Sentencing/Post Conviction

Ex-Attorney Won Acquittal in Client Theft Case, But Gets 45 Months for Obstruction re Faked Docs

Acquitted on mail fraud and identity theft charges related to an alleged $27,000 client theft, a former Virginia attorney was sentenced Friday to 45 months in prison on an obstruction conviction for forging documents he used to defend himself in the case. Bradley Douglas Wein, 51, had argued he had…

Jun 8, 2012 8:24 PM CDT

5th Cir. Nixes Self-Described Vampire Priest’s Civil Rights Case, Call It Strike One Toward IFP Ban

In a brief ruling (PDF) Thursday, a federal appeals court gave short shrift to an effort by a self-described vampire high priest to pursue an in forma pauperis appeal of a prisoner civil rights case. Saying that Courtney Royal, who is serving time in Texas, made no effort to address…

Jun 8, 2012 4:42 PM CDT

Feds Seek 230-Year Max for Convicted Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford; Defense Asks for 31 to 44 Months

Convicted in March by a federal jury in Houston in a fraud case described by prosecutors as a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, onetime Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford is now about to be sentenced. Prosecutors are asking for the 230-year maximum prison term–80 years more than the 150 years Bernard…

Jun 7, 2012 4:42 PM CDT

Massachusetts Teen Sentenced to Prison for Causing Fatal Crash After Texting

Saying he needed to deter others from texting while driving, a Massachusetts judge on Wednesday sentenced a teen to prison for causing a fatal crash. Judge Stephen Abany sentenced Aaron Deveau to 2½ years in prison, but said he would suspend all but one year of the sentence, report the…

Jun 7, 2012 12:06 PM CDT

Judge OKs New Trial for Ex-Jenkens Tax Leader, Cites ‘Breathtaking’ Lies of Suspended Lawyer on Jury

A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out guilty verdicts against a former head of the Chicago tax practice at now-shuttered Jenkens & Gilchrist and another ex-partner there, due to “breathtaking” lies by a suspended lawyer on the jury. Paul Daugerdas and Donna Guerin will now get new trials under…

Jun 5, 2012 3:04 PM CDT

Former BigLaw Associate Gets Record Sentence in Insider Trading Case

A former associate who admitted giving confidential deal information to a stock trader has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, the longest-ever sentence in an insider trading case. Matthew Kluger, 51, was sentenced Monday, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the Am Law Daily and the Associated Press.…

Jun 5, 2012 11:33 AM CDT

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal by Former Alabama Governor in Contribution Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal in a public corruption case by former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy and former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. The court denied cert today, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), Bloomberg News and the Associated Press. Scrushy and Siegelman were convicted…

Jun 4, 2012 4:47 PM CDT

Federal Judge Cites Stress of Sentencing as Major Reason for His Retirement

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina has imposed some unusual punishments during his 31 years on the federal and Washington, D.C., bench. He ordered two men to write books about their misdeeds. He requires most defendants to return to his courtroom every six months during their supervised release. But the difficulty…

Jun 4, 2012 12:36 PM CDT

Top NY Court Says Client with Reversed Conviction Can’t Sue Lawyer for Loss-of-Liberty Damages

Reversing a lower state appellate ruling, New York’s top appeals court has refused to recognize a novel legal theory for awarding damages to an individual who says he was incarcerated because of his criminal defense lawyer’s ineffective representation. Last year, the state supreme court’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department, had held…

Jun 1, 2012 4:09 PM CDT

Please Plea Me: Court Expands Effective Assistance of Counsel

The headlines seem like they were ripped out of the era of Chief Justice Earl Warren. “Supreme Court decision expands defendants’ rights,” said the Washington Post. “Justices expand right of accused,” said the New York Times. Of course, these weren’t from the Warren court’s pro-defendant heyday but from the current…

Jun 1, 2012 8:20 AM CDT

Bankruptcy Judge Says LAPD Gets Tapes Convicted Manson Family Killer Gave to Now-Deceased Attorney

A convicted member of the notorious Charles Manson “family” responsible for a spree of 1969 killings in California including the slaying of pregnant actress Sharon Tate says, through his current lawyers, that he didn’t waive attorney-client privilege decades ago. That’s when Charles “Tex” Watson made audiotapes of conversations with his…

May 30, 2012 9:50 PM CDT

Partner in $2M Hogan Lovells Expense Fraud ‘Lost All Reason,’ Spent $1M on Mistress, His Lawyer Says

A then-partner of Hogan Lovells “lost all reason” after falling for a Lebanese woman living in New York, spending well over $1 million on her during the course of an 18-month affair, his counsel told a British court before Christopher Grierson was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison The…

May 30, 2012 4:40 PM CDT

Attorney Loses License, Gets 10-Year Probation in Barratry Case; Runner Gets 3 Years in Slammer

Corrected: A Texas attorney has lost his license to practice law as part of a plea deal in a barratry case. The attorney, Benito Garza of Corpus Christi, also was sentenced to 10 years of probation and a $6,000 fine following his no-contest plea on May 17 to the third-degree…

May 29, 2012 3:43 PM CDT

Woman Gets 20 Years for Claimed Warning Shot; Judge Rejected Stand-Your-Ground Immunity

The latest controversy over Florida’s stand-your-ground law concerns a defendant who argued without success that the defense should bar her prosecution. Jurors deliberated only 12 minutes before convicting Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville, Fla., who says she fired a warning shot in an attempt to scare off her abusive husband, report…

May 23, 2012 2:01 PM CDT

Texas Man Imprisoned on Child Sex Abuse Charge to Be Resentenced Over False Expert Testimony

A Texas man who has served almost 13 years of a 20-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a young relative should be resentenced because of false testimony by a prosecution expert, the Texas Supreme Court has held. The court said in a unanimous ruling that the expert’s false testimony undoubtedly…

May 22, 2012 5:50 PM CDT