Sentencing/Post Conviction

Fla. Bar Investigating Casey Anthony Lawyer Jose Baez Over Probation Matter

State bar officials in Florida have opened an investigation into Jose Baez over whether he was fully candid with the court over his client Casey Anthony’s probation. The issue stems from a hearing earlier this month when Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry was determining whether the Anthony ought to be…

Aug 19, 2011 7:40 PM CDT

‘West Memphis 3’ Win Release from Prison by Taking Alford Plea in 1993 Murder of 3 Boys

Three men convicted in a controversial Arkansas child-murder case were released from prison today after taking Alford pleas during a court hearing in Jonesboro. Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were sentenced to 18 years in prison, with credit for time served, in the 1993 slayings of Steven…

Aug 19, 2011 7:08 PM CDT

Lawyer Paid $32K for M&A Tips Gets 3 Years for Conduit Role in High-Profile Insider-Trading Scheme

A New York personal injury lawyer was sentenced today to a three-year federal prison term for serving as a conduit for at least two attorney tipsters then working at Ropes & Gray in a high-profile insider-trading scheme. Jason Goldfarb was paid $32,500 for his work in the illegal stock-trading scheme,…

Aug 19, 2011 6:23 PM CDT

Pulled Over While Riding Motorized Plastic Beer Cooler, Man Blows 0.16, Loses Driving Privileges

Add a motorized plastic beer cooler to the list of unusual vehicles that have resulted in convictions for drunken driving. An unlicensed Australian man who purchased one online “for a bit of a giggle” soon found himself facing a serious court case. Christopher Ian Petrie blew a 0.16 on a…

Aug 19, 2011 5:21 PM CDT

Judge Detains 2 Teens, Puts Ankle Monitor on Boy, 11, for Flash Mob Attack on Law Student and Others

An angry juvenile court judge yesterday told two teenagers and an 11-year-old boy that their “actions, behavior, and attitude” concerning a July 29 flash mob attack by a large group on pedestrians were “appalling and disgusting for civilized society,” before pronouncing sentence. The Center City Philadelphia attack left four victims,…

Aug 19, 2011 3:32 PM CDT

New Website Debuts Featuring Searchable Records of 240 Years of Trials at the Old Bailey

Thanks to powerful digital tools and an international team of researchers, a detailed history of hundreds of years of British criminal trials can be quickly scanned and categorized as never before. A new searchable website contains records of nearly 200,000 trials at the Old Bailey, the principal criminal court in…

Aug 18, 2011 11:51 PM CDT

‘Shopped’ by Mom, UK Man, 18, Gets 28 Months for Stealing Vodka and 3 Shoes, Swigging Booze in Riot

Reportedly “shopped” to police by his mother after she saw a photo in a national newspaper showing her son looting in Manchester last week, a British teenager didn’t have it easy in Manchester Crown Court either. After a lecture from the judge, Michael Fitzpatrick, 18, was sentenced to two years…

Aug 18, 2011 8:14 PM CDT

Federal Judge Apologizes for Delay in Ruling on Mass. Inmate’s Sex-Change Surgery Suit

For years, Michelle Kosilek has been living as a woman in a men’s prison in Massachusetts, with the help of female hormone and hair-removal treatments. Now 62, the former Robert Kosilek was convicted in 1993 of killing his wife three years earlier. Kosilek wants a sex-change operation and has been…

Aug 18, 2011 7:35 PM CDT

Judge Says Case of Child Molester Who Never Served His Sentence ‘Fell Through the Cracks’

A Georgia judge is taking the blame for the case of a convicted child molester who never served his 15-year sentence. Melvin Moseley was sentenced eight years ago in Muscogee County after pleading guilty to child molestation based on accusations he had sex with a 15-year-old high school student he…

Aug 16, 2011 2:35 PM CDT

2nd Cir. Upholds 10 of 12 Convictions for NY Criminal Defense Lawyer in Attempted Obstruction Case

A New York criminal defense lawyer is facing a 14-year federal prison sentence, after a federal appeals court on Friday affirmed (PDF) 10 of his 12 convictions in an attempted obstruction of justice case concerning a former client. Robert Simels also was convicted of conspiracy and bribery in 2009 after…

Aug 16, 2011 12:30 AM CDT

Lawyer Who Videotaped Women at Tanning Salon Sentenced to Probation

A judge suspended the 180-day jail sentence of California defense attorney David Taylor Kaye, instead ordering probation and ordering him to undergo sex offender counseling for secretly filming women at tanning salon last year. Judge Eugenia Eyherabide also ordered Kaye, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts for peeking through…

Aug 12, 2011 9:17 PM CDT

Ex-Detroit Mayor Ordered to Reimburse State $15K for Prison Stay

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been ordered to pony up $15,190 to the state Corrections Department for his recent prison stay. The money will come from an escrow account Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner ordered to be created for Kilpatrick’s portion of the profits from his recently released…

Aug 12, 2011 9:13 PM CDT

Disqualification Motion Claims Judge Is Too Tough on Drunken Drivers

Corrected: A Michigan judge should be disqualified from hearing drunken driving cases because of her tough DUI sentences, according to a motion filed this week. The motion says Judge Kimberly Small violates the constitutional rights of drunken drivers by sentencing nearly all first-time offenders to jail, the Detroit Free Press…

Aug 12, 2011 1:55 PM CDT

South Texas Attorney Takes Plea in Corrupt-Judge Case

A Texas attorney has taken a plea in a judicial corruption case. Jose Martin “Joe” Valle, 54, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Brownsville to aiding and abetting extortion by former State District Judge Abel Limas, according to the Brownsville Herald and the San Antonio Express-News. The case concerned…

Aug 11, 2011 8:03 PM CDT

Former Pa. Judge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison in Kids-for-Cash Scandal

A former Pennsylvania judge accused of taking $1 million in bribes for sending juveniles to private detention centers has been sentenced to 28 years in prison. Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced today, according to the Associated Press and the Times-Tribune. Before the sentence was imposed, he…

Aug 11, 2011 3:02 PM CDT