Evidence

As Jury Deliberates, Federal Judge Dismisses All Charges in Stanford Document-Shredding Case

In the latest blow to U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors pursuing high-profile charges, a federal judge today dismissed the obstruction and conspiracy case against two men accused of ordering the destruction of documents related to R. Allen Stanford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Citing a lack of intent as he…

Feb 12, 2010 10:32 PM CST

No Warrant Needed to Track User’s Cell Phone Location, DOJ Tells 3rd Cir. Panel

By obtaining information about which cell tower routed calls from a cell phone user, authorities have been able to link suspects to crime scenes. But, in oral arguments today before a federal appellate panel in Philadelphia, the government contended that no warrant is required to get such information about a…

Feb 12, 2010 9:56 PM CST

Munchausen Mom Gets 40 Years in Death of 2-Year-Old Daughter

A woman who was convicted of child abuse in West Virginia and sentenced to one year in jail after she was caught on tape in a hospital trying to smother her infant son was sentenced today to a 40-year prison term in Florida for the earlier suffocation death of her…

Feb 12, 2010 6:30 PM CST

Facebook Is ‘Unrivaled Leader’ for Online Divorce Evidence, Survey Says

We heard this week from one lawyer who tells his criminal defense clients right off the bat to nix their Facebook accounts. Maybe divorce lawyers ought to consider similar warnings. In a new survey of divorce lawyers, 81 percent say they have seen an increase in the use of social…

Feb 12, 2010 12:58 PM CST

Judge Rakoff Probes GC’s Firing, Seeks ‘Voluminous’ Info From SEC and BofA

As he weighs whether to approve a proposed $150 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America Corp. that would resolve a case alleging the bank misled investors about its Merrill Lynch & Co. merger, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff is hungry for more information.…

Feb 12, 2010 12:09 PM CST

Trustee Seeks Law Firm Records to ID Any Other Attorneys in $1.2B Rothstein Scheme

Updated: In an effort to identify others who may have been involved in ex-attorney Scott Rothstein’s reported $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, a bankruptcy trustee overseeing the dissolution of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler has asked a federal judge to order a California technology company to produce records of confidential electronic conversations between…

Feb 11, 2010 7:24 PM CST

Hockey Star’s Winning DUI Argument: Knee Surgeries Caused Field Sobriety Test Glitch

Saying that a videotape of field sobriety tests didn’t establish probable cause to arrest hockey star Chris Chelios for driving under the influence, an Illinois judge yesterday cleared the way for the expected dismissal of the DuPage County case against the former Chicago Blackhawks star. Attorney Terry Ekl, who represented…

Feb 11, 2010 6:26 PM CST

I’ll Use Prosecution Tapes to Win My Case, Says Impeached Ex-Ill. Gov

After pleading innocent today to charges made in a revised indictment in a federal corruption case, the impeached former governor of Illinois and his lawyers said he could seek to suppress government tapes of allegedly incriminating phone conversations on constitutional grounds but doesn’t intend to do so. That’s because playing…

Feb 10, 2010 8:04 PM CST

Ex-Edwards Aide Turns Over Claimed Sex Tape, as Lawyers Argue On in Privacy Case

After legal wrangling over whether Andrew Young would be accompanied by a security officer, the onetime aide to ex-presidential candidate John Edwards has retrieved his original copy of a purported sex tape of Edwards and his former mistress from a bank safe deposit box and turned it over to a…

Feb 10, 2010 12:41 AM CST

Lawmakers to Push for DNA Testing in Rape Cases That Aren’t Prosecuted

When an individual says he or she has been sexually assaulted, it’s routine today for a hospital nurse to open a rape kit and collect the suspect’s semen and other fluids from the victim’s body for DNA testing. But in Illinois (and, reportedly, other states as well) thousands of these…

Feb 9, 2010 6:13 PM CST

First Jurors, Now Defendants Tweet Mid-Trial

There are dozens of reports of jurors tweeting while court is in session and during deliberations. So much so that even the Judicial Conference has taken notice and OK’d model rules to address juror tweets, texts and social media use. But what about defendants? Should they tweet during their own…

Feb 9, 2010 5:17 PM CST

First Thing Lawyer Tells New Clients: Shut Down Facebook Account

People may believe there’s a degree of anonymity on the Internet. But police know better, and they are increasingly using social media tools to collect evidence of criminal activity and head off wrongdoing. “Technology has revolutionized law enforcement in many ways,” Jack Rinchich, president of the National Association of Chiefs…

Feb 9, 2010 4:11 PM CST

Judicial Conf. Group OKs Model Rules Barring Juror Talk, Texts & Tweets

Updating traditional rules banning jurors from talking about a case outside of deliberations before it is resolved, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States has added provisions addressing e-mail, cell phones, social media sites, text messages and Internet research. In addition to reporting on this development, the…

Feb 9, 2010 1:10 AM CST

Major Cell Phone Privacy Case on 3rd Circuit Docket This Week

A closely watched privacy rights case is before the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which this week will hear arguments about the proper legal standard to apply when prosecutors seek cell phone location data. The global positioning data, recorded regularly whenever a cell phone is turned on, track…

Feb 8, 2010 5:01 PM CST

Plaintiff Credibility Questioned in Advancing 9/11 Health Trials

An Associated Press investigation of dozens of 9/11 ground zero worker cases being considered for trial in May found that several “contain inconsistent or exaggerated claims” about how workers became ill and how much time they spent at the site. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has whittled down the list…

Feb 8, 2010 1:04 PM CST