Criminal Justice

Military Lawyer’s Career Hurt due to Gitmo Work

A Marine Corps lawyer who represented Australian David Hicks in a Guantanamo Bay case that resulted in a favorable plea deal has apparently suffered career repercussions as a result – and he is not the only one. In the aftermath of his aggressive defense of Hicks, Major Michael Mori has…

May 11, 2007 8:01 PM CDT

Psychologist Settles BTK Tape Suit

A psychologist hired to interview the BTK killer has agreed to pay $30,000 to settle charges he profited from a videotape of Dennis Rader’s comments. After the tape ended up on Dateline NBC, the state of Kansas sued Massachusetts psychologist Robert Mendoza, along with an associate and their company, Cambridge…

May 11, 2007 4:37 PM CDT

Prison Overcrowding May Help Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton may not have to serve her entire 45-day sentence for driving on a suspended license. She may benefit from good-time credits and prison overcrowding, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some inmates have been released after serving as little as 10 percent of their sentences because of serious…

May 11, 2007 4:11 PM CDT

Bin Laden Driver Faces New Charges

New charges have been filed against a former driver for Osama bin Laden who successfully challenged Guantanamo military commissions before the U.S. Supreme Court. The government seeks life in prison for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, accusing him of acting as bin Laden’s bodyguard, according to McClatchy Newspapers. The U.S. Supreme Court…

May 11, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

PET Scan Scrutinized in Fashion Writer’s Trial

The defense in the sex abuse trial of former fashion writer Peter Braunstein called a psychiatrist to testify and showed slides of the defendant’s brain. The psychiatrist pointed to blue colors in a PET scan of mostly red, orange and yellow, and said they were evidence of schizophrenia, according to…

May 11, 2007 2:46 PM CDT

Japanese Cases Spotlight False Confession

False confessions are a problem in Japan, where recent cases highlight abuses in police interrogation methods. In one case detailed by the New York Times, a judge acquitted six people who had confessed to buying votes with liquor, money and parties. Police had ordered one of the suspects to shout…

May 11, 2007 1:29 PM CDT

GOP Backs Gonzales, Hearing Transcript Online

The U.S. Attorney General’s testimony at yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing was in many ways a reprise of last month’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, except that Republican committee members were far less critical of Alberto Gonzales than their Senate counterparts, media reports agree. Republicans “rushed to Gonzales’ defense,” as AP…

May 11, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Judge Gags D.C. Madam: Don’t Tell Phone Info

A federal judge in the so-called D.C. Madam criminal racketeering and money laundering case has ordered defendant Deborah Jeane Palfrey to stop handing out client phone numbers to media outlets and others not involved in the prosecution over her alleged prostitution ring. Likening Palfrey’s practice of providing client phone numbers…

May 11, 2007 12:10 AM CDT

Attorney Tickets Police, N.J. Judge Tosses Case

An effort by a New Jersey attorney to hold state police accountable for speeding that apparently caused a traffic accident in which the state governor was seriously injured ended today when a municipal court judge dismissed the case. Judge Christopher A. Brown said the state is still investigating the April…

May 10, 2007 11:31 PM CDT

Conyers: AG ‘Breadcrumbs’ Go to White House

Today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing elicited few clear answers from U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the controversial firings last year of U.S. Attorneys, allegedly for political reasons, although the list has now been determined to include at least nine, rather than the original eight. But unlike last month’s Senate…

May 10, 2007 10:25 PM CDT

Politically Connected Chicago Lawyer Indicted

A politically connected Chicago lawyer has been indicted on bribery and fraud charges for allegedly seeking a kickback in a multi-million-dollar real estate deal, federal prosecutors announced today. The U.S. Attorney’s office says Edward R. Vrydolyak, 69, who formerly served as a city alderman and Cook County Democratic chairman and…

May 10, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

Lawyer Couple Pleads Guilty in Trading Case

Two lawyers who are husband and wife pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and securities fraud in an insider trading case. Randi Collotta cried as she read a statement admitting her guilt, according to Reuters. Collotta said she worked for Morgan Stanley & Co. when she gave stock information to her…

May 10, 2007 7:27 PM CDT

Police Class-Action Ruse Doesn’t Bar DNA

The Washington Supreme Court has affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of a man who provided DNA by licking and mailing an envelope to police posing as plaintiffs lawyers. In a decision (PDF) issued today, the court said there is no inherent privacy interest in saliva used for identification purposes, and…

May 10, 2007 7:01 PM CDT

Options Plea Deal: Lawyer to be Jailed, Pay $52M

The former top lawyer at software maker Comverse Technology Inc. was sentenced today to a year and a day in jail and ordered to pay $52 million for his role in a stock options backdating scheme. A federal district court judge in Brooklyn imposed this sentence on William Sorin in…

May 10, 2007 6:58 PM CDT

Media: Not a Lot of New Info in Latest AG Hearing

As a daylong U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing at which Alberto Gonzales was the star witness continued this afternoon, not a lot of new information came out, media reports agreed. However, the U.S. Attorney General was criticized for his lack of leadership in allegedly allowing politicization of the Justice Department.…

May 10, 2007 6:28 PM CDT