Sentencing/Post Conviction

5th Circuit stays execution; lawyers cite inmate’s paranoia, odd behavior

A federal appeals court on Wednesday stayed the execution of Texas death-row inmate Scott Panetti to consider claims that he is incompetent for execution. The order (PDF) by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the stay was issued to “fully consider the late arriving and complex…

Dec 4, 2014 10:38 AM CST

Voter-approved measure leads to prisoner releases, budget headaches for local prosecutors

Corrected: A California ballot measure approved by voters in November has led to the release of hundreds of prisoners and created budget headaches for some city attorneys. The initiative known as Proposition 47 reduced several nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors and applied retroactively, the Los Angeles Times reports. Some judges say…

Dec 4, 2014 5:45 AM CST

‘Real Housewives’ star files $5M suit against her bankruptcy lawyer, blames him for prison sentence

Reality television star Teresa Giudice filed a $5 million malpractice suit against her former bankruptcy lawyer Wednesday. It accuses attorney James Kridel of making mistakes both on her family’s original 2010 bankruptcy filing and in subsequent amendments, and blames him for the fact that she is headed to federal prison…

Dec 3, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Disbarred lawyer wins appeal, has client-fraud conviction reversed after serving his prison time

A New York appeals court has reversed a disbarred bankruptcy lawyer’s 2011 conviction for defrauding 114 clients, finding that a trial judge erred in striking testimony by Christopher Chadick’s office manager after the witness took the Fifth. Meanwhile, Chadick already served the minimum time required under his 4- to 12-year…

Dec 3, 2014 1:15 PM CST

Some towns relax buffer zones that left sex offenders homeless

Some towns that barred sex offenders from living near schools, parks and other places with children are relaxing the buffer zones amid questions about whether the restrictions are doing any good. Critics say the restrictions make it difficult for offenders to find housing outside the buffer zones—and to be tracked…

Dec 3, 2014 6:15 AM CST

Man accused of revenge-porn Facebook post gets jail time

A Los Angeles man has been sentenced to a year in jail after his revenge-porn conviction for posting a topless photo of his ex-girlfriend on her employer’s Facebook page. Noe Iniguez, 36, was sentenced on Monday, report the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly. He was convicted for violating two…

Dec 2, 2014 10:11 AM CST

Woman’s 1963 arrest record is expunged after no one could find documentation

A Maryland woman who lost a job opportunity because of a reported arrest in 1963 had the record expunged after no one could find the original documents. Barbara Ann Finn, 74, spent more than a year trying to clear her name, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. She reports…

Dec 2, 2014 9:29 AM CST

Judge says investigative files for ‘In Cold Blood’ murders can be published by investigator’s son

In 2012, a Kansas judge ruled that records kept by a man who investigated the murder of four family members portrayed in a famous Truman Capote book could not be published, sold or used as the basis for a book. But Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks has since…

Dec 1, 2014 5:20 PM CST

Is AA to blame for ‘13th Step’ slaying, as lawsuit claims?

A 48 Hours program over the weekend has brought renewed attention to a civil case being pursued by the family of a 31-year-old California woman slain by a man she met at Alcoholics Anonymous. Eric Allen Earle, 43, was convicted of first-degree murder in September and sentenced to 26 years…

Dec 1, 2014 1:20 PM CST

DA’s men accused of stealing rare comics forfeited by in-house lawyer jailed in $9M theft scheme

An in-house lawyer accused of stealing $9 million by paying fake law firm bills took a felony plea and was sentenced to 40 years by a Texas judge six months ago. But that wasn’t the end of the fallout over Anthony Chiofalo’s theft scheme. A onetime investigator for the Harris…

Nov 26, 2014 1:45 PM CST

Prominent lawyer accused of assaulting employee after a night of drinking takes misdemeanor plea

Initially accused of driving a law firm employee home after a work-related event and raping her, a prominent Pennsylvania attorney has taken a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor. Because of a lab report misread by Montgomery County prosecutors, the case against Robert Kerns is now being pursued by the state…

Nov 24, 2014 4:30 PM CST

Judge resentences polo mogul to 16 years in DUI manslaughter case, denies bond during appeal

Saying that a onetime billionaire who founded a Palm Beach polo club had resources that would make it easy for him to flee, a Florida judge on Friday resentenced John Goodman to a 16-year term in a DUI manslaughter case and refused to release him on bond while he is…

Nov 24, 2014 12:35 PM CST

10 years after fatal accident, conviction is reversed; GM knew its car was to blame but kept quiet

Convicted of negligent homicide in a fatal 2004 crash that killed her fiance, a Texas woman has lived with guilt and public disapprobation and worried about her limited career options for nearly a decade. But on Monday, almost exactly a decade after the accident, a Van Zandt County judge granted…

Nov 24, 2014 12:05 PM CST

California DAs shame johns with website photos

In California, prosecutors hope to discourage prostitution by posting photos of johns. The District Attorney’s office in San Bernardino County began publishing photos of convicted customers in April 2013 at a “Stop-the John” Web page, the Los Angeles Times reports. The photos remain posted for a year. Now the Orange…

Nov 24, 2014 6:15 AM CST

County clerk fined $500 for using government Wi-Fi during his re-election campaign

A longtime court clerk in suburban Chicago used personal electronic devices when he was attending to matters related to his re-election campaign. But County Clerk Jack Cunningham did some campaign work on those devices while using the Kane County’s Wi-Fi system, leading to an investigation of Cunningham by a special…

Nov 21, 2014 5:45 AM CST