Lawyer convicted in client’s murder in ‘elaborate and shocking sequence of events’

A Southfield, Michigan, lawyer was convicted last week in the June 2022 murder of his client in an alleged plot to gain his money.

May 28, 2024 10:39 AM CDT

Prosecutors excluded Jewish people from juries in one California county for decades, review suggests

Several prosecutors in Alameda County, California, excluded Jewish people from juries in past decades, according to the Alameda County district attorney.

May 14, 2024 3:16 PM CDT

Accused getaway driver, aka ‘Block Da Foo Foo,’ was prejudiced by rap video evidence, Texas court says

A trial judge should not have allowed prosecutors to introduce an accused getaway driver’s rap videos at trial in an effort to show that he was more sophisticated than he claimed to be, the top criminal court in Texas has ruled.

May 9, 2024 9:05 AM CDT

How many cases will be affected by ‘certain anomalies’ in work of DNA analyst? 57 lawyers get notices

A district attorney in Larimer County, Colorado, has notified 57 defense attorneys that their cases may be affected by credibility problems with a retired DNA analyst who worked with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Apr 29, 2024 9:24 AM CDT

Lawyer disbarred for destroying his computer, altering metadata before ethics hearing

A New Hampshire lawyer has been disbarred based on allegations that he destroyed his computer before an ethics hearing and altered metadata to make it appear that he had provided conflict letters to a client when borrowing $275,000 from her.

Apr 25, 2024 10:01 AM CDT

Netflix’s ‘The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker’ smashes the circumstantial evidence argument

Netflix’s The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker tells the story of a man experiencing homelessness, whose rise and fall overshadowed what may have been telltale signs of someone suffering from mental health issues.

Apr 18, 2024 10:08 AM CDT

In New York, top federal prosecutor Damian Williams preaches speedy justice

Federal criminal cases are built on data, and Manhattan U.S Attorney Damian Williams has made a name for himself in law enforcement circles as wanting to modernize how prosecutors get, analyze and use that data.

Apr 10, 2024 12:30 PM CDT

Users Keepers: Pirates, zombies and adverse possession

“Trespassing plus time equals adverse possession,” Paul Golden writes in his new book, Litigating Adverse Possession Cases: Pirates v. Zombies. It’s a concept more popularly discussed as squatter’s rights.

Apr 10, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

DNA issues ‘cast a pall’ over murder conviction, warranting SCOTUS review, ABA amicus brief says

The U.S. Supreme Court should once again consider the case of a Texas death row inmate whose conviction was based on DNA evidence tested by a lab that “consistently and egregiously mishandled DNA evidence,” the ABA has said in an amicus brief.

Mar 28, 2024 9:02 AM CDT

Lawyer defending ex-CEO of Overstock arrested after she is no-show on voting-machine-possession charge

A Michigan lawyer was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday for failing to appear for a March 7 hearing on charges that she possessed and damaged a voting machine.

Mar 20, 2024 9:44 AM CDT

Rape survivor Chanel Miller will speak at ABA’s ‘Write & Tell Live’ series

Chanel Miller, whose victim impact statement at the rape trial of Brock Allen Turner went viral in 2016, will present about the importance of survivors’ stories at an ABA event on April 16.

Mar 19, 2024 8:46 AM CDT

Longtime prosecutor resigns after judge tosses him from case, citing Perry Mason-type revelations

A longtime Miami-Dade County, Florida, prosecutor has resigned after a judge disqualified him and a colleague from the resentencing of an alleged gang leader convicted of four murders.

Mar 14, 2024 10:09 AM CDT

New true-crime docuseries sheds light on how polygraph tests are misused

“Most are unfamiliar with how often polygraphs are misused and abused in our criminal justice system because they’re the dirty little secret that never makes it to the public. Why is that?” writes lawyer and ABA Journal columnist Adam Banner.

Mar 8, 2024 10:40 AM CST

Judge tells US it’s not his job to search for better evidence as he strikes down minority business program

A federal judge in Texas appeared exasperated with government lawyers when he ruled that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency unconstitutionally denies benefits based on race.

Mar 7, 2024 3:17 PM CST

‘When Rape Goes Viral’ looks at why cases like Steubenville happen

After cases like in Steubenville, Ohio, where the assault of an unconscious girl at a party by two boys was filmed and spread on social media, “the question gnawing at everyone, myself included, was: What were these kids thinking?” writes Anna Gjika.

Mar 6, 2024 9:51 AM CST