Criminal Justice

21201 ABA Journal Criminal Justice articles.

Cockfighting Soon Illegal in 50 States

Cockfighting will soon be illegal in all 50 states. A bill banning the sport in Louisiana, the only state where it is currently legal, was signed yesterday by the state governor and takes effect next summer. It is already illegal to gamble on cockfights in Louisiana under a law that…

Jul 13, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

St. Louis Prosecutor: Right Man Executed

Friends of Larry Griffin and death penalty opponents have been eagerly awaiting a report by the chief St. Louis prosecutor on whether Griffin was innocent of the 1980 murder for which he was executed in 1995. But now Chief Prosecutor Jennifer Joyce says the state of Missouri imposed the ultimate…

Jul 13, 2007 5:28 PM CDT

Padilla Prosecution to Rest

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case today against Jose Padilla and two co-defendants accused of aiding terrorist groups. Their biggest challenge is proving the most serious charge—that the defendants conspired to murder, kidnap and maim people abroad, the Miami Herald reports. Prosecutors introduced an application to an al-Qaida training…

Jul 13, 2007 3:55 PM CDT

‘Look to Libby’ Plea Loses

A federal judge in San Francisco didn’t give much weight to a former lawyer’s bid for a reduced sentence that cited President Bush’s decision to commute the sentence of an ex-aide. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White sentenced Troy Ellerman yesterday to 30 months in jail for leaking grand jury transcripts…

Jul 13, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Jail Perks Probe Launched

Did Paris Hilton get special treatment during her brief jail stay for violating probation on an alcohol related traffic offense? That is the question to be answered by a newly launched Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation. The hotel heiress allegedly had her mail delivered by top brass at the…

Jul 13, 2007 3:45 AM CDT

Irked Judge Upholds Libby Commutation

In what a well-known U.S. Supreme Court blog describes as “a 10-page opinion bristling with actual and implied criticism” of President George W. Bush’s commutation of the 30-month prison term imposed on I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the federal judge who sentenced the former top vice presidential aide held today that…

Jul 13, 2007 2:57 AM CDT

Mistrial in Rape Trial With R-Word Ban

Updated: Ruling from the bench, a Nebraska judge today declared a mistrial in a controversial acquaintance-rape case in which the accuser was barred from using the word “rape,” among other specific language, when testifying. Defense lawyers said they believe Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront declared the mistrial just before…

Jul 12, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Spector’s Ex-Lawyer Says She Will Testify

Bowing to the California Supreme Court’s effective decision that attorney-client privilege doesn’t apply, a lawyer who formerly represented music producer Phil Spector says she will testify in his ongoing murder trial. Sara Caplan is expected to testify today about whether she saw an expert mishandle evidence at the crime scene…

Jul 12, 2007 10:05 PM CDT

Ghana: British Girls, 16, Smuggled Drugs

Two 16-year-old girls in London told their parents they were taking a short trip across the English Channel to France in late June for a six-day school trip. In fact, they went to Ghana, where they are now being held on charges of having attempted to smuggle $300,000 pounds worth…

Jul 12, 2007 8:13 PM CDT

UK Considers Citizen Travel Restrictions

Concerned about possible terrorism-related visits abroad by immigrants and British citizens, U.K. officials are considering imposing a ban on travel to certain countries by convicted criminals. In the wake of ongoing terrorist incidents, including recent failed attempts by a group comprised largely of immigrant physicians to blow up fuel-laden cars…

Jul 12, 2007 7:32 PM CDT

Prosecutor Misconduct Debated

Lawyers sparred over the extent of prosecutorial misconduct in California at a hearing convened yesterday by a state commission studying problems in the criminal justice system. Santa Clara University law professor Cookie Ridolfi presented findings that judges had found prosecutorial misconduct in 443 of more than 2,100 California cases in…

Jul 12, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

21 Months for Hamas Lie

A federal judge has sentenced a suburban Chicago grocer to 21 months in prison for lying about his ties to Hamas. Muhammad Salah also received a $25,000 fine, 100 hours of community service and three years of probation, the New York Times reports. Salah had been acquitted of a more…

Jul 12, 2007 4:04 PM CDT

State’s Execution First in 60 Years

A death-row inmate who gave up his appeals died by lethal injection today, the first execution in South Dakota in 60 years. Elijah Page, 25, received the death sentence for murdering a robbery victim with the help of two accomplices in March 2000. (See this prior ABAJournal.com post for details.)…

Jul 12, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Judge Off Case for Columbine Remark

A Florida judge has been removed from a case for comparing a juvenile’s appearance to that of two teens who went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School. Judge Charles Kaplan of Broward County made the remark when he was overseeing the juvenile delinquency case of a 14-year-old boy…

Jul 12, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Police: Mom Drove Son, 14, to Murder

Too young to drive, a 14-year-old gang member in California allegedly was chauffeured by his mother, along with six buddies, to a Long Beach park on June 25 in order to murder a 13-year-old there. They allegedly stabbed Jose Cano to death, and now Eva Daley, 30, and the seven…

Jul 12, 2007 3:07 AM CDT

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