Sentencing/Post Conviction

SCOTUS declines case on de facto life sentences for juveniles

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to clear up some confusion over lengthy sentences for juveniles when it refused last week to hear the case of a juvenile who won’t be eligible for early release until he is 95 years old. The defendant, Chaz Bunch of Ohio, was convicted of kidnapping…

Apr 30, 2013 6:37 PM CDT

Former defense lawyer gets 5 years in Secret Service money-laundering sting

Once a prominent criminal defense attorney, Ronald E. Partee, 66, had little to say as he was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Kansas City to five years in prison. He will serve the time at a prison camp in South Dakota, to minimize contact with his former clients.…

Apr 30, 2013 5:08 PM CDT

‘Wicked and selfish’ mom pushed teen daughter to get pregnant so she could raise baby, judge says

Thwarted when she tried, as a single mother, to adopt a fourth child, a “domineering” American woman living in Great Britain tried another approach. She used her influence on her then-14-year-old daughter to persuade the teen to get pregnant and provide the baby she wanted, so she could raise it…

Apr 29, 2013 6:24 PM CDT

Disabled woman who couldn’t afford vet for dog gets 6 months house arrest, can’t have a goldfish

As the Tampa Bay Times earlier told the story, a disabled Florida woman living on a $508-a-month government check had essentially done the best she could for her beloved 14-year-old dog, Harley. But those who charged, convicted and sentenced Tammy Brown in a felony animal cruelty case saw a different…

Apr 29, 2013 2:25 PM CDT

Postcard-only jail mail policy is unconstitutional, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Oregon has found that a suburban Portland jail’s policy of allowing inmates to receive only postcards is unconstitutional, because it violates the First Amendment rights of both those who send and those who receive mail. While the ruling applies only to the Columbia County Jail, it…

Apr 26, 2013 8:02 PM CDT

Widow who owed $21.6M to feds gets ‘effectively 5 seconds’ of probation, as judge scolds government

An elderly Palm Beach, Fla., widow with a high school education got “effectively five seconds” of probation from a federal judge in an offshore tax-evasion case after paying a $21.6 million penalty and back taxes. Mary Estelle Curran, 79, had inherited $43 million in Swiss bank accounts from her husband,…

Apr 26, 2013 3:50 PM CDT

Disabled woman who couldn’t afford to take pet to vet is convicted of felony and jailed

At 14 years old, a chow mix named Harley wasn’t in the greatest shape. But the pet dog was still enjoying life in his old age, despite a skin condition and a large growth dangling from his neck, his owner, Tammy Brown, and her adult daughter tell the Tampa Bay…

Apr 25, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

Millionaire who helped son, 16, get married has 180-day contempt term upheld by appeals court

A Florida appeals court on Wednesday upheld without comment a 180-day contempt term imposed on a millionaire for taking his then-16-year-old son to Las Vegas to get married to his housekeeper’s 18-year-old daughter. A Miami-Dade circuit judge had ordered Dan Rotta to take the troubled teen to a Utah boarding…

Apr 24, 2013 10:01 PM CDT

Stamp on letter led cops to tattooed man who said he was judge’s son and took cash for case help

Although he has several tattoos on his face, Mark David Leal nonetheless convinced several individuals that he was the son of one of two prominent Texas women: Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed or District Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner. Then, according to court documents, he convinced these individuals to give him…

Apr 24, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

If inmates designed own cells, this is what they’d look like

Working with inmates at a high-security prison in Italy, three designers have unveiled what they’re calling Freedom Room, a prototype for a micro-housing module. The prototype wouldn’t necessarily have to be adopted by the prison in Spoleto where the inmates currently reside. Rather, the artists—Aldo Cibic, Tommaso Corà Marco, and…

Apr 24, 2013 2:06 PM CDT

Woman arrested 396 times tells parole board she can change

See subsequent coverage: Woman arrested 396 times will get treatment (again) Is Shermain Miles a changed woman? She has been arrested 396 times in Chicago since 1978, but she told the Illinois Prisoner Review Board on Tuesday that she deserves another shot at freedom, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Miles, 51,…

Apr 24, 2013 1:02 PM CDT

Son of dead shooter in Del. courthouse slayings gets six months for probation violation

The son of a man who killed two women at a Delaware courthouse earlier this year as they arrived for a child-support hearing was sentenced Tuesday to two months in federal prison for violating his probation in a child-kidnapping and fraud case. David Matusiewicz was also present at the Delaware…

Apr 23, 2013 11:06 PM CDT

On probation for manslaughter in child’s death, couple again relies on prayer and sees a baby die

Sentenced to 10 years of probation in 2011 after their toddler died of bacterial pneumonia, Herbert and Catherine Schaible were back in court again on Monday, following the death last week of an eight-month-old baby. By again relying on prayer instead of seeking medical treatment for their son, Brandon, the…

Apr 23, 2013 6:58 PM CDT

Former DA jailed after judge issues scathing opinion in rare Texas court of inquiry

An unusual court of inquiry held to probe the conduct of a former Texas district attorney has concluded with a blistering opinion by the presiding judge. Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was briefly booked into jail Friday before being released on $7,500 bail after District Judge Louis Sturns…

Apr 22, 2013 5:40 PM CDT

Authorities return PI lawyer’s computers, but he likely won’t have much chance to use them

The computers seized by federal and state authorities in February from a well-known New York personal injury attorney have been returned. But Martin Rothschild apparently won’t be getting much, if any, opportunity to use them during the foreseeable future. He has taken a plea in an Onondaga County Court criminal…

Apr 19, 2013 4:21 PM CDT