Sentencing/Post Conviction

Found not guilty, murder defendant wins only a mistrial after jury is polled

Charged with fatally shooting a neighbor, in front of the man’s family, it appeared that Eric Lydell Smith had been acquitted by a Georgia jury this week. Prosecutors in the Clayton County asked that the jurors be polled, and the first 11 responses agreed with the verdict that Eric Lydell…

Aug 19, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Judge who hit sheriff’s patrol vehicle in courthouse parking lot agrees to 90-day unpaid suspension

A judge who made headlines after she and two other jurists working in the same Florida courthouse were all accused of driving under the influence within a seven-month period has agreed to a 90-day unpaid suspension. Broward Circuit Judge Lynn Rosenthal refused blood and urine tests after striking a sheriff’s…

Aug 18, 2015 12:40 PM CDT

Judge should not have made marriage a condition of defendant’s probation, civil rights group says

A civil rights group has filed a legal ethics complaint against a Texas judge who reportedly made marriage a condition of a 21-year-old man’s probation in a misdemeanor case. The Freedom From Religion Foundation also is objecting to a requirement imposed by Smith County Court-at-Law Judge Randall Rogers that defendant…

Aug 18, 2015 9:50 AM CDT

Lawyer gets home confinement for insider trading based on golfer’s tips

A federal judge in Boston has sentenced a Massachusetts lawyer to eight months of home confinement for trading on insider information gleaned form a golfing buddy. Lawyer Douglas Parigian, 56, was sentenced on Monday, Reuters reports. He pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and securities fraud. His guilty plea had…

Aug 18, 2015 9:29 AM CDT

Girlfriend convicted in lawyer’s murder won’t be eligible for early parole because of judge’s ruling

A 24-year-old woman convicted for killing her lawyer boyfriend on the night of his date with a beauty queen won’t be eligible for early parole. Judge Fred Stine sentenced Shayna Hubers to 40 years in prison on Friday after ruling she was not a victim of domestic violence, report the…

Aug 17, 2015 11:13 AM CDT

Last vestiges of death penalty in Connecticut are cruel and unusual, state’s top court says

Connecticut last executed a prisoner in 2005 and abolished the death penalty as a sentencing option in 2012. But roughly a dozen inmates remained on Connecticut’s death row because they had committed capital crimes before the death penalty was abolished. That changed Thursday, when the state’s top court held the…

Aug 14, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Litigious ex-con denied bond over claimed sex-ad post giving FBI agent’s phone number

After being in prison and on probation for the past decade, convicted con man Frederick Banks had a taste of freedom this summer. But it didn’t last long. Known for his prolific federal court litigation, determined by a magistrate to include more than 300 meritless suits between 2004 and 2013,…

Aug 13, 2015 3:50 PM CDT

Woman captured 5 days after fleeing courthouse; bailiff allegedly struck by her truck during escape

Sentenced Friday by an Ohio municipal judge to 180 days for stealing from a Walmart store, Stephanie Rybkoski asked for permission to step outside the courtroom to make a cellphone call to her family. She exited the courtroom, followed by a bailiff, and placed the call. Then, while still on…

Aug 12, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

US Supreme Court appeal against client’s wishes fails; execution takes place

Updated: Against the wishes of a 27-year-old convicted murderer, his counsel appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to circumvent his death sentence. In a brief order, the nation’s top court on Wednesday rejected the appeal, setting the stage for the scheduled Texas execution of Daniel Lee Lopez…

Aug 12, 2015 3:35 PM CDT

Real estate agent takes plea in unusual adverse possession case; his lawyer says it should be civil

Initially charged with two dozen felonies, a former real estate agent pleaded guilty to seven and got probation this week in an unusual criminal case that centers on adverse possession. At issue were four North Las Vegas homes Eric Alpert allegedly broke into and converted for his own use, renting…

Aug 12, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Man who broke into courthouse and rummaged through sheriff’s refrigerator gets 15 months

A 25-year-old man accused of breaking into a Washington state courthouse and rummaging through a refrigerator in the county sheriff’s office has pleaded guilty to burglary. Daniel Hodson was sentenced last week to 15 months in the Snohomish County case, reports the Daily Herald. He was also ordered to get…

Aug 11, 2015 3:25 PM CDT

Ethel Rosenberg wasn’t a spy, and recently released testimony helps prove it, her sons say

Ethel Rosenberg wasn’t a spy, and President Barack Obama should acknowledge she was wrongly executed, according to her sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol. The Meeropols support their assertion with recently released grand jury testimony by Ethel Rosenberg’s brother, David Greenglass, who was an Army machinist at the weapons installation in…

Aug 11, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

California agrees to pay for inmate’s sex-reassignment surgery

In what is being billed as a national first, the state of California has agreed to pay for gender-reassignment surgery for an inmate serving a life prison term. The state’s settlement with Shiloh Quine, however, sidesteps the question of whether California is constitutionally required to pay for such surgery, reports…

Aug 10, 2015 3:25 PM CDT

Retrial begins for man held in prison another 35 years after conviction was tossed

A retrial begins on Monday for a Texas inmate imprisoned an additional 35 years after an appeals court ruling overturned his conviction. Prosecutors say they may be partially responsible for the delay in retrying Jerry Hartfield, 59, but Hartfield is also responsible for not seeking the retrial, the Associated Press…

Aug 10, 2015 7:37 AM CDT

Told by judge to marry girlfriend or face 15-day jail term, Texas man ties the knot

Josten Bundy and Elizabeth Jaynes wanted to get married and had been talking about wedding plans. But they weren’t happy to be ordered to tie the knot by a Texas criminal court judge, KLTV reports. Bundy, who admittedly got into a fight in February with his 19-year-old girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend, had…

Aug 7, 2015 1:35 PM CDT