicious text message to Jonathan Williams on Tuesday, the same day both teens were slated to testify in a murder case against Ravea Garnett,…

Jun 26, 2009 4:38 PM CDT

Prosecutors Call Crime Lab Ruling a ‘Train Wreck’

In yesterday’s high court ruling that opens the door to direct examination of crime lab personnel, Justice Antonin Scalia quipped that, “the sky will not fall after today’s decision.” “The confrontation clause may make the prosecution of criminals more burdensome, but that is equally true of the right to trial…

Jun 26, 2009 3:58 PM CDT

High Dismissal Rates at S.F. Community Court Lead Critics to Call for its Closure

A new study of a local diversion court in the Bay Area is causing a bit of a stir and unwelcome attention onto the court. The report by University of California, Berkeley public policy doctoral student Melissa Sills finds that more than half the cases brought to San Francisco’s new…

Jun 25, 2009 6:07 PM CDT

Russian High Court Overturns Acquittals in Politically Charged Case of Slain Journalist

Russia’s Supreme Court today ordered a new trial for two Chechen brothers and a former police officer who were acquitted on charges they helped in the assassination of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The Los Angeles Times notes that the court’s order and retrial will “open a fresh chapter in a…

Jun 25, 2009 1:36 PM CDT

9th Circuit Allows Suit Against Prosecutor Who OK’d DNA Sample Without Warrant

In a decision that resurrects a convicted sex offender’s lawsuit against a Las Vegas detective and local prosecutor, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has said the man can personally sue the individuals for forcibly extracting his DNA without a warrant. Kenneth Friedman had reportedly told the…

Jun 25, 2009 1:09 PM CDT

Wife Faces Felony for Not Testifying Against Husband at Sex Assault Trial

A woman who is reported to have hidden from authorities rather than testify against her husband at a sexual assault trial last year has been charged with failing to appear in court. Virginia Juanita Briard, a 63-year-old grandmother from Frazee, Minn., was scheduled to appear at the December trial of…

Jun 25, 2009 10:12 AM CDT

Pro Se Rape Defendant Questions Accuser, Prompts Prosecutor’s ‘Court of Terror’ Remark

An alleged rapist on trial in Seattle is acting on his own behalf, presenting a defense that has allowed him to directly question his alleged victim. The scenario has the court in an awkward position, in which it is balancing the rights of the defendant with those of the alleged…

Jun 23, 2009 2:15 PM CDT

Justices Side With Ex-Enron Exec on Retrial Issue

In a 6-3 ruling this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court closed the door, but didn’t slam it shut in the case involving a former Enron executive who is fighting government efforts to retry him. The high court’s ruling throws out a portion of a New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Court of…

Jun 18, 2009 3:42 PM CDT