Criminal Justice

SCOTUS will consider impact of death row inmate’s multiple IQ tests in determining execution eligibility

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether and how courts can consider multiple IQ tests when considering whether a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution.

Jun 12, 2025 3:51 PM CDT

When Diddy or Depp go to court, trial tourists get in line

For fans of court dramas or celebrity scandals, a vacation centered on a high-profile trial is the ultimate true-crime-themed trip. In recent years, state and federal courthouses have become a surprise attraction because of their links to famous, or infamous, defendants.

Jun 12, 2025 12:45 PM CDT

Suit over mistaken raid by FBI SWAT team given another chance by Supreme Court

A federal appeals court made “two faulty assumptions” when it tossed an Atlanta family’s lawsuit over a mistaken raid of their home by an FBI SWAT team, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Jun 12, 2025 12:06 PM CDT

ABA Commission on Immigration launches new program to respond to ICE’s courthouse arrests

The Immigration Court Observation and Awareness Project aims to identify trends and systemic issues by asking volunteers to observe short preliminary hearings and record their observations. The commission plans to use this data to better support noncitizens’ access to counsel and due process rights.

Jun 11, 2025 11:33 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer Girardi’s son-in-law pleads guilty to contempt for former firm’s failure to pay Lion Air clients

Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi’s son-in-law pleaded guilty last week to contempt of court for failing to obey a court order calling for the distribution of $7.5 million in settlement funds to four clients in connection with the October 2018 crash of Indonesia’s Lion Air Flight 610. David R. Lira, 65,…

Jun 10, 2025 9:51 AM CDT

Abrego Garcia is back in US, but government stonewalling merits contempt inquiry, court filing says

Lawyers for a mistakenly deported Maryland immigrant are asking a federal judge to pursue contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for “an elaborate, all-of-government effort to defy court orders” in the case seeking his return—even though the Salvadoran man is back in the United States.

Jun 9, 2025 12:14 PM CDT

5 Proud Boys leaders sue Justice Department over Jan. 6 prosecutions

Five leaders of the Proud Boys, four of whom were found guilty of engaging in a seditious conspiracy to keep President Donald Trump in power on Jan. 6, 2021, want the government to pay them $100 million in restitution over claims their constitutional rights were violated, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday in Florida.

Jun 6, 2025 1:33 PM CDT

Former US attorney Damian Williams leaves Paul Weiss for Jenner & Block

Damian Williams, the former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, is leaving the law firm Paul Weiss to join Jenner & Block, defecting from a firm that struck a deal with the Trump administration to sign on with one that fought it in court.

Jun 6, 2025 1:21 PM CDT

Federal defender program will run out of funds to pay panel attorneys, court officials warn

Lawyers appointed to represent federal criminal defendants through panels of the Criminal Justice Act won’t be paid for the last couple of months of the fiscal year because of funding shortfalls, court officials warn.

Jun 5, 2025 3:20 PM CDT

How a Florida murder and an unlikely justice created a ‘criminal procedure revolution’

In Chambers v. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution, historian and former ABA Journal editor Richard Brust lifts the veil on a case that laid the groundwork for some much more famous civil rights victories.

Jun 4, 2025 8:45 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi attributes $15M client theft to accounting errors before his prison sentence

Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in prison, a day after a federal judge found that he was healthy enough to serve his time in prison, rather than a medical care facility.

Jun 3, 2025 3:16 PM CDT

Supreme Court will decide when police don’t need warrant to enter home in emergency

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether police must have probable cause of an emergency to enter a home without a warrant or whether some lower level of suspicion suffices.

Jun 3, 2025 9:37 AM CDT

Suspended lawyer charged with theft from client apparently shoots, wounds himself during arrest

A suspended Pennsylvania lawyer was hospitalized Saturday after he apparently shot himself during a brief standoff with police who sought to arrest him for stealing from an elderly client.

Jun 2, 2025 11:23 AM CDT

How Atlanta defense lawyer Brian Steel got namechecked by rapper Drake

Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Brian Steel made headlines during the YSL trial. In February, Drake released a song that name-checks YSL, trial judge Paige Reese Whitaker and celebrates freedom in general. Its title? “Brian Steel.”

Jun 1, 2025 1:30 AM CDT

Idaho lawyer worked on potato farms before prosecuting Daybell murders

If you have any interest in true-crime stories, you are probably familiar with Lindsey Blake. The Idaho lawyer prosecuted and won convictions against Chad Daybell and his new wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, in a widely publicized case involving doomsday religious beliefs and the murders of family members, including Vallow Daybell’s two minor children.

Jun 1, 2025 1:10 AM CDT