Evidence

Court worker is fired after providing sample motion, which inmate uses to win DNA test and release

A court worker who provided a copy of a winning motion for seeking post-conviction DNA testing helped Robert Nelson win the reversal of a 1984 rape conviction for which he had been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison. But doing so also cost Sharon Snyder her job after…

Jul 29, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Is DNA infallible proof? Contamination, stats can lead to injustice, prof says

DNA evidence may seem rock solid, but in some cases it has pointed to the wrong suspect. Sometimes, contamination can provide a faulty conclusion, according to a New York Times op-ed by University of California at Hastings law professor Osagie Obasogie. He provides some examples. DNA found on the fingernails…

Jul 29, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Attorney-client privilege prevents associate from aiding AG’s law firm billing probe, partner argues

A Colorado lawyer who helped the state attorney general gather evidence in a billing probe of her law firm was its special counsel at the time, a partner testified in a Thursday court hearing. However, Susan Hendrick hotly denied that she had represented Aronowitz & Mecklenburg, and said she was…

Jul 26, 2013 1:18 PM CDT

With latest $10M payment to ex-prisoner, Chicago tally in cases linked to jailed ex-cop nears $70M

Although Eric Caine said he felt better about the 25 years he spent behind bars for two murders he didn’t commit after receiving a $10 million settlement from the city of Chicago, nothing can make up for the lost time. And he, his lawyers and others at a Wednesday press…

Jul 25, 2013 8:30 PM CDT

Google ordered by judge to ID anonymous blogger who targeted lawyer

Google Inc. must identify an anonymous blogger who has been targeting a New York consumer lawyer online, a state court judge says. A stipulated order (PDF) issued earlier this month in the Manhattan Supreme Court case still offered some wiggle room, should the blogger respond. But, if not, Google was…

Jul 25, 2013 3:25 PM CDT

Bicyclist takes plea in felony case over pedestrian death, will not serve any jail time

In what is being billed as the first such conviction in California, a bicyclist has taken a felony plea after striking and killing a pedestrian in a crosswalk last year. Chris Bucchere, 37, will plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of Sutchi Hui, 71, and is to be…

Jul 23, 2013 4:40 PM CDT

Businessman charged in sex-tourism case files $10M malpractice suit against elite civil lawyers

A former client jailed in Mexico as he awaits extradition to the U.S. in a sex-tourism and child-pornography case has sued two elite San Francisco lawyers who previously represented him in civil litigation for claimed malpractice. Businessman Thomas White contends that his then-lawyers, Nanci Clarence and Kate Dyer, did not…

Jul 22, 2013 7:35 PM CDT

$1M seized in traffic stop is returned to exotic dancer on judge’s orders

A federal judge in Nebraska has ordered the government to return more than $1 million in cash seized during a traffic stop to a California woman who testified she earned it as an exotic dancer and claimed the money as income on her tax returns. Although the government argued that…

Jul 22, 2013 5:14 PM CDT

Confessed Boston Strangler is linked to a victim through DNA

The self-confessed Boston Strangler was never convicted in the deaths of 11 women, but investigators now have forensic proof that he committed one of the murders. DNA links Albert DeSalvo to the 1964 murder of Mary Sullivan, authorities announced today. DeSalvo had confessed to the 11 murders attributed to the…

Jul 19, 2013 5:01 PM CDT

Forensics review reveals hair evidence was possibly exaggerated in 27 capital cases

A review of thousands of FBI laboratory files has uncovered 27 death penalty cases in which experts may have exaggerated the reliability of hair analysis. FBI lab reports dating back to at least the 1970s assert that hair analysis can’t be used to make a positive identification, but some FBI…

Jul 19, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Top NJ court says warrant is required to track cellphone location

Reversing an earlier appellate court ruling, New Jersey’s top court today held that a warrant is required to track an individual’s cellphone location. Under the state constitution, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in in unanimous 7-0 ruling, individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such information, reports the…

Jul 18, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

Lawyers can’t use someone’s immigration status to intimidate them in civil cases, says ethics rule

Mentioning an individual’s immigration status in court might not seem all that intimidating to a U.S. citizen. But it can deter someone who is undocumented from pursuing a civil claim, or improperly influence a jury, the Washington Supreme Court says. It clarified an existing state rule of legal ethics last…

Jul 17, 2013 9:35 PM CDT

Lawyer’s demand-letter threat to reveal sexual liaisons was not extortion, appellate court says

Ruling in a case that has been closely watched by lawyers, a California appeals court held that a pre-litigation demand letter threatening to reveal an opponent’s sexual activities if he did not provide an accounting and return allegedly embezzled business funds did not amount to extortion. The opponent, former reality…

Jul 17, 2013 7:30 PM CDT

Pioneering Labrador retriever to retire after 7 years at courthouse, will now ‘just be a dog’

One of the nation’s first service animals trained to work with witnesses in court is retiring after about seven years on the job. Stilson, an 80-pound black Labrador retriever, will be moving to California from Washington state with his longtime owner and handler, Heidi Potter, who is pursuing other opportunities…

Jul 16, 2013 10:44 PM CDT

Lawyer who smuggled client’s ‘hit list’ from jail should get 4-year suspension, bar judge says

A prominent California criminal defense attorney should lose her law license for four years for smuggling materials out of a state jail including a claimed hit list of witnesses in a murder case, a California State Bar Court judge ruled on Monday. Attorney Lorna Brown admits she took materials out…

Jul 16, 2013 7:53 PM CDT