Evidence

Judge won’t block questions about book by ex-wife of slain law prof in her mom’s murder trial

A judge in Tallahassee, Florida, indicated last week that he might allow prosecutors to question the ex-wife of a slain law professor about a book that she wrote in which a character felt stuck in a small Florida town because of her husband’s job.

Apr 1, 2025 3:15 PM CDT

Wearable neurotech devices are becoming more prevalent; is the law behind the curve?

At a time when watches and eyeglasses can track steps, heart rate and even emotions, wearables are entering a new frontier: brain waves. But as these devices become more sophisticated, the legal questions around privacy and data security grow more complex, leaving attorneys to determine what protections exist and what gaps leave users vulnerable.

Apr 1, 2025 2:30 AM CDT

The End of Reality? How to combat deepfakes in our legal system

There’s nothing fake about it. The legal industry is facing a big problem with deepfakes. Courtrooms are not yet flooded with a tsunami of deepfake evidence, but with this artificial intelligence-generated technology playing with great success on social media and in fraud schemes, it’s only a matter of time before deepfakes regularly drop into the exhibit list.

Mar 10, 2025 9:10 AM CDT

DNA evidence in open cases explored in ABC reality series

Last fall, I attended a continuing legal education conference focused on sex crime defense and an outstanding speaker—who discussed the emerging field of forensic genetic genealogy—mentioned The Genetic Detective, a six-episode reality TV series that aired on ABC in 2020. The reference came from a credible source, so I figured it was worth viewing.

Feb 27, 2025 1:28 PM CST

State’s failure to correct accuser’s lithium testimony entitles death row inmate to new trial, SCOTUS rules

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an Oklahoma death row inmate is entitled to a new trial because the prosecution failed to correct testimony by the man who implicated him.

Feb 25, 2025 2:28 PM CST

Expected noncompliance with court orders shouldn’t defeat standing, Kavanaugh says in DNA-test arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided Monday in arguments over a death row inmate’s quest for a DNA test to show that he wasn’t inside a trailer where robbery accomplices killed an 85-year-old woman.

Feb 25, 2025 11:08 AM CST

SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein accused of transferring millions in cryptocurrency after tax indictment

A federal magistrate judge has concluded that SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein violated his conditions of release on tax fraud charges by failing to disclose the existence of two cryptocurrency wallets through which he allegedly received and sent millions of dollars in the currency.

Feb 11, 2025 9:55 AM CST

Judge apologizes to slain jogger Ahmaud Arbery’s family after tossing charges against district attorney

A Georgia judge has tossed the charges against a prosecutor accused of favoring a former white investigator in her office before he was charged in the 2020 death of Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery.

Feb 10, 2025 9:21 AM CST

Federal appeals judge, 97, loses bid to unseal documents about her suspension

Federal law does not permit a 97-year-old federal appeals judge to unseal documents about her suspension absent consent of the chief judge of her circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Monday.

Feb 4, 2025 9:30 AM CST

Honesty in jury pool examined in ‘Juror #2’

I’ve tried dozens of cases in my career. As with anything else, the more you look at something, the more pronounced the cracks and deficiencies become. Interestingly, Clint Eastwood’s supposed directorial goodbye, Juror #2, does a great job of focusing on one of those deficiencies, namely juror honesty and how it affects the rule of law.

Jan 28, 2025 10:31 AM CST

Death row inmate can pursue due process appeal over sex-life evidence admitted at trial, Supreme Court says

A death row inmate can pursue a claim that her Oklahoma trial was prejudiced by the introduction of evidence about her sex life, provocative clothing and thong underwear, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Jan 22, 2025 10:40 AM CST

Jack Smith’s subtle indictment of the Supreme Court

Special counsel Jack Smith’s effort to hold Donald Trump accountable for a wild and ultimately violent attempt to overturn the 2020 election based on lies about voter fraud came to a rather meek conclusion early Tuesday with the release of Smith’s final report.

Jan 14, 2025 12:15 PM CST

NBC’s ‘Found’ is far-fetched, but it gets this lawyer thinking about bias in investigations

The problem of bias in criminal investigations is what initially caught ABA Journal columnist and lawyer Adam Banner’s attention regarding Found, an NBC series that focuses on an investigation team led by Gabi Mosely.

Jan 13, 2025 8:49 AM CST

Prosecutor ‘poisoned the morale’ of DA’s office with fake harassment texts, disbarment order says

A former prosecutor in Colorado should be disbarred for faking four texts that she attributed to a co-worker, including one referring to her as a “sex doll,” according to a Dec. 31 hearing board opinion.

Jan 10, 2025 9:32 AM CST

Giuliani contempt decision blocks him from doing this, putting his Florida condo at risk

Disbarred lawyer Rudy Giuliani is “in dire jeopardy” of having to turn over his Palm Beach, Florida, condo to two Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation after a federal judge held the former New York City mayor in civil contempt Monday, according to a report by Politico.

Jan 7, 2025 10:34 AM CST