Sentencing/Post Conviction

Skeleton in Closet After 1821 Execution Is Buried by Family Descendant

It emphatically wasn’t what his parents wanted. But instead of being buried the body of 18-year-old John Horwood was dissected after his 1821 execution for an almost accidental murder of a former girlfriend. The autopsy was done by Richard Smith, the chief surgeon of Bristol Royal Infirmary in Great Britain,…

Apr 14, 2011 5:00 PM CDT

Rabbi Charged with Perjury Allegedly Paid Child $10K to Testify in Another Rabbi’s Child-Molest Case

Developing: A rabbi’s conviction and up to 32-year prison sentence for child molestation should stand, New York prosecutors say, despite the fact that another rabbi has been charged with perjury and other crimes for allegedly paying a child $10,000 to testify against him. The bizarre situation made headlines today as…

Apr 13, 2011 5:10 PM CDT

Asst. DA’s Secretary Takes Plea in Perjury Case, Admits Passing Info to Help Her Defendant Grandson

Suspended without pay from her job as a secretary in the Delaware County, Penn., district attorney’s office in Chester, Vera Ellen Carroll doesn’t appear likely to be returning to work there. The 59-year-old pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of perjury for lying to a Montgomery County grand jury about…

Apr 13, 2011 4:06 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Took $4M From Clients Up for Early Release

Ralph E. Mirarchi, a Pennsylvania lawyer who pled guilty to stealing more than $4 million from clients, is up for early prison release as a non-violent offender. Mirarchi was arrested in 2007. At the time of the plea deal, there was no property in Mirarchi’s name. His wife of 40…

Apr 13, 2011 3:26 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer and Lawmaker Convicted with 3 Others in Mortgage Fraud; Jury Hangs re Attorney-Rabbi

An 82-year-old former lawyer and state representative has been convicted by a federal jury in Hartford, along with three other defendants, of participating in a mortgage fraud scheme. It involved some $10 million in mortgage money obtained on dozens of Connecticut homes in transactions involving shady sellers, straw buyers, fraudulently…

Apr 13, 2011 2:48 PM CDT

Man Gets 46 Years in Elderly Ex-Lawyer’s Slaying, Expected to Testify Against Ex-Client Co-Defendant

Keith Allen said he held Carl Kuhn’s wrist until he could no longer feel the 82-year-old man’s pulse as a trusted ex-client, Terry Bratcher, allegedly held a pillow over the former Illinois criminal defense attorney’s face in his suburban Chicago home one day in 2009. That was enough to support…

Apr 13, 2011 12:54 PM CDT

Law Grad Agrees Not to Auction Sirhan Papers After RFK Killer’s Counsel Argues Parole Issue

A law school graduate has agreed not to auction papers he obtained from convicted Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan after the inmate’s lawyer said they could be critical to his client’s parole effort and threatened to sue to prevent the sale. Would-be seller Michael McCowan is now a 78-year-old…

Apr 13, 2011 11:58 AM CDT

Former Law Firm Manager Gets 8 Years for Stealing $884K; $47K Spent on Lunch Club Meals with Mom

A longtime officer manager with Kelly Olson Michod DeHaan & Richter has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing over $884,000 from the law firm, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. Joan Sanchez, 53, pleaded guilty to a felony theft count. She wrote 176 checks…

Apr 13, 2011 10:35 AM CDT

Hundreds of Wash. Convictions to Be Reversed, Due to Questioning of Prospective Jurors in Chambers

Already busy with existing cases, prosecutors and defense lawyers in Washington state are facing increased workloads due to a deluge of felony convictions, including in rape and murder cases, being reversed because of faulty jury selection practices. At least 17 convictions in Whatcom County have been reversed after prospective jurors…

Apr 11, 2011 11:56 AM CDT

Unable to Prevent Inmate Cellphone Smuggling, Calif. Ponders Plan to Jam Prison Cellphone Calls

Unable to prevent inmates from smuggling cellphones into prison, where some 10,000 were confiscated in 2010, the state of California is poised to try another potential solution—jamming prison cellphone calls. The expensive equipment needed to prevent cellphone calls from being made is expected to be supplied by the same company…

Apr 11, 2011 11:38 AM CDT

Convicted of Manslaughter in Stabbing Death, Lawyer Is MIA at Verdict, Now Sought on Bench Warrant

After attending every day of his manslaughter trial in the 2009 stabbing death of an Arizona State University student, a Tempe lawyer was missing in action when he was found guilty last week. Daniel Gukeisen, 39, is being sought on a bench warrant, reports the Arizona Republic. Although Gukeisen could…

Apr 11, 2011 10:00 AM CDT

Madoff: ‘It Wasn’t About the Money’

In a rare interview with a business publication, record-breaking Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff says “It wasn’t about the money.” What was it about? Successful in his securities business in the 1980s, he contends, he was drawn to fraud in the early 1990s by “ego” and a need to retain his…

Apr 9, 2011 12:53 AM CDT

Judge Warns Defense Lawyers in Pitino Extortion Case: Don’t Crib Law Discussion from Wikipedia

A federal judge has issued a legal writing warning to lawyers who sought a new trial for a woman convicted of trying to extort money from University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino. The defense should not have copied its discussion of ineffective assistance from Wikipedia, U.S. District Judge Charles…

Apr 7, 2011 1:02 PM CDT

Prosecutor Concerns About Defense Spur Reversal; Lawyer Accused of Calling Client ‘Toast’

A defense lawyer accused of smiling and calling her sexual abuse client “toast” after the verdict did not deliver effective assistance, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled. The court granted a new trial for defendant Jeffrey Gioglio in an appeal spurred by the prosecutor’s concerns, according to the Associated…

Apr 7, 2011 12:20 PM CDT

11th Circuit Nixes Punitives for Reading Legal Mail Outside Inmate’s Presence

Serving a life term in the slaying of a Georgia deputy, a militant once known as H. Rap Brown of the Black Panthers has the right to have legal mail from his wife, who is an attorney, opened in his presence. But the inmate now known as Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin…

Apr 5, 2011 7:55 PM CDT