Criminal Procedure

Lawyer Seeks New Trial for Client After Luckily Finding Out Juror Wasn’t a US Citizen

It looks like a Pennsylvania man convicted of selling $40 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer might have a chance of winning a retrial because his lawyer happened across helpful information about a juror. Attorney Thomas Shaffer, who represented Troy Mannery, fortuitously was in the courtroom when one of…

Feb 4, 2010 1:24 AM CST

US Won’t Try Alleged Sept. 11 Plotters in NY; What Is Plan B?

The administration won’t try five alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan after all, a decision announced after Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the security costs could be at least $200 million a year. The New York Times had the story on Friday, and ran a story about…

Feb 1, 2010 1:32 PM CST

Sen. Wants AG to Resign; Others Also OK’d Miranda for Alleged Bomber

The Department of Justice was one of at least four agencies that approved giving a Miranda warning to alleged underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab—after he had stopped talking, according to a published report. “Knowledgeable law enforcement officials” told the Los Angeles Times that other agencies consulted included the FBI, the…

Feb 1, 2010 12:18 PM CST

7th Cir. Skewers Judge Shadur Over Ex-Lawyer’s Sentence, Remands Case to Another Judge

In a stinging rebuke to a federal judge who sentenced a well-known former Chicago lawyer and politician to probation in a corruption case, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today not only reversed the sentence but remanded the case to a different judge. And, in an opinion (PDF) authored…

Jan 29, 2010 7:46 PM CST

Supreme Court Rules for Online Tobacco Seller in NYC’s RICO Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that New York City may not sue an online tobacco seller for RICO violations in an effort to collect tax revenue. The Associated Press and Bloomberg covered today’s 5-3 decision. New York had claimed that the tobacco seller, a New Mexico company called the…

Jan 25, 2010 5:20 PM CST

Supreme Court Punts on Crime Lab Case

During January oral arguments in Briscoe v. Virginia, Justice Antonin Scalia made clear he wasn’t happy with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to grant cert in the confrontation clause case. At issue was the constitutionality of Virginia’s rules for the use of laboratory reports at trial in light of Scalia’s…

Jan 25, 2010 3:56 PM CST

FBI Illegally Obtained 2,000-Plus Phone Records; Lawyer Raised Concerns

The FBI illegally obtained more than 2,000 telephone call records by invoking terrorism emergencies that weren’t real or by persuading telecommunications companies to cooperate, a newspaper investigation has found. The illegal requests were made between 2002 and 2006, the Washington Post reports. FBI director Robert Mueller did not know about…

Jan 19, 2010 7:46 PM CST

Supreme Court Vacates Conviction, Cites Jurors’ Chocolate Penis Gift

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a federal appeals court to reconsider the claims of a Georgia death row inmate who is challenging his rape and murder conviction based on some unusual chocolate gifts given to the trial judge and bailiff. Some jurors hearing the case against defendant Marcus Wellons…

Jan 19, 2010 5:51 PM CST

High Court Tells 3rd Circuit to Reconsider Death Sentence for Abu-Jamal

The U.S. Supreme Court has directed a federal appeals court to reconsider the death penalty for former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a police officer in 1981. The Supreme Court directed the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision invalidating the death penalty for…

Jan 19, 2010 4:54 PM CST

Supreme Court Rules Defendant Has Right to Open Voir Dire

The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed the cocaine trafficking conviction of a defendant who claims his Sixth Amendment rights to a public trial were violated when the trial court excluded his uncle from voir dire. The high court granted certiorari and ruled on behalf of defendant Eric Presley in a…

Jan 19, 2010 4:16 PM CST

Posner Blasts ‘Out of Control’ Class-Action Lawyer in Fee Fight

A federal appeals court has blasted an Illinois class action lawyer as “out of control” and ordered sanctions for bringing a groundless suit for fees against his former law firm partners. The lawyer, Rex Carr, “is locked in mortal combat with his former law partners,” but the litigation is groundless,…

Jan 14, 2010 2:20 PM CST

Will Crime Lab Decision Fall? Sotomayor Sends ‘Mixed Signals’

Justice Antonin Scalia had a rhetorical question during oral arguments yesterday in a case that asks when lab analysts must testify to satisfy a June confrontation clause ruling called Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. Scalia had written the majority opinion in Melendez-Diaz, holding that crime lab evidence can’t be used at trial…

Jan 12, 2010 2:04 PM CST

Misstated DNA Probabilities Not Ground for Reversal, High Court Says

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a defendant convicted of the rape of a 9-year-old girl after a night of heavy drinking. The Supreme Court said in a per curiam opinion (PDF) that overstated estimates of a DNA match at trial did not warrant reversal of a conviction when…

Jan 11, 2010 5:27 PM CST

Judge’s Prosecution on Hold in Obstruction Case Based on His Rulings

In an unusual move intended to give the Arizona Supreme Court time to weigh in on the controversial bribery and obstruction prosecution of a state-court judge over his court rulings, a fellow jurist in another county has issued a stay that will put the case on hold until March. As…

Jan 7, 2010 7:11 PM CST

Are New DOJ ‘Broad & Early’ Discovery Rules Best Enforced by Judges?

Three memos issued this week by the Department of Justice, in response to criticism of federal prosecutors concerning the disclosure of exculpatory evidence in the high-profile prosecution of former Sen. Ted Stevens, provide a roadmap for staying within ethical boundaries. In a main memo to DOJ attorneys that implements recommendations…

Jan 5, 2010 10:39 PM CST