Evidence

DC agrees to pay more than $16M to man who served 27 years for rape and murder he didn’t commit

After a federal jury on Wednesday found that two Washington D.C. police officers withheld evidence in a criminal prosecution of a man who served 27 years in prison for a rape and murder he didn’t commit, the city didn’t wait to hear what its damages award would be in the…

Nov 20, 2015 11:40 AM CST

Ex-client wins nearly $500K in malpractice and domestic assault suit against lawyer

A former client won a jury award of nearly $500,000 on Wednesday in a malpractice and domestic assault lawsuit against the Iowa lawyer who represented her in a divorce case. The award against Anthony Zane Blessum, a West Des Moines practitioner who formerly served for 11 years as the top…

Nov 20, 2015 10:35 AM CST

‘Butterball’ operation puts officer dressed as turkey in crosswalk to reduce pedestrian fatalities

A state highway patrol officer dressed in a turkey costume is trying to keep pedestrian traffic fatalities down in Nevada’s Clark County. Dubbed “Butterball One,” the joint operation by state police, metropolitan police and Clark County school police is ticketing drivers who fail to stop as Trooper Chelsea Stuenkel strolls…

Nov 19, 2015 2:40 PM CST

Law firm participated in FBI sting of Texas school board members

Allegedly asked for $20,000 by two members of a Texas school board in order to retain its contract, a law firm representing the district reportedly cooperated with the FBI, resulting in the federal indictment (PDF) of two trustees and a city employee. The firm, Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott,…

Nov 18, 2015 4:10 PM CST

Feds secretly bugged courthouse grounds to eavesdrop on private conversations, motion says

Wiring a federal agent or informant would have been legal. But the feds crossed the line by secretly installing microphones in at least three locations outside a California courthouse in 2009 and 2010 and eavesdropping on private conversations, says a motion. It was filed by defendants in a criminal case…

Nov 17, 2015 10:25 AM CST

Public defender calls for probe after receiving video of police beating

As sirens sound in the background, two California lawmen can be seen striking a man on the ground with their batons, dozens of times. Shown on a YouTube video provided to the Alameda County public defender’s office by someone who had a security camera in the area, the Thursday incident…

Nov 16, 2015 4:05 PM CST

Should judge dismiss case because DA didn’t know about FBI witness payments? Court battle continues

Accused by attorney Paul Morgan of withholding exculpatory information, a Texas prosecutor said she had known nothing about a total of $5,000 in relocation assistance arranged by a FBI agent for three witnesses in a murder trial against a co-defendant of Morgan’s client. And on Thursday a state-court judge agreed…

Nov 12, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Defendant who didn’t get exculpatory DNA results can withdraw guilty plea, state supreme court says

The West Virginia Supreme Court says an inmate can withdraw his 2002 guilty plea to robbery and rape because he didn’t receive exculpatory test results. The Nov. 10 decision (PDF) “will reverberate more widely” because of conflicting rulings on whether prosecutors must disclose evidence favorable to the defendant before plea…

Nov 12, 2015 12:18 PM CST

Report: Hacked jail phone records show 14,000 calls to lawyers were taped

An analysis of a massive trove of phone records from a major provider of prison and jail services found at least 14,000 taped calls between inmates and attorneys, the Intercept reports. Its review of the purported Securus Technologies records–which were sent to the Intercept by an anonymous hacker–raises questions about…

Nov 11, 2015 1:55 PM CST

How California cops are using mobile fingerprinting and facial recognition devices

Police departments in California are identifying suspects using mobile biometric devices that scan fingerprints, faces and even tattoos. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a joint project with MuckRock, filed public records requests around the country to learn how police departments are using mobile biometric technology. More than 30 agencies have…

Nov 6, 2015 11:45 AM CST

Quid pro quo? Doctor testifies about ‘relationship’ with lawmaker who got millions in referral fees

Was it a quid quo pro? A physician testifying this week in the trial of a former New York legislative leader accused of misusing his office to get millions in law firm referral fees didn’t expressly say so. But Dr. Robert Taub did tell the jury that he hoped by…

Nov 6, 2015 9:45 AM CST

Ex-prosecutor who choked woman at bar while costumed as Clark Kent gets community service

A former Manhattan prosecutor has been sentenced to 10 days of community service and alcohol counseling concerning a 2014 incident in which he choked a woman at a Halloween party being held at a New York City bar, while costumed as Clark Kent. Eli Cherkasky, 35, was convicted of assault,…

Nov 5, 2015 2:05 PM CST

9th Circuit: Child porn evidence doesn’t have to be tossed, though NCIS violated federal law

An en banc federal appeals court has ruled that U.S. Navy investigators violated federal law when they provided evidence in a civilian child pornography case, though the decision won’t benefit the defendant. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to toss the evidence against Michael Dreyer of…

Nov 5, 2015 11:31 AM CST

Trial begins for former NY Assembly leader accused of misusing office to earn legal fees

Was Sheldon Silver “on the take,” as a prosecutor contended? Or a champion of the little guy who interwove his role as a New York legislative leader and a private attorney in an entirely legal manner? Those were the competing stories presented to a jury in Manhattan on Tuesday as…

Nov 3, 2015 3:00 PM CST

Judge orders Bill Cosby and his ex-lawyer to submit to deposition in suit over rape denial

A Los Angeles judge on Monday ordered Bill Cosby and his former lawyer to submit to a deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by model Janice Dickinson. Judge Debre Katz Weintraub’s deposition ruling allows the lawyer, Martin Singer, and Cosby to refuse to answer some questions due to attorney-client privilege,…

Nov 3, 2015 9:39 AM CST