Sentencing/Post Conviction

80 Years In Prison For 17-Year-Old Armed Robber Is Unconstitutional, Fla. Appeals Court Holds

A Florida appeals court has held that an 80-year prison sentence for a 17-year-old armed robber is unconstitutional. The Tallahassee-based 1st District Court of Appeal said in a ruling (PDF) Thursday that such a sentence is the functional equivalent of a life-without-parole sentence, which the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010…

Apr 13, 2012 7:27 PM CDT

New York Attorney General Creates Bureau to Review Possible Wrongful Convictions

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has created a new bureau to investigate possible cases of wrongful convictions. The new Conviction Review Bureau will also handle claims for compensation against the state by those who have been wrongfully convicted, Reuters reports. In a statement announcing the creation of the new…

Apr 13, 2012 6:28 PM CDT

Given 2 Years in Gun Case, Defendant Flees, Is Chased Down in Court Hall and Tackled by Prosecutor

Seth Uphoff’s experience as a former defensive back for the Eureka College football team came in handy on Thursday when a convicted defendant was sentenced to two years in a gun case Uphoff prosecuted in Peoria, Ill. Apparently hoping for probation, because he legally owned the assault rifle he shot…

Apr 13, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

Divorce Lawyer Takes Plea, Admits Contract Hit Plot re Ex-Boyfriend of Ex-Client He Was Dating

A young divorce lawyer with a once-thriving practice in the Chicago suburbs has taken a plea in a federal case in which he was charged with plotting a murder for hire targeting the jealous ex-boyfriend of a former client the attorney was dating. Overwhelmed by months of harassment by his…

Apr 13, 2012 12:19 PM CDT

Ala. Judge’s 3-Day Saggy Pants Sentence Is Talk of Town; Judge, Court Clerk Stunned by Interest

An Alabama judge says it isn’t unusual for him to insist that defendants show respect for the people’s courtroom by sentencing those who wear saggy pants to jail time for contempt. But when Autauga County Circuit Court Judge John Bush gave 20-year-old LaMarcus Ramsey three days on Tuesday and told…

Apr 12, 2012 6:32 PM CDT

Admittedly Very Dangerous, Charles Manson, Architect of ‘Helter Skelter’ Slayings, Is Denied Parole

In what could be his last parole hearing, notorious serial killer Charles Manson, who recently told a California prison psychologist that he is a very dangerous man, was denied release Wednesday for the 12th consecutive time. Now 77, Manson will next get another parole hearing when he is 92 years…

Apr 11, 2012 10:07 PM CDT

Ala. Judge Holds Defendant in Contempt for Saggy Pants, Jails Him for 3 Days

In court on Tuesday to enter a plea in a receiving stolen property case, an Alabama man found that his saggy blue jeans prevented forward progress in the Autauga County Circuit Court matter. A visibly irate judge held 20-year-old LaMarcus D. Ramsey in contempt due to his attire and jailed…

Apr 11, 2012 3:07 PM CDT

Lawyer Held in Contempt, Spends 5 Days in Jail for Lying to Court to Get Out of Speeding Ticket

An Ohio attorney paid $75 to settle a reduced headlight-violation charge last week, after being ticketed earlier this month for speeding. Christopher Cicero said an assistant prosecutor had approved the plea deal. But that wasn’t true, and when Franklin County Municipal Judge Scott Vanderkarr found out about the lie he…

Apr 10, 2012 4:09 PM CDT

Criminal Defense Lawyer Plays Role of Killer in Award-Winning Independent Film

If criminal defense attorney Kevin Broughton was ordering his final meal on Earth, he’d want it to include frog legs. But when asked to order on behalf of his character, a twisted Mississippi killer headed to execution in Old Oak, he opted for fried chicken, pork chops, black-eyed peas, cornbread…

Apr 10, 2012 3:43 PM CDT

Calif. Gov’s Clemency to Woman in Shaken-Baby Case Ends 9th Circuit’s Legal Battle with Supremes

For five years, a federal appeals court has been trying to free Shirley Ree Smith. It held in 2006 that the evidence on which her second-degree murder conviction was based in the death of her infant grandson just wasn’t sufficient to establish her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in the…

Apr 9, 2012 8:01 PM CDT

Federal Judge Who Officiated Law Student-to-Be’s Wedding Also Sentenced His Dad, Back in the Day

Donald Brown Jr. was 9 years old when his father was sent to prison by a federal judge after a conviction in a drug case. It would be more than a decade before the dad saw his son outside again. But a blow that could have pushed many youngsters off…

Apr 9, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

Will She or Won’t She? Stabbing Victim Awaits Jailed Defendant’s Answer to In-Court Wedding Proposal

Gregory Todd wore his best suit and brought a diamond engagement ring to a recent sentencing hearing. But the 48-year-old is still waiting, after proposing marriage to the woman he loves, to find out whether Tiffany Baillie, 32, has accepted, the Telegraph reports. That’s because she is being held in…

Apr 6, 2012 4:55 PM CDT

Former Securities Lawyer Gets 23 Years in Scheme to Sell Millions in Fraudulent Investments

A former securities lawyer was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison by a federal judge in North Carolina for his role in what prosecutors said was a multimillion-dollar investment fraud. The government had sought a 90-year term for Gregory Bartko, the Associated Press reports. His lawyer had argued for…

Apr 5, 2012 10:26 PM CDT

Divided Wis. Supreme Court OKs Brief Suspensions as Reciprocal Discipline

Saying that it was following the lead of another state, as it routinely does in reciprocal attorney discipline cases, a majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday imposed brief suspensions on two lawyers who were accused in 2005 of raping a woman they met on the dance floor at…

Apr 5, 2012 4:54 PM CDT

5 Former New Orleans Cops Get Up to 65 Years in Post-Katrina Killings and Cover-Up

After hearing wrenching testimony from both sides, a federal judge in New Orleans on Wednesday imposed stiff sentences on four of the five former police officers convicted in a post-Hurricane Katrina shooting of six unarmed civilians on Danziger Bridge and a subsequent cover-up. The four defendants who actually sprayed the…

Apr 4, 2012 8:49 PM CDT