Sentencing/Post Conviction

Blowing Kisses at Jailed ‘Client’ Reportedly Led to Criminal Case Against Lawyer

Nina Marie Backon said she was representing Eric Edward Wilamowski as his attorney. But the Michigan lawyer’s affectionate treatment of Wilamowski led authorities to question the now 23-year-old man, who said she had been blowing kisses at him in May 2010 because the two were engaged to be married, reports…

Apr 27, 2011 9:57 PM CDT

Judge Throws Out Guilty Plea After Defendant Says She Had Sex with Her Lawyer in His Office

A 22-year-old defendant in a felony drug case got a pretty good plea deal, a Kentucky judge said yesterday. But after Angel Martin said she had sex, twice, with her attorney, J. Clark Baird, at his law office while he was representing her in the case, Jefferson Circuit Court Judge…

Apr 27, 2011 9:34 PM CDT

Stop Smoking or You Will Get the Max, Judge Tells Woman Freed Early for Heart Transplant

A New York judge was clearly irked yesterday after learning that a woman he freed early so she could have a heart transplant is not cooperating with efforts to provide her with the potentially life-saving operation. If Diane McCloud, 48, doesn’t stop smoking by June 10, Nassau County District Court…

Apr 26, 2011 9:26 PM CDT

Lindsay Lohan Gets 120-Day Jail Sentence for Violating Probation

Although Lindsay Lohan hasn’t yet been criminally convicted of a misdemeanor theft charge concerning a California jeweler’s $2,500 necklace, a state court judge determined Friday that the conduct violated the actress’ probation in an earlier driving-under-the-influence case. Rejecting a defense argument that Lohan didn’t intend to take the necklace, Los…

Apr 25, 2011 7:01 PM CDT

In Win for Lindsay Lohan, Judge Reduces Necklace-Theft Charge to Misdemeanor; Gov’t Vows Appeal

In a worst-case scenario, Lindsay Lohan could have been taken to jail today after a preliminary hearing in a necklace-theft case, if a probation violation was found concerning an earlier driving-under-the-influence case, the Associated Press reported. But instead, in a win for the troubled actress, a Los Angeles judge reduced…

Apr 22, 2011 6:23 PM CDT

Lawyers for Juvenile Lifers Convicted of Murder Urge Supreme Court to Overturn Sentences

Lawyers for two prisoners sentenced to life in prison for murders committed when they were age 14 are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to accept their cases and strike down their sentences as unconstitutional. The lawyers want the Supreme Court to extend its Graham v. Florida decision that held unconstitutional…

Apr 22, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Another Attorney Takes Plea in Galleon Case, Admits Connecting Trader with Ex-Ropes & Gray Lawyers

Another lawyer has pleaded guilty in a securities fraud case related to Galleon Group and co-founder Raj Rajaratnam. Personal injury attorney Jason Goldfarb, 32, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Manhattan to securities fraud and conspiracy, according to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. Sentencing guidelines call…

Apr 21, 2011 10:45 PM CDT

4th Circuit Tells Lower Court to Consider DNA in Appeal of ‘Fatal Vision’ Doc

A federal appeals court has directed a lower court to consider DNA evidence and witness statements in an appeal by the Army doctor convicted of murdering his wife and two daughters in a case portrayed in the book Fatal Vision. Jeffrey MacDonald claims the 1970 murders were committed by four…

Apr 20, 2011 4:41 PM CDT

Transgender Inmate Asks Appellate Court to Require Calif. to Pay for Sex-Change Operation

An appellate court is poised potentially to make California the first state in the nation to require prisons to provide sex-change surgery for at least some inmates who seek the operation. The issue is complex, as a Los Angeles Times article explains. While some transgender inmates who consider themselves female…

Apr 19, 2011 11:55 PM CDT

Finally, a Big Fish: Federal Jury Convicts Taylor Bean Mortgage Co. Owner Farkas in $3B Fraud

In a rare major fraud case brought in connection with the nation’s financial crisis, the government has won a conviction. A federal jury in Alexandria, Va., today convicted Lee Farkas, the chairman and majority owner of a major Florida-based mortgage company, on all 14 counts concerning a fraud scheme that…

Apr 19, 2011 11:20 PM CDT

Wife of Jailed Ex-Judge Appeals Home Forfeiture, Seeks 3rd Circuit Ruling Protecting Her Interest

The wife of a retired Pennsylvania judge serving a federal prison sentence for insurance fraud is appealing a court order requiring that their home be forfeited to help pay restitution for the crime. Joanne Joyce, 58, filed an appeal yesterday of a federal judge’s ruling last month that the interests…

Apr 19, 2011 4:58 PM CDT

Omission on HUD-1 Form Leads to Lawyer’s Guilty Plea in Federal Mortgage Fraud Case

A Connecticut lawyer is facing possible prison time of perhaps six months after pleading guilty in federal court in Bridgeport to omitting information from a mortgage form in a real estate transaction. John Bryk, a 61-year-old Bridgeport practitioner, knew that the terms of his clients’ mortgage for the Westport home…

Apr 18, 2011 11:37 PM CDT

Fatal Collision with Cyclist Leads to Law License Suspension for Kansas Attorney

A Kansas attorney has been temporarily suspended from law practice after pleading no contest last week to felony charges related to a fatal collision with a bicyclist last year. Marc A. Schultz of Topeka will be sentenced in June for involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving…

Apr 18, 2011 7:07 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer from Well-Known Palm Beach Family Expected to Plead Guilty in $600K Client Theft Case

A disbarred Florida lawyer whose biological and adoptive fathers were both well-known in Palm Beach County has reportedly decided to plead guilty as his trial was about to begin today for allegedly stealing over $600,000 from three clients. A. Clark Cone will plead guilty in the Palm Beach Circuit Court…

Apr 18, 2011 4:00 PM CDT

Prosecutor Wants Lenient Judge Ousted From All Criminal Cases

Corrected: A veteran Boston municipal court judge known as “Judge Let Me Go” is coming under scrutiny for being overly lenient, prompting a local district attorney to wage an unusual campaign to remove the judge from presiding over criminal trials. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley has instructed his prosecutors…

Apr 18, 2011 3:18 PM CDT