Evidence

Law Firm Sues Harvard Law Grad Ex-Intern Over Article About Her Capital Murder Defense Work There

When a Harvard Law School student worked at Louisiana Capital Assistance Center as a summer intern in 2003, she presumably expected to practice law. But now she is pursuing a career as a writer instead, and has made one of the nonprofit law firm’s clients a focus of a “creative…

Aug 29, 2011 11:44 PM CDT

Criminal Judge Questions Competency of Lawyer Who Advised Clients to Break Into Foreclosed Homes

Corrected: A judge is questioning whether a suspended California lawyer who has advised some clients to break into their foreclosed homes and is now facing criminal prosecution is competent to stand trial. Judge Runston Maino appointed counsel for attorney Michael T. Pines, 59, who is defending himself pro se and…

Aug 29, 2011 10:12 PM CDT

Juror Held in Contempt, Gets Community Service for Effort to Friend Defendant on Facebook

In what a prosecutor in Tarrant County, Texas, says is the first such matter of its kind there, a juror in a civil auto accident case has been held in contempt for trying to friend the defendant on Facebook and discussing the case on his Facebook page. Jonathan Hudson, 22,…

Aug 29, 2011 7:55 PM CDT

Suspect in Killing of Mercer Law Grad Had Talked of a Perfect Murder, Police Say

The suspect in the killing of Mercer University law graduate Lauren Giddings once talked of committing the perfect murder, according to a police officer who testified in a court hearing today. Macon police detective David Patterson outlined the evidence against suspect Stephen McDaniel, who graduated from the law school with…

Aug 26, 2011 5:03 PM CDT

Gilbert Arenas’ Tweets Help Doom His Legal Bid to Block ‘Basketball Wives’

Orlando Magic basketball star Gilbert Arenas has failed to obtain a preliminary injunction to block the airing of Basketball Wives Los Angeles, set to air for the first time on Monday. Arenas’ enthusiasm for Twitter helped doom his contention that his private life wasn’t a matter of public concern, according…

Aug 26, 2011 2:20 PM CDT

Most Useful Law School Elective Was Evidence, GW Alumni Survey Finds

Evidence is the most useful elective law school course, according to an email survey of George Washington University law school alumni. The school asked about 13,500 alumni to list their most useful elective courses and the courses they wish they had taken, report the Volokh Conspiracy and the Wall Street…

Aug 26, 2011 1:03 PM CDT

Mass. Appeals Court Allows Suit by Man Who Volunteered DNA Sample, Wants Genetic Profile Destroyed

A Massachusetts man who voluntarily provided DNA in 2002 to police investigating a murder may pursue a privacy invasion suit seeking return of his genetic profile, a state appeals court has ruled. Keith Amato claims in his class action suit that police promised the sample and data would not be…

Aug 26, 2011 12:17 PM CDT

Inmate’s ‘Cop Out’ Jail Phone Message to Lawyer Wasn’t Privileged, 2nd Circuit Rules

A Spanish-speaking New York prison inmate found out the hard way that sending a message to his lawyer via his sister, on a recorded jailhouse phone, wasn’t a good idea. Joel Rodriguez had no reasonable expectation of confidentiality when he told her to tell his attorney that he wanted to…

Aug 25, 2011 8:17 PM CDT

Top NJ Court Changes Rules re Eyewitness ID, Calls for More Pretrial Scrutiny, New Jury Instructions

In a landmark ruling today, the New Jersey Supreme court changed procedural and evidentiary rules concerning eyewitness identification of suspects, saying that 30 years of scientific research had showed it to be less reliable than once thought. Depending on the circumstances of an arrest, suspects will be offered a greater…

Aug 25, 2011 12:17 AM CDT

Bats in $2,500-a-Month Apt. Forced Us to Leave and Get Rabies Shots, Women Say in Suit

Two women who say they paid $36,100 up-front to rent a $2,500-a-month apartment in New York City for a year that turned out to be infested by bats are suing to get their money back … plus $1 million in damages. When they spotted the first bat, flying around one…

Aug 24, 2011 11:43 PM CDT

Judges’ Role in Policing Eyewitness Testimony Is Back Before Supreme Court

The reliability of eyewitness identification is an issue in a case set to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in November. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the due process clause requires judges to exclude at least some eyewitness testimony based on unreliability, the New York Times reports.…

Aug 24, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

3rd Circuit Nixes 55-Month Term for Former Pa. Lawmaker Fumo, Tells Sentencing Judge to Try Again

Nixing a 55-month fraud sentence for a powerful former Pennsylvania senator and attorney that sparked public outrage, an appeals court today found a federal district judge had abused his discretion and told him to resentence Vincent Fumo. However, Judge Ronald Buckwalter isn’t required by the decision of the Philadelphia-based 3rd…

Aug 23, 2011 8:15 PM CDT

‘West Memphis 3’ Win Release from Prison by Taking Alford Plea in 1993 Murder of 3 Boys

Three men convicted in a controversial Arkansas child-murder case were released from prison today after taking Alford pleas during a court hearing in Jonesboro. Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were sentenced to 18 years in prison, with credit for time served, in the 1993 slayings of Steven…

Aug 19, 2011 7:08 PM CDT

Lawyer Paid $32K for M&A Tips Gets 3 Years for Conduit Role in High-Profile Insider-Trading Scheme

A New York personal injury lawyer was sentenced today to a three-year federal prison term for serving as a conduit for at least two attorney tipsters then working at Ropes & Gray in a high-profile insider-trading scheme. Jason Goldfarb was paid $32,500 for his work in the illegal stock-trading scheme,…

Aug 19, 2011 6:23 PM CDT

Pulled Over While Riding Motorized Plastic Beer Cooler, Man Blows 0.16, Loses Driving Privileges

Add a motorized plastic beer cooler to the list of unusual vehicles that have resulted in convictions for drunken driving. An unlicensed Australian man who purchased one online “for a bit of a giggle” soon found himself facing a serious court case. Christopher Ian Petrie blew a 0.16 on a…

Aug 19, 2011 5:21 PM CDT