Evidence

‘Highly Technical’ Oral Arguments Downplay Drama in Inmate’s Quest for DNA

The U.S. Supreme Court considered Wednesday whether a Texas death row inmate has a right to DNA evidence in arguments so dry that several publications were compelled to comment. “The drama was missing” in oral arguments on the DNA quest by inmate Hank Skinner, convicted of murdering his girlfriend and…

Oct 14, 2010 2:04 PM CDT

Canadian Court Ponders Whether Woman Must Remove Niqab to Testify at Sex Assault Trial

Overturning a lower court order requiring a Muslim woman to remove her niqab before testifying against two male relatives at a sexual assault trial, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that a preliminary hearing judge should ponder the issue further before making a determination. While facial demeanor is important…

Oct 13, 2010 9:19 PM CDT

Woman Acquitted of Murder Based on Domestic Abuse Evidence

Charged with murder for stabbing her husband in the heart with a butter knife she picked up from a bedside table in their home, a New York hospital worker has been acquitted based on evidence of domestic abuse. Donna Cobb, 42, told a Manhattan Supreme Court jury that she didn’t…

Oct 13, 2010 8:24 PM CDT

Freeze Foreclosures in All 50 States, Lawmaker Urges Big Banks, as 40 State AGs Plan Joint Probe

Updated: Following news earlier today that Bank of America has called a temporary halt to foreclosures in all 50 states as it reviews paperwork to make sure it’s accurate, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is urging other major mortgage servicers to follow suit, reports the Washington Post. “I thank…

Oct 8, 2010 7:59 PM CDT

Rutgers E-Mail Sought re Now-Dead Student’s Complaint Roomie Was Spying on Him

A student who committed suicide after his roommate photographed him having sex in his dorm room and posted the footage on the Internet had complained to Rutgers University authorities shortly before he leapt to his death off the George Washington Bridge last month. Now Middlesex County prosecutors have obtained a…

Oct 7, 2010 11:23 PM CDT

US Judge Bars Witness Whose Name Was Revealed in CIA Interrogation

A federal judge has delayed a major terrorism trial to give the government time to regroup after barring a major witness from testifying for the prosecution. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan barred the witness in the case against Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, who is accused of conspiring in embassy bombings that…

Oct 6, 2010 4:37 PM CDT

Inmate’s Letter Seeking Forgiveness Didn’t Have Intended Effect

A jail inmate awaiting trial on sexual assault charges wrote an apology letter to the 87-year-old victim, asking her to forgive him and drop the case against him. The letter didn’t have its intended effect, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Instead it became another piece of evidence in the criminal case against…

Oct 6, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

House Speaker Pelosi Calls for Federal Probe of How Banks Handle Mortgage Foreclosures

A group of Democratic lawmakers from California headed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for a federal investigation of irregularities in mortgage foreclosure cases, in the wake of increasing reports of “robo-signatures” and other questionable practices by a number of major mortgage servicers. Additionally, prior to filing suit, banks…

Oct 5, 2010 10:08 PM CDT

Lawyer Says His Longtime Secretary Is the Informant Who Secretly Recorded Him

A secretary who testified for a Georgia lawyer accused of federal drug and money-laundering charges, helping win his acquittal last year, apparently had a change of heart. The secretary, Brandy Rivera, became a secret informant, says her onetime boss, lawyer Mark Shelnutt. And Shelnutt was the target, according to the…

Oct 4, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer Calls Expert Toxicologist’s Bachelor’s Degree Into Question

The academic background of a James L. Ferguson, an Ohio toxicologist who testified in many criminal trials, is being questioned by a criminal defense lawyer who wonders if the former Franklin County coroner’s office employee even has a bachelor’s degree. Kort Gatterdam of Columbus, Ohio, represents Virginia LeFever, a woman…

Oct 1, 2010 5:56 PM CDT

Ohio Official Asks Federal Prosecutor to Review Chase Mortgage Foreclosures

Upping the ante in a mortgage foreclosure mess that already reportedly has prompted the attorney general’s office in six or more states to initiate probes of various lenders, an Ohio official has asked a federal prosecutor to take a look at Chase Home Mortgage and a company that was created…

Oct 1, 2010 3:33 PM CDT

Fear Factor

How far would you go to learn about the tough situations your clients face? Steven Borkan of Chicago’s Borkan & Scahill volunteered for a shock—literally—to experience what happens in the moments after a police officer pulls the trigger on a Taser. Borkan defends police against civil rights complaints, and he…

Oct 1, 2010 8:20 AM CDT

A Changing Landscape

In first court with three women, all eyes are on Justice Kagan

Oct 1, 2010 7:40 AM CDT

Shapiro & Fishman Squares Off with Fla. AG, Calls Law Firm Foreclosure Probe an Abuse of Gov’t Power

One of three so-called “foreclosure mill” law firms under investigation by the Florida attorney general has returned fire, calling his probe an abuse of government power. Attorney Gerald Richman of Richman Greer, who is defending the law firm that is the subject of the probe, Shapiro & Fishman, says in…

Sep 30, 2010 6:46 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Lawsuit Evidence Gathered in Illegally Taped Calls

A Florida judge is refusing to allow introduction of illegally taped phone calls in a Florida county’s lawsuit filed against Expedia and Orbitz. Florida law bars recording a conversation without the other party’s consent, WFTV.com reports. Judge Fredrick Lauten refused to allow the evidence in the suit seeking up to…

Sep 30, 2010 1:36 PM CDT