Evidence

Driver who posted YouTube video of 24-minute drive around 26-mile NYC loop nixes plea offer

A Canadian man who authorities say admittedly posted a YouTube video documenting a 24-minute drive around a 26-mile loop around Manhattan last year has refused a plea offer that would have required him to accept a 60-day jail term in a misdemeanor reckless driving case. Christopher Adam Tang, 32, also…

Mar 4, 2014 8:40 PM CST

Convicted chemist ‘sole bad actor’ at Mass. crime lab, but IG report questions 2,300 tests by others

A now-convicted chemist serving a 3- to 5-year prison term was the “sole bad actor” in a scandal over falsified test results at a Massachusetts drug-testing laboratory, says a report released today by a state inspector general. But the IG also said protocols and supervision were lacking at the now-shuttered…

Mar 4, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Sprint worker uploaded intimate photos from my trade-in phone to my Facebook page, woman’s suit says

A woman is suing Sprint Corp., contending that an employee browsed through her phone—which she traded in for an upgraded model at a Sprint store last year—then posted intimate photos on the plaintiff’s Facebook page through an application on the phone. The woman—who had forgotten those photos were among the…

Mar 3, 2014 9:30 PM CST

ACLU of Florida says police department used cellphone tracking device 200 times without warrants

Police in Tallahassee, Fla., have used a so-called stingray device 200 times to track suspects through their cellphones—not only without getting warrants but without telling the suspects or the courts adjudicating the cases about the electronic surveillance. So, citing a First District Court of Appeal opinion (PDF) last year that…

Mar 3, 2014 7:55 PM CST

Del. drug-testing lab issues spark prosecution call for trial freeze in all current drug cases

Another state is dealing with reported irregularities at its drug-testing laboratory, calling into question convictions that occurred between 2010 and 2013 as an investigation continues into the apparent theft of evidence. Prosecutors in Delaware have asked the superior court, court of common pleas and the family court to impose a…

Feb 28, 2014 6:10 PM CST

Told by judge to pull up sweatpants, defendant ‘dropped trou’ on way out of court, gets 10 days

A 19-year-old North Carolina man had already been told several times Thursday by the judge hearing his underage drinking case to pull his sweatpants up to his waist. Then, as Jonathan Lee Gaddy was leaving the Alamance County District Court hearing, he yanked his sweatpants down to just above his…

Feb 28, 2014 5:00 PM CST

New crime-fighting tool, the police tweet, leads to speedy arrest of shooting suspects

Once upon a time, police officers commonly walked a beat and interacted with the community, picking up tips along the way that could help solve crimes. Today, their superiors are using social media to keep in touch with even more members of the public. That both frees up officers on…

Feb 27, 2014 7:40 PM CST

Jailed former NFL player Aaron Hernandez faces civil suit accusing him in 2 more slayings

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez—already charged with murder in Massachusetts and facing a Florida civil suit by another man who says Hernandez shot him—has been accused in two other slayings. In a civil wrongful death suit filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court, the survivors of two men…

Feb 27, 2014 6:35 PM CST

Wrong teen arrested, jailed 35 days in case against classmate with same name

A teenager charged as an adult with a sexual battery he didn’t commit finally realized when he was shown charging documents in court, weeks later, that he had been mistaken for another student at his Florida high school with his same first and last name. Cody Lee Williams told his…

Feb 25, 2014 9:03 PM CST

Helmet cameras could benefit bikers in case of accident, but lawyers warn of potential pitfalls

Concerned about the risk of accidents, a number of bicyclists in the Chicago area have begun wearing helmet-mounted cameras to record potential evidence for a criminal or civil case. That may be a good idea, lawyers tell the Chicago Tribune, but they offer several caveats. Video evidence can backfire on…

Feb 25, 2014 5:50 PM CST

Could another client’s husband have shot divorce attorney? Defense points to two possibilities

The government says Bruce J. Nozolino shot a Colorado attorney through the window of his Colorado Springs law office on Jan. 23, 2002. Motivated by a desire to strike back at the lawyer who helped Nozolino’s wife gain custody of the couple’s children during a hard-fought divorce, the former corporate…

Feb 25, 2014 4:50 PM CST

Definition of ‘premeditation’ elusive in jury instructions, so juror turns to cellphone and Google

Jurors in a Washington state murder trial were told repeatedly by the judge and the bailiff not to do their own research. There’s even a sign on the jury room wall. But one woman apparently didn’t get the memo, and pulled out her cellphone to research the definition of “premeditation”…

Feb 25, 2014 12:05 AM CST

FBI alerts judges and prosecutors that their courthouse calls and texts were monitored

Judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers and others in Texas who conduct business at the Bexar County Courthouse got letters from the FBI recently telling them that their phone calls and text conversations had been monitored. At the center of the eavesdropping is a lawyer who is cooperating in a judicial corruption…

Feb 24, 2014 10:22 PM CST

Seized cellphones led to capture of ‘most wanted’ Mexican drug trafficker, authorities say

The U.S. will seek extradition of the claimed leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who was captured over the weekend sleeping in a condo in a Mexican beach resort town in an early-morning raid backed by the American government. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, 56, said to be the “most wanted”…

Feb 24, 2014 6:30 PM CST

Grandma faces capital murder case in running death of girl, 9, despite med-mal issue

An Alabama judge Friday refused to dismiss a capital murder charge against the grandmother of a 9-year-old girl who authorities said was forced to run for three hours as punishment for telling a lie. However, the girl’s father says medical malpractice contributed to her death. Judge Billy Ogletree also refused…

Feb 21, 2014 11:45 PM CST