Sentencing/Post Conviction

DNA clears man jailed 16 years; meanwhile, ‘Teardrop Rapist’ committed more crimes

Convicted of three California sexual assaults, Luis Lorenzo Vargas argued at his 1999 sentencing that the real perpetrator was still out there. “That individual that really did these crimes might really be raping someone out there,” he told a Los Angeles County judge, according to a court transcript. The judge…

Nov 23, 2015 2:50 PM CST

Disbarred lawyer admits collecting $247K in disability benefits while still in practice

A former New York bankruptcy lawyer who was disbarred and has served time for taking money from clients without doing promised work is in trouble again. Christopher Chadick, 63, pleaded guilty Monday in a Syracuse federal disability fraud case, Syracuse.com reports. He admitted that he obtained $247,000 in Social Security…

Nov 23, 2015 2:00 PM CST

Judge orders murder retrial, cites ‘overwhelmed’ PD who had 88 felony cases

A Maryland judge has cited the “untenable” caseload of a public defender in overturning the murder conviction of a defendant the PD represented at trial after juggling 88 felony cases in the previous six months. Judge Michael Mason of Montgomery County ordered the retrial of Raminder Kaur, convicted in the…

Nov 23, 2015 10:40 AM CST

Barefoot Bandit can’t profit from crime spree but studio pays $1M restitution to tell his life story

When the so-called Barefoot Bandit took a plea in 2011, part of the deal was that the then 20-year-old could not profit from his two-year crime spree, ABC News reported at the time. However, a Hollywood studio was allowed to pay $1 million in restitution to victims on behalf of…

Nov 23, 2015 10:30 AM CST

Lawyer is ordered to tell future clients he is a crook, cheat, thief and liar

A Wisconsin judge who sentenced a lawyer to five days in jail on Thursday thought it appropriate to continue the punishment with a condition he deemed a “moving jail.” Judge Philip Kirk of Waupaca County told Appleton lawyer Michael Petersen that during his 12 months of probation he will have…

Nov 23, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Nightclub owners get probation in contempt case over stampede that killed 21

After a 12-year legal saga, an Illinois judge on Friday imposed probation sentences on two owners of a Chicago nightclub at which 21 people died in a 2003 stampede. Calvin Hollins Jr. and Dwain Kyles were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter. But they were found guilty of contempt for violating a…

Nov 20, 2015 3:35 PM CST

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

Jared Fogle is sentenced; he traded food addiction for sex addiction, lawyer says

A federal judge in Indianapolis sentenced former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle to 15 years and eight months in prison on Thursday. U.S. District Judge rejected a lower sentence of 12 1/2 years in prison that had been recommended by prosecutors, report the Indianapolis Star and the Chicago Tribune. Fogle, 38,…

Nov 19, 2015 3:06 PM CST

Ex-prosecutor takes plea in child-porn case involving client’s children

Already sentenced in September to 50 years in a state-court child-rape case, a former South Dakota county prosecutor pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a federal child-pornography case that involved abuse of a client’s children. Christopher Jansen, 35, even used the one boy’s photo as an avatar on a website that…

Nov 18, 2015 3:00 PM CST

As execution looms, appellate lawyers fight client’s effort to get new counsel and seek clemency

Scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for setting a house fire that killed three children almost 15 years ago, a 36-year-old death row inmate in Texas has effectively been abandoned by his court-appointed appellate counsel, some observers say. Raphael Deon Holiday sent letter after letter from prison seeking to find…

Nov 17, 2015 2:00 PM CST

Ex-lawyer serving time in rare dog-maul murder case asks 9th Circuit to nix conviction

A former lawyer serving time after a rare second-degree murder conviction in a dog-mauling case is hoping a federal appeals court will overturn her conviction in the death of a San Francisco neighbor more than a decade ago. Arguments that the judge and prosecutor in Marjorie Knoller’s trial behaved inappropriately…

Nov 16, 2015 4:50 PM CST

Convicted rapist faces new case in courthouse attack on appellate attorney

A convicted rapist accused of breaking free from his restraints in a Cincinnati courthouse meeting room and repeatedly punching his appellate lawyer in the face earlier this month is now facing a new case over the alleged attack. Tony Pippin, 42, has been indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury…

Nov 13, 2015 3:59 PM CST

Appeals court restores $4.9K monthly pension of imprisoned former Penn State football coach

A Pennsylvania appeals court has restored the $4,900-per-month pension of a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach who is now serving a hefty prison term for sexually abusing minors. Because Jerry Sandusky had officially retired long before the crimes for which he has been convicted took place, the board…

Nov 13, 2015 2:50 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

Lawyer gets probation for forging judge’s name on court order and is disbarred by consent

A Pennsylvania lawyer who admittedly forged a Northumberland County judge’s name on a purported court order settling a client’s case was sentenced Monday to two years of probation and 75 hours of community service. On Tuesday, 63-year-old Stephen Ellwood also agreed to be disbarred by consent, reports PennLive.com. The forgery…

Nov 11, 2015 4:00 PM CST