Sentencing/Post Conviction

DOJ seeks 8-year prison sentence for SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to sentence former U.S. Supreme Court lawyer and SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein to eight years in prison after a jury convicted him on tax and financial crime charges earlier this year.

Jun 4, 2026 11:40 AM CDT

Former judge sentenced to 60 days in jail for falsifying records

A former Ohio judge was sentenced Monday to 60 days in the county jail and fined $10,000 after pleading guilty to tampering with records, so that she could steer court business to a friend.

Jun 2, 2026 9:19 AM CDT

Lawyer sentenced to year in prison after conviction in $20M bank fraud trial

A New York compliance lawyer was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months and a day in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme to steal $20 million from an Emigrant Bank unit.

May 27, 2026 11:15 AM CDT

Supreme Court dismisses death penalty case on people with mental disabilities

The Supreme Court on Thursday chose not to weigh in on what standards states should use to assess whether a person who commits a crime must be spared the death penalty because of intellectual disabilities.

May 21, 2026 10:39 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh sues clerk for alleged jury tampering that led to overturned murder conviction

Disgraced and disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the clerk of court whose alleged jury manipulation in his 2023 trial resulted in the overturning of his double-murder conviction by the South Carolina Supreme Court last week.

May 19, 2026 1:42 PM CDT

Federal judge sentenced to probation in drunk driving case

A federal judge in Michigan has been sentenced to six months of probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor drunk driving charge, Reuters reports.

May 14, 2026 10:02 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh’s murder conviction overturned; prosecutors vow retrial

Prosecutors in South Carolina said they plan to retry disgraced and disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh in the shooting deaths of his wife and younger son after the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned his conviction and life sentence, the Associated Press and other news outlets report.

May 13, 2026 1:59 PM CDT

2 women sue Las Vegas hotels for allegedly allowing trafficking on premises

Two women who alleged that they were trafficked for years by convicted sex offender and former actor Nathan Chasing Horse filed a federal lawsuit last week accusing several Las Vegas hotels of knowingly allowing the abuse to continue on their premises.

May 13, 2026 10:08 AM CDT

Former Willkie Farr & Gallagher counsel pleads guilty, agrees to cooperate in M&A insider trading case

A former Willkie Farr & Gallagher attorney has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government in a multimillion-dollar mergers-and-acquisitions insider trading case.

May 8, 2026 11:01 AM CDT

Criminal defense lawyer allegedly punched in face after client gets maximum sentence for murder

A criminal defense lawyer has said he does not have direct knowledge of allegedly getting punched in the face by a client.

May 4, 2026 2:08 PM CDT

Former jailhouse lawyer turned ‘real lawyer’ blocked from serving elected position

Calvin Duncan’s journey from being wrongfully convicted of murder to getting elected to serve as a criminal court clerk in Louisiana has been abruptly halted.

May 4, 2026 9:32 AM CDT

‘You’re allergic? Good!’ Woman who released bees to protest eviction is sentenced to 6 months in jail

A beekeeper has been sentenced to six months in jail after using honeybees as a weapon against deputies in an eviction fall 2022.

Apr 29, 2026 11:00 AM CDT

Inmate says his belief in satanism was improperly used by prosecutors to obtain death sentence

A Texas man sentenced to death for the murder and sexual assault of a teenage girl is seeking to overturn his death sentence, arguing that the prosecution violated his First Amendment rights by using evidence of his belief in satanism.

Apr 29, 2026 9:53 AM CDT

Stormy Daniels’ former lawyer Michael Avenatti released from prison, moved to halfway house

Michael Avenatti, the once-high-profile attorney best known for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, has been transferred from federal prison to a halfway house in Hollywood in Los Angeles.

Apr 9, 2026 11:03 AM CDT

Man who generated sexually explicit deepfakes may be first convicted under new federal law

An Ohio man who harassed women with sexually graphic artificial intelligence-generated images may be the first person in the country convicted under a new federal law, according to prosecutors.

Apr 9, 2026 10:31 AM CDT