Sentencing/Post Conviction

9th Circuit panel vacates death row inmate’s conviction because of biased jury selection

An appellate court has tossed aside a 29-year-old guilty verdict and death sentence against an African-American inmate due to racial bias. The Sacramento Bee reported on Monday that a divided three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has upheld a lower court ruling vacating…

Oct 27, 2015 12:30 PM CDT

Effectiveness of drug court is questioned after shooting death of police officer

A man accused of killing a New York City police officer this week was on the streets through provisions of a drug court, despite a lengthy rap sheet and probation violations, the Associated Press reports. The incident has become the center of renewed debate over the effectiveness of such courts.…

Oct 23, 2015 4:50 PM CDT

Judge gives juror 5 days, fines her $500 for doing legal research during trial

A Georgia juror was sentenced to five days in jail for contempt of court and fined $500 on Wednesday because she admittedly did legal research in a criminal case. Judge James Blanchard Jr. found out about the problem when the jury in the Richmond County Superior Court robbery case sent…

Oct 23, 2015 7:25 AM CDT

9th Circuit OKs doubling of prison term for defendant who laughed at sentencing

Laughter after he was sentenced to a year in federal prison for a probation violation cost a California defendant another year behind bars. When U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill challenged Ramon Ochoa’s demeanor he insisted he hadn’t been laughing at the sentence and apologized. But the Fresno judge, who’d just…

Oct 23, 2015 7:00 AM CDT

Suspend judge for 90 days and fine her $20K for conduct in DUI case, panel tells top state court

Will the second time be the charm? After seeing an earlier settlement of a disciplinary case involving a Florida judge nixed by the state supreme court, the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission has tried again. This time, it is calling for a 90-day suspension plus a $20,000 penalty for Broward Circuit…

Oct 22, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Lawyer gets 8 years for secretly settling clients’ cases and diverting money to himself

A suspended Georgia personal injury lawyer was sentenced this week to eight years in federal prison for secretly settling clients’ cases and diverting more than $1 million in proceeds to himself. Wilson Smith, 63, pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated identity theft and mail fraud charges, the Savannah Morning…

Oct 22, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Death-row inmate seeking ‘spiritual freedom’ opts for statutory right to electric chair

Wayne Doty was already serving a life prison term for a 1996 murder when he and another man incarcerated at Florida State Prison in Raiford murdered a fellow inmate. That second murder, of a man accused of stealing a package of cigarettes, put Doty, now 42, on death row. After…

Oct 22, 2015 3:10 PM CDT

Better lawyering has caused drop in death sentences in Virginia, study author says

Capital sentencing hearings in Virginia are getting longer and the number of death sentences is getting lower. The author of a study released Monday suggests the two developments are linked, the Associated Press and UVA News report. University of Virginia law professor Brandon Garrett compared 21 capital murder trials held…

Oct 22, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Husband’s tears weren’t protected by spousal privilege, appellate court rules

A husband’s tears during a private drive with his wife could be used as evidence to help convict him in a rape case, a North Carolina appeals court ruled Tuesday. It rejected a defense lawyer’s argument that the man’s crying was essentially an admission by silence and hence a privileged…

Oct 20, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

ABA letter supports sentencing bill that cuts reliance on mandatory minimums

ABA President Paulette Brown has written to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee to express ABA support for a bipartisan federal sentencing bill that reduces reliance on mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders. The letter (PDF) notes that the federal prison population has increased nearly 800 percent since 1980…

Oct 19, 2015 11:47 AM CDT

Prolific snitch reads cellmates’ legal papers while they sleep, defense attorney says

A prolific informant who could potentially testify in nearly two dozen Florida criminal cases says he gets fellow inmates to confess by offering his services as a jailhouse lawyer. But in fact Frederick Cobia, who claims to have inside knowledge in 23 cases, learns details by reading Palm Beach County…

Oct 16, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Pistorius to serve remaining sentence for law grad’s slaying on house arrest

Almost exactly one year after he was sentenced to five years in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius is about to be allowed to serve the rest of his time on house arrest instead of in prison, starting next week. Law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp was killed…

Oct 16, 2015 11:20 AM CDT

5th Circuit OKs conviction that led to 20-year prison term for lawyer who bribed judge

A former South Texas judge got six years for admittedly taking bribes from lawyers, after cooperating with the feds in prosecuting the attorneys and others. But a conviction that resulted in a 20-year-term for former personal injury lawyer Marc Garrett Rosenthal in the Cameron County racketeering conspiracy case was upheld…

Oct 15, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Appeals court nixes 10-year plea deal in claimed contract hit attempt on family lawyer

An appeals court has nixed a plea deal by one of the men allegedly involved in performing a claimed contract hit attempt on a New Jersey divorce lawyer in 2002. However, that means that all the original charges will be reinstated against defendant Vancleve Ashley, who had gotten a 10-year…

Oct 15, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Judge found guilty of lying about attack outside courthouse gets 6 months

A former municipal judge found guilty of lying about being assaulted outside his Waterloo courthouse in 2013 has been sentenced to six months behind bars. Convicted in August of insurance fraud and other charges in the Seneca County case, Roger Barto could have gotten as much as 28 months to…

Oct 14, 2015 5:00 PM CDT