Sentencing/Post Conviction

Cataloging Wrongful Convictions: New Registry Looks Beyond DNA

Perjury, eyewitness mistakes, a failure to use available DNA evidence and outright fabrications are among the reasons why more than 2,000 people have been exonerated in the United States over the past 23 years after being wrongfully convicted of crimes like murder, rape and robbery. In an effort to raise…

Aug 1, 2012 8:10 AM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Associate Sentenced to Record 12 Years Says ‘Excitement’ Drove $37M Insider-Trading Scheme

Sentenced to a record 12-year prison term for insider trading, a former BigLaw associate–who admittedly revealed to his partners in white-collar crime confidential information from four of the six law firms at which he worked–says he carried on with the long-running scheme largely for the thrills he got from it.…

Jul 31, 2012 5:28 PM CDT

Suit Claims Lack of Prison Air Conditioning Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Twelve inmates in Texas have died of heat-related causes since 2007, spurring a lawsuit and a debate over the lack of air conditioning in prisons. Critics claim the heat amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, the New York Times reports. The Texas Civil Rights Project has already filed a wrongful…

Jul 31, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Software Engineer Gets Life Without Parole for Murdering Opposing Counsel in Wrongful Death Case

A Silicon Valley software engineer convicted of murdering the lawyer retained by his late wife’s family to pursue a wrongful death case against him has been sentenced to life without parole. Jason Cai, 54, also was ordered Thursday to pay $715,544 restitution to the survivors of Xia Zhao, a married…

Jul 30, 2012 3:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Took Cyanide After Arson Verdict, Then Collapsed and Died, Medical Examiner Says

A 53-year-old lawyer whose finances apparently took a nosedive in recent years committed suicide in an Arizona court last month by swallowing a cyanide pill, immediately after a Maricopa County jury convicted him of burning down his own upscale home in the Phoenix area. Michael James Marin collapsed within minutes…

Jul 27, 2012 8:21 PM CDT

Wash. DC Jail Eliminates In-Person Visits with Inmates, Offers Electronic Alternative

As of this week, family and friends can no longer visit inmates at the Washington, D.C., jail in person. Instead, they are allowed one free 45-minute electronic contact per week, which must be scheduled in advance, as the District of Columbia Department of Corrections explains on a web page. The…

Jul 27, 2012 6:24 PM CDT

Initially Defiant re ‘Fresh-Faced Eager Beavers’ from FBI, Kinnucan Takes Plea

After making headlines when he publicly proclaimed his innocence and said he had refused to cooperate and wear a wire in a federal investigation, the founder of Broadband Research LLC pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan in an insider-trading case. John Kinnucan, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and…

Jul 26, 2012 3:19 PM CDT

Georgia Supremes Grant Last-Minute Execution Stay, But Not Because of Inmate’s IQ

A Georgia death-row inmate whose case attracted national attention because of his mental disability claim has gotten a last-minute execution reprieve on a different ground. The Georgia Supreme Court granted the stay less than two hours before Warren Hill was scheduled for execution, report the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Wall…

Jul 24, 2012 2:16 PM CDT

Penn State Avoids NCAA ‘Death Penalty,’ Is Fined $60M, Faces More Sanctions re Child Sex-Abuse Case

The governing body of college sports declined to impose a so-called “death penalty” on Pennsylvania State University by shutting down its entire football program as a punishment for the institution’s handling of child abuse allegations concerning former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. However, at a press conference Monday the National College…

Jul 23, 2012 3:52 PM CDT

Exonerated by DNA, Wrongly Convicted Man Sings National Anthem at Rays Game

Once an aspiring baseball player, William Dillon spent 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. On Wednesday evening, Dillon sang the National Anthem at a big league game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians. Fox News, ABC News, the Huffington Post and the…

Jul 19, 2012 2:29 PM CDT

Minn. Appeals Court OKs Conviction of ‘Morbid, Predatory’ Ex-Nurse Who Pushed Suicide in Web Chats

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld the felony conviction of a former nurse who was found guilty of violating a state law against assisting suicide by—while posing as a young woman who also was suicidal—urging individuals in Canada and England, in Internet chats, to do away with themselves. The…

Jul 17, 2012 8:08 PM CDT

Asked to Award $25M in Kids’ Case Against Dad Over Death of Mom, Jury Approves a $60M Verdict

A lawyer working pro bono for two minor children who sued their father for wrongful death damages over his strangulation murder of their mother asked a California jury to award $10 million in compensatory damages to Rory Reiser, 12, and Niorline Reiser, 11. But after several hours of deliberation over…

Jul 17, 2012 7:37 PM CDT

Lawyers’ Defense of Judge in Criminal Trial Leads to Contempt Case, Ethics Complaint

A South Texas judge acquitted on all counts in a criminal bribery trial last year apparently is not complaining about her representation by defense lawyers Theresa Caballero and Stuart Leeds during what news accounts portray as an extraordinarily hard-fought and contentious trial. However, both the judge who presided over the…

Jul 17, 2012 5:11 PM CDT

Convicted Car Burglar Gets 3-Year Max for Breaking Into Judge’s Car Near Courthouse

A convicted car burglar who last month broke into the vehicle of the California judge who had just given him a sentencing break got the maximum term this time around. However, even with a three-year sentence he got from visiting Santa Clara County Judge Leslie Nichols, the defendant, 32-year-old Phillip…

Jul 16, 2012 7:52 PM CDT

Sandusky Lawyer Appeals Judge’s Order Demanding Info From Defense, Cites Work Product Privilege

Seeking to determine whether defense counsel for a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach leaked material covered by a gag order, the out-of-county judge who oversaw the high-profile trial has ordered Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer to provide a sworn statement detailing to whom the material was provided. However, Karl Rominger…

Jul 12, 2012 9:15 PM CDT