Evidence

Oklahoma appeals court stays execution of Richard Glossip

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday stayed the scheduled execution of Richard Glossip—who was at the center of a lethal-injection case before the U.S. Supreme Court—with barely three hours to spare. The court said it granted the last-minute reprieve in order to “give fair consideration” to death row…

Sep 16, 2015 5:15 PM CDT

Texas man seeks to clear his name in 1977 murder

A Texas man is asking a court to declare him innocent of a 1977 murder he’s twice been convicted of committing. Lawyers for Kerry Max Cook, in court documents filed Monday, claim that six rounds of DNA testing have failed to produce any evidence that Cook committed the crime, the…

Sep 16, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Temple law grad is charged with fatally shooting classmate during claimed drug deal

A Temple University law graduate found shot to death in his car last month near his family’s Delaware home was murdered by a classmate during an apparent drug deal, police said Wednesday. Benjamin Rauf, 25, was arrested in his home state of New York. He is being extradited to Delaware…

Sep 16, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Evidence in ‘shaken baby’ cases not as clear-cut as once thought, expert says

Few would disagree that it is possible to injure a baby by shaking it and that those who do so should face child-abuse cases. But are individuals being convicted, sometimes of murder, based on dubious or even inaccurate evidence? That is the question explored by a new Retro Report video…

Sep 15, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Fired prosecutor didn’t lie under oath, simply failed to recall years-ago events, his lawyer says

A veteran Illinois prosecutor publicly fired Monday by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office didn’t lie under oath when testifying in a police-shooting case, his lawyer says. Joseph Lattanzio, whose testimony conflicted with what was said by the mother of a man accused of shooting a Chicago police officer, simply…

Sep 15, 2015 8:05 AM CDT

Teen does not have to visit dad, but appeals court suspends child support

Corrected: A Brooklyn judge had discretion to determine that a 13-year-old “vehemently opposed” to visiting his father should not be compelled to do so, a New York appeals court ruled. But, under the circumstances of this case, the judge should have granted the pro se father’s alternative motion to suspend…

Sep 15, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Once-convicted lawyer turns tables on feds, seeks $215K for defense fees in $52M mortgage-fraud case

Convicted two years ago in a $52 million mortgage-fraud scheme, a New Orleans lawyer won a reversal of his conviction in July from a federal appeals court. Now David Mark hopes to get reimbursement from the government of some $215,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, due to alleged wrongdoing by…

Sep 14, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Prosecutor fired over claimed lies under oath in shooting case

Updated: Soon after a Chicago police officer was shot in 2012 on the city’s South Side, a suspect was arrested in the basement of the home he shared with his mother. Officer Del Pearson was severely injured in the shooting but survived. A revolver recovered in the basement was linked…

Sep 14, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

Protesters say bench conviction in fiery attack on teen should include attempted murder

Updated: A Michigan judge is facing protest over her verdict last month concerning a 17-year-old attacked last year by an ex-boyfriend in her own home. Judge Pamela Lightvoet convicted Adam Shigwadja of home invasion, arson and assault in the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court case. But critics are upset that the…

Sep 14, 2015 12:50 PM CDT

DA should have charged deputy in court assault on inmate, judge says, but it’s too late to do so now

A seemingly unprovoked attack on a shackled Colorado inmate by a sheriff’s deputy in a Denver courtroom should have resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge against the deputy, a state court judge said Friday. But the ruling by Chief Judge Michael Martinez of Denver District Court in the unusual hearing…

Sep 14, 2015 9:10 AM CDT

Judge says DA intentionally withheld murder trial evidence, but denies defense bid for retrial ban

A Texas district attorney intentionally withheld evidence from defense counsel in a capital murder trial, a state court judge ruled Friday. However, the reason why Williamson County DA Jana Duty did so is unknown, Williamson County District Judge Rick Kennon writes in his 15-page opinion (PDF). Hence, because Kennon did…

Sep 11, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Slaying of man burned beyond recognition was quickly solved due to cellphone video, authorities say

The body was burned beyond recognition, wrapped in a rug left in an almond orchard. But the lack of identifying information about the victim proved to be no barrier to solving the crime, authorities said, after a woman offered a tip. She said she had seen a cellphone video of…

Sep 10, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Judge to DA: Explain why deputy wasn’t prosecuted over courtroom use of force on chained inmate

Hours before the three-year statute of limitations is set to expire, a Colorado judge has ordered the Denver district attorney to appear in court on Friday to explain why a sheriff’s deputy wasn’t prosecuted for slamming an inmate into a courtroom window frame. The September 2012 incident involving Anthony Waller…

Sep 10, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Judge who refused sobriety test admits drinking more than she initially told investigators she had

A Florida judge who lost a legal battle to avoid a drunken-driving conviction last year is now fighting for her career on the bench. Broward Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato had been willing to settle her related legal ethics case and take a 20-day unpaid suspension from her job, at the…

Sep 10, 2015 1:50 PM CDT

Ex-prosecutor indicted over alleged text offer to pay $20K to get opponent to exit judicial campaign

A now-former longtime prosecutor in Davidson County, North Carolina, was indicted Tuesday, accused of texting an offer to pay $20,000 to get an opponent to drop out of an election for a superior court seat. Wendy Joyce Terry, 43, was placed on administrative leave after the alleged July 23 incident…

Sep 9, 2015 5:15 PM CDT