Sentencing/Post Conviction

Federal prosecutor and ATF agent sidelined after affair comes to light; 3 new trials granted so far

During his trial for selling guns illegally, a client of Georgia defense attorney Amy Lee Copeland’s watched a federal prosecutor challenge his girlfriend’s credibility as a witness. The girlfriend shouldn’t be believed, contended prosecutor Cameron Ippolito, because of her relationship with the defendant, Christopher Walker. But, unbeknownst to the defense…

Apr 8, 2015 11:25 AM CDT

Federal judge strikes ‘impertinent’ allegations against Prince Andrew and attorney Alan Dershowitz

A federal judge in West Palm Beach, Florida, has struck third-party allegations concerning claimed sexual activities by Prince Andrew and attorney Alan Dershowitz from an ongoing lawsuit against the U.S. government. Without making any factual finding as to the validity of the allegations, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra found that…

Apr 7, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

Feds amp up prosecution of those accused in third U.S. Supreme Court protest in little over a year

Those arrested in two previous 99Rise protests that interrupted U.S. Supreme Court proceedings didn’t spend more than a day in jail. But that may change concerning the five individuals taken into custody on April 1, following the third disruption for which 99Rise has claimed responsibility in little more than a…

Apr 7, 2015 9:35 AM CDT

Now-retired judge takes misdemeanor plea after dismissing DUI case for courtroom prosecutor’s nephew

A retired Pennsylvania district judge has taken a misdemeanor plea in a case over his dismissal of a drunken-driving charge against a nephew of his courtroom prosecutor. Dwight Shaner, 71, said nothing and appeared to be on the verge of tears Monday as he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in…

Apr 6, 2015 12:15 PM CDT

Man who lied about assets to get free defense counsel is convicted of perjury in federal court

Already serving an almost 19-year federal prison sentence for possessing and transporting child pornography, a New York man was convicted of perjury last week in federal court in Syracuse. Prosecutors said Joseph Jenkins, 45, concealed $200,000 in investment accounts and his ownership of boats and recreational vehicles when applying for…

Apr 6, 2015 6:30 AM CDT

President Obama commutes sentences of 22 drug offenders

President Obama has commuted the sentences of 22 drug offenders, including four supported by the ABA-backed Clemency Project. Press releases from the ABA and the Clemency Project have more. Politico also has a story. All 22 were serving long sentences—in several cases, life in prison—for a drug-related conviction. The commutations,…

Apr 3, 2015 1:58 PM CDT

3 Florida prison guards linked to KKK are charged with plotting to kill inmate

Three current and former prison guards in Florida with ties to the Ku Klux Klan were charged with plotting to kill an African-American inmate. The Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday that Thomas Jordan Driver, David Elliot Moran and Charles Thomas Newcomb have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.…

Apr 3, 2015 12:05 PM CDT

Federal judge says California has to pay for inmate’s sex-change surgery

California must pay for gender reassignment surgery for an inmate convicted of murder, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Thursday. Surgery is “the only adequate medical treatment for her gender dysphoria,” said U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar in his written opinion. Hence, not providing it for Michelle-Lael Norsworthy,…

Apr 3, 2015 8:55 AM CDT

Federal judge blasts expert for not evaluating inmate jail brutality claims, but OKs case for trial

Already operating under a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, Chicago’s Cook County Jail may not be a pleasant place to be incarcerated. But a claimed “crisis of violence” has not been shown that would require further intervention in efforts being made by Sheriff Tom Dart to improve…

Apr 1, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

Drug-offender monitoring comes to the smartphone

Attorneys looking to give drug offender clients an easy, stigma-free way to comply with court-ordered monitoring may want to check out a new smartphone app from Outreach Smartphone Monitoring.

Essentially, the OSM app enables drug offenders to take surprise, on-the-spot tests of their blood alcohol levels using their smartphones, whether they're on the job, at home or (legally) out and about.

Apr 1, 2015 6:03 AM CDT

Kentucky tests new assessment tool to determine whether to keep defendants behind bars

During her time as a prosecutor, Anne Milgram remembers having to rely on her gut instinct to determine whether to seek pretrial detention for defendants. “The detention decision is one of the most important decisions made,” says Milgram, who was New Jersey’s attorney general from 2007 to 2010. Nationwide, more…

Apr 1, 2015 3:50 AM CDT

Supreme Court will consider need to instruct capital jurors on mitigation burden of proof

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide three death-penalty cases in which the defendants contend jurors were not properly instructed about mitigating evidence. The issue in the three cases is whether jurors weighing the death penalty must be told that evidence mitigating against capital punishment need not be proven…

Mar 31, 2015 10:49 AM CDT

Lawyer’s 10-minute absence during trial didn’t merit habeas relief, SCOTUS says

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court decision granting habeas relief to a felony murder defendant because his lawyer was absent for 10 minutes during trial testimony. In a per curiam decision (PDF) on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled against Cory Donald, convicted of felony murder and armed…

Mar 30, 2015 12:21 PM CDT

SCOTUS: Lifetime GPS monitoring of sex offender constitutes a Fourth Amendment search; case remanded

A two-time sex offender ordered to wear a tracking device for the rest of his life will get a chance to pursue his constitutional challenge as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday. In a per curiam decision (PDF), the Supreme Court allowed sex offender Torrey Dale…

Mar 30, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

Amanda Knox will seek compensation for time spent in Italian prison, lawyer says

Amanda Knox will seek compensation for the time she spent in an Italian prison in the 2007 fatal stabbing of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, according to one of Knox’s defense lawyers. The Italian Court of Cassation on Friday cleared Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, in Kercher’s death,…

Mar 30, 2015 9:35 AM CDT