Sentencing/Post Conviction

New York’s Oldest Inmate to be Released

New York’s oldest inmate, an 89-year-old former physician with terminal cancer, has been granted parole. At one time Charles Friedgood was a wealthy surgeon, the New York Times reports. He was convicted of murdering his wife in 1976 after police arrested him at the airport with $450,000 from her estate.…

Nov 8, 2007 4:01 PM CST

Court Notes Snipers’ ‘Reign of Terror,’ Calls Appeal Ironic

A Maryland appeals court has upheld the conviction of John Allen Muhammad, convicted of six sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area, in a biting opinion that said his claims of injustice were ironic. The Court of Special Appeals referred twice to the “reign of terror” perpetrated by Muhammad and…

Nov 5, 2007 7:52 PM CST

Inmates See Tragedy of Power Grab in Dramatic Form

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company chose the murder tragedy Macbeth for its debut at a maximum security penitentiary in Maryland. The actors had to substitute wooden swords for the stainless steel variety, and two parts played by child actors were eliminated because of security concerns, the Washington Post reports. The warden…

Nov 5, 2007 1:27 PM CST

Crack Sentences Cut

New federal sentencing guidelines took effect yesterday that will cut the recommended sentences for crack cocaine offenses and reduce the prison population. The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s new guidelines cut the average sentence for crack possession to 8 years 10 months from 10 years 1 month, the New York Times reports.…

Nov 2, 2007 3:04 PM CDT

High Cost of Getting High

Music Fan Gets Pinched for Pot, Says Taxman Included Too Much Filler on the Scale of Justice

Nov 1, 2007 8:51 PM CDT

Justice Stevens Considers Ryan Sentence

Prosecutors have been asked to prepare a response to a long-shot emergency bail application to an individual U.S. Supreme Court justice, made in an effort to delay the start of a prison sentence for former Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan Sr. in a political corruption case. After receiving yesterday’s filing,…

Nov 1, 2007 8:12 PM CDT

Phone Transcripts Released in Jeffs Case

Formerly sealed documents detailing jailhouse phone calls made by the leader of a controversial fringe sect of the Mormon church that advocates polygamy were released Tuesday by a Utah court. A lawyer for Warren Jeffs, 51, who has since been convicted of accomplice rape for pressuring a 14-year-old church member…

Nov 1, 2007 7:33 PM CDT

Partner Sentenced in Car Vandalism Case

After over-imbibing at his mother’s 80th birthday party, a senior partner at a well-known Scottish real estate law firm went a bit wild. However, solicitor Paul Hutcheson, 43, has taken steps to make restitution to the owners of 11 cars parked outside the golf club at which the party was…

Oct 31, 2007 6:46 PM CDT

Halloween Means Murder—and Justice—to Victim’s Family

For nearly 25 years, there’s been no trick-or-treating at the California home of the Hoynes family Halloween in 1984 was the day when the family found out that one of their four girls, 21-year-old Robin, had been murdered at her job as a manager of a fast-food restaurant in nearby…

Oct 31, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

ABA Prez Cites Crack Myths, Supports Sentencing Changes

ABA President William H. Neukom is supporting legislation to eliminate the disparity in federal sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses. Currently, crack cocaine offenders are punished the same as those who commit crimes involving 100 times the amount of powder cocaine. Neukom says the legislation would “restore fairness and…

Oct 31, 2007 11:14 AM CDT

Cost to Keep Ex in Health Plan: Law License

Misrepresenting himself as still married to his ex-wife for six years, so that she could continue to be covered under his health insurance, has cost a former New York state government lawyer his job and a two-year suspension from practice. Carmine Clemente, 64, also agreed under a plea deal in…

Oct 31, 2007 1:00 AM CDT

Court: CA Judge Complaints Confidential

If a police officer acts improperly during an arrest, a defendant in a California criminal case has a right to obtain in camera judicial review of that officer’s personnel file to see if it contains relevant material about the issue that should be produced in discovery and potentially introduced as…

Oct 30, 2007 6:27 PM CDT

Statutory Cases Affect Prisons, Board of Trade

Two cases argued yesterday before the U.S. Supreme Court raise issues of statutory construction. The outcome will affect futures clearinghouses and prisoners. In the first case, the issue is whether those who process trades can recover losses if the Board of Trade of the City of New York engages in…

Oct 30, 2007 1:02 PM CDT

Pearl Jam Singer Benefit Funds Exculpatory DNA Tests

DNA tests funded with help from the lead singer of Pearl Jam have revealed that none of the teens convicted of killing three 8-year-old Arkansas boys in 1993 left genetic material on the bodies. The DNA report said genetic material from an unidentified person was left on one victim, the…

Oct 30, 2007 12:39 PM CDT

Guilty Lawyer Still Blames His Murder Victim

In his first public comment after being sentenced to 12 years in prison for breaking into a neighbor’s home and stabbing him to death, a 30-year-old Connecticut lawyer says he still believes his wife’s accusation that the victim molested their young daughter. However, police say there is no evidence this…

Oct 29, 2007 11:35 PM CDT