Sentencing/Post Conviction

For Those Teetering on the Edge, Street Outreach Court Offers a Push in the Right Direction

For those already teetering on the edge of financial disaster, even a relatively minor court case can push them over the edge into homelessness or the loss of a job. But a Michigan court billed as unique in the Midwest is trying to push defendants working to better themselves onto…

Dec 28, 2010 11:00 AM CST

Celebrity Lawyer Put Lifestyle Before IRS, Gets 1 Year and 1 Day in Tax Case

Michael “Mickey” Sherman was making good money as a celebrity criminal defense lawyer. But not enough to pay for both the lavish lifestyle he and his family live as well as his income tax. So he put his living expenses first and let the unpaid taxes balloon to as much…

Dec 23, 2010 1:11 AM CST

Son of Ex-Illinois Gov Calls Ruling Denying Prison Release ‘Heartless and Cruel’

The son of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan calls a federal judge’s decision denying his father’s appeal “heartless and cruel.” The former governor had sought to overturn his conviction under the honest services law, citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Skilling v. United States, Reuters reports. The Skilling decision…

Dec 22, 2010 2:52 PM CST

Lawyer Represents Convicted Boyfriend, Gets Into Battle of Wills With Probation Dept., is Suspended

An Arizona criminal defense lawyer has been suspended from practice for six months by a state supreme court order (PDF), followed by two years of probation, for representing a man with whom she already had a relationship. In addition to damaging his case during a battle of wills with his…

Dec 21, 2010 7:38 PM CST

Mistakenly Believing Immunity Applied, Ex-Diplomat’s Son Stole $300K from Law Firm

In a new twist on an all-too-familiar crime, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that a former office manager stole $300,000 from a local law firm because he believed, as a former diplomat’s son, that he was immune from prosecution. Nigel Salmingo, 31, pleaded guilty in state court in Hawaii last…

Dec 20, 2010 9:49 PM CST

Judge & PDs Chip In to Give Once-Homeless Defendant a Holiday Season Gift: $57 Restitution

In his adjoining chambers, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick couldn’t help but overhear the confab in a bailiff’s office about a problem facing his colleague, Judge Jose Villanueva. A once-homeless woman was getting her minor Ohio felony record expunged and, as part of the process, Villaneuva was going…

Dec 20, 2010 3:55 PM CST

After 21 Years, Inmate’s Conviction Reversed; Prosecutor in ‘91 Trial Still Calls It ‘Bulletproof’

Maurice Caldwell knew his lawyer had a court hearing yesterday, so he gave her a call, collect. After 21 years in prison, the 47-year-old California inmate was stunned to hear that his conviction had been overturned, due to ineffective assistance of trial counsel, who failed to investigate the case properly,…

Dec 17, 2010 5:29 PM CST

Defendant Who Covered Up Tattoos at Trial Declines to Do So in Life-or-Death Penalty Phase

A neo-Nazi defendant with facial tattoos that many might find disturbing covered them up during his Florida murder trial, with the help of a cosmetologist paid over $100 a day by the state. But now that he’s been convicted in a 2006 attack motivated by bias that left a man…

Dec 16, 2010 5:44 PM CST

More Bad News for Ex-Mayor & Ex-Lawyer Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit: He’s Now a RICO Defendant

In the latest blow to a once-powerful political figure, former Detroit mayor and former lawyer Kwame Kilpatrick, who is already serving time for probation violation in an unrelated obstruction case, is now facing new prosecution. He has now been charged, along with four other defendants including his father and two…

Dec 16, 2010 1:04 AM CST

Prosecutor Convicted of Harassing Woman in Child-Support Case, Gets 30 Days

It all began with a “rather revealing dress” a woman wore to court, a Lincoln County deputy district attorney told the Oregon State Bar in a letter. In a phone call with the woman, from whom Rand Overton was trying to collect child support, “I said something about her wearing…

Dec 14, 2010 10:55 PM CST

Robert Shapiro Loses Initial Round in Suit by Jailed Phil Spector Seeking Refund of $1M Retainer

Celebrity attorney Robert Shapiro will have to defend a lawsuit by a jailed former client seeking a refund of a $1 million retainer fee. Rejecting a motion to dismiss by Shapiro and his law firm, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ruled today that a jury must decide certain…

Dec 14, 2010 9:05 PM CST

Calif. Judge OK’d Seinfeld’s ‘Festivus’ as Legitimate Religion, Ordered Special Meals for Inmate

Locked up in a California jail, Malcolm Alarmo King wanted healthier meals. In an argument apparently made to a friendly court, he won a ruling from Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson that he should be fed double-portion kosher meals. Battling to keep its food costs down, the sheriff’s department argued…

Dec 14, 2010 1:38 AM CST

Acquitted in ‘96, Man Is Convicted of Murder Today in UK, Where Double Jeopardy No Longer Applies

In 1996, when Mark Weston was tried for the murder of a 30-year-old mother who was attacked while walking the family dog, he was acquitted in 50 minutes. Afterward, the jury foreman wrote to him wishing him well and urging him to seek compensation due to the lack of evidence.…

Dec 13, 2010 8:01 PM CST

Law License of Ex-Gov and Ex-AG of NC Is Suspended After Criminal Conviction

A former governor and attorney general of North Carolina who also, until earlier this year, was practicing at McGuireWoods, has had his law license suspended while attorney disciplinary proceedings are ongoing. The action against Mike Easley’s law license was taken earlier this week after he made an Alford plea last…

Dec 11, 2010 3:11 AM CST

As Jim Morrison Wins Pardon, ACLU Says Dead Rock Stars Shouldn’t Dominate Clemency Board Agenda

Backed by Florida’s outgoing governor, former Doors front man Jim Morrison won a posthumous pardon today of his indecent exposure and profanity conviction resulting from a raucous 1969 rock concert in Miami. However, the action today by the state’s clemency board wasn’t music to the ears of everyone attending the…

Dec 9, 2010 9:57 PM CST