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Sentencing/Post Conviction

4544 ABA Journal Sentencing/Post Conviction articles.

Well-meaning social reforms created ‘Prison by Any Other Name,’ authors say

In Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms, authors Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law outline the way that well-meaning movements ended up funneling people into environments where they faced even more punitive measures.

Jul 22, 2020 10:21 AM CDT

Wrongfully convicted man hopes to win ‘America’s Got Talent’ and suit against criminal justice system

Inside Louisiana’s maximum security prison, inmate Archie Williams used to watch America’s Got Talent and visualize himself performing on the show. It was a dream that couldn’t have seemed further from reality. But on May 26—37 years after his conviction and a little over a year since his exoneration and release—his improbable dream came true.

Jul 21, 2020 8:00 AM CDT

Black veteran faces 5-year sentence after bringing his medical pot into Alabama

A Black Iraq war veteran is facing five years in prison after a police officer arrested him for bringing medical marijuana into Alabama and liquor into a partly dry county. An officer arrested Sean Worsley in 2016 at a gas station in Gordo, Alabama, where he was playing loud music,…

Jul 17, 2020 1:22 PM CDT

Supreme Court leaves stay in place that hampers voting by Florida ex-felons

A federal judge's ruling that had expanded the number of felons in Florida who may vote remains on hold following the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to intervene on Thursday.

Jul 17, 2020 10:20 AM CDT

Second federal execution since 2003 is carried out after Supreme Court lifts injunctions

Federal inmate Wesley Ira Purkey was executed Thursday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted two injunctions issued by a judge who cited competency issues.

Jul 16, 2020 10:30 AM CDT

Trump shouldn’t use commutation power to undermine justice, says ABA president

ABA President Judy Perry Martinez on Monday criticized President Donald Trump's decision to commute the sentence of his friend and former campaign adviser Roger Stone.

Jul 13, 2020 8:51 AM CDT

Florida lawyer wears full hazmat suit to court amid COVID-19 crisis

Miami lawyer Samuel J. Rabin Jr. decided not to take any chances when he went to the federal courthouse recently for his client’s sentencing hearing amid the novel coronavirus crisis.

Jul 7, 2020 10:38 AM CDT

Former BigLaw lawyer can start the process to return to practice after prison sentence, state supreme court says

Corrected: A former Fox Rothschild partner who was sentenced to federal prison for insider trading may start the reinstatement process to practice law again, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled earlier this week.

Jun 26, 2020 9:49 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Prosecutor says Trump ally got break; lawyers’ extortion plea

Prosecutor to testify that Trump ally was treated better A prosecutor who resigned in the Roger Stone case plans to tell Congress on Wednesday that his supervisors told him that Stone was given favorable treatment because he was an ally of President Donald Trump. The prosecutor, Aaron Zelinsky, says he…

Jun 23, 2020 4:44 PM CDT

Defense lawyer who didn’t probe death-row client’s bad childhood was deficient, SCOTUS says

A defense lawyer who failed to investigate his capital client’s tumultuous childhood provided ineffective assistance of counsel, the U.S. Supreme Court held Monday.

Jun 15, 2020 3:55 PM CDT

Supreme Court’s failure to determine ‘irreparable corruption’ in juvenile case risks ignoring precedent, ABA says in brief

In an amicus brief filed Friday, the ABA urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a judgment against a Mississippi man who is serving life in prison without parole because the sentencing court failed to determine whether the crime he committed as a juvenile reflected "transient immaturity" or "irreparable corruption."

Jun 15, 2020 12:27 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ‘Highly irregular conduct’ by DOJ alleged; satanist loses abortion case

DOJ engaged in ‘highly irregular conduct,’ says amicus appointee in Michael Flynn case The U.S. Department of Justice “engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the president” when it sought to drop the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, according to an amicus lawyer…

Jun 10, 2020 4:01 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Bus driver sues for squelched cop talk; more online bar exams ahead

Bus driver’s suit says talk of cop transit concerns squelched A Chicago bus driver has filed a lawsuit alleging he was ordered to stop discussing concerns about the transportation of police officers and arrested protesters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Erek Slater alleges the Chicago Transit Authority violated his First Amendment…

Jun 9, 2020 3:45 PM CDT

Lawyer’s convictions upheld for role in schemes to con law firms and users of dating websites

A federal appeals court has upheld a Texas lawyer’s conspiracy convictions for his role in schemes to con law firms, job seekers and users of dating websites.

Jun 9, 2020 10:09 AM CDT

Once in prison for life, this New Jersey lawyer’s story has inspired an ABC TV series

In 1991, a New Jersey jury decided Isaac Wright Jr. was a drug kingpin and sent him to prison for life plus 70 years on related charges. Except Wright didn’t do it—he was framed by the very prosecutor arguing the case against him. Wright spent the next seven years studying law from his maximum-security prison cell, eventually proving his innocence and winning his freedom.

Jun 1, 2020 1:25 AM CDT

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