Sentencing/Post Conviction

Inmate sentenced for filing false lien that targeted federal judges and DOJ employees

A Pennsylvania inmate will have to serve an additional four years in prison for filing a false lien targeting three federal judges and two U.S. Department of Justice employees. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner sentenced inmate Clarence Hoffert on Monday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Jurors had convicted Hoffert in October…

Mar 19, 2019 3:11 PM CDT

Imprisoned doctor wins early release under First Step Act provision for seriously ill

A convicted "pill mill" doctor has won early release from prison under a provision of the First Step Act authorizing inmates to petition a judge when they have a life-threatening illness.

Mar 19, 2019 6:45 AM CDT

Supreme Court to consider life-without-parole sentence for teen DC sniper

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether its decision banning mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles can be used to upend discretionary life-without-parole sentences imposed on teens before the Supreme Court acted. The Supreme Court agreed to consider the question in the case of Lee Boyd…

Mar 18, 2019 1:30 PM CDT

Can states curtail insanity defense? Supreme Court to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the Constitution prevents the state of Kansas from curtailing the insanity defense.

Mar 18, 2019 10:40 AM CDT

Manafort charged in New York state as he’s sentenced to more prison time in second federal case

Paul Manafort was sentenced to an additional 3½ years in prison in a federal conspiracy case Wednesday. When combined with a prior federal sentence he received for bank and tax fraud, his total sentence will amount to 7½ years in prison.

Mar 13, 2019 1:52 PM CDT

One-word error requires retrial of man convicted of double murder, judge rules

A Pennsylvania death-row inmate is entitled to a new trial because of a one-word error in a judge’s instruction on reasonable doubt, a judge has ruled. Judge Michael Bortner of York County granted the new trial to Noel Montalvo, who was convicted in 2003 in the 1998 stabbing deaths of…

Mar 13, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

‘Epic mishap’ doesn’t justify dismissal of charges against ‘Real Housewives’ star’s son, judge rules

Criminal Justice

Mar 12, 2019 11:26 AM CDT

Top state court reinstates murder conviction of Adnan Syed; his case was chronicled in ‘Serial’ podcast

On Friday, Maryland’s top court reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, whose case gained prominence after it was examined in the Serial podcast.

Mar 8, 2019 5:17 PM CST

Would expanded criminal background checks hurt federal job applicants?

The Trump administration wants applicants for federal jobs and contractor positions to divulge whether they have gone through diversion programs such as drug courts that are meant to help people avoid prison. But critics say the move undermines the whole idea of sentencing alternatives that are designed to keep permanent blemishes off participants’ records, avoiding negative background checks that can limit jobs, housing and education.

Mar 8, 2019 7:00 AM CST

‘Humiliated and ashamed’ Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison

President Donald Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort was sentenced Thursday to 47 months in prison for bank and tax fraud, the Washington Post and New York Times report.

Mar 7, 2019 9:25 PM CST

Suspects wrongly persuaded of their guilt to share in $28M award after Supreme Court rejects cert

The case of the wrongly imprisoned “Beatrice Six” came to a close Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Nebraska county’s appeal of a $28.1 million judgment for a reckless investigation by its sheriff’s department. The six murder defendants served an estimated, collective 70 years in prison…

Mar 6, 2019 4:26 PM CST

Late-revealed phone records lead to innocence declaration for former death-row inmate

A Texas man who spent nearly 10 years on death row was actually innocent of the double murder that sent him to prison, a Houston prosecutor announced at a press conference Friday. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said phone records never turned over to the defense backed up the…

Mar 4, 2019 4:30 PM CST

Former BigLaw attorney sentenced to prison for stealing $600K from church

A lawyer living in Wilmington, Delaware, has been sentenced to prison for stealing $600,000 from a historic Harlem church in a real estate transaction. John Shasanmi was sentenced Friday to 1½ to 4½ years in prison, the New York Daily News reports. He had pleaded guilty in January to two…

Mar 4, 2019 3:02 PM CST

Would-be law student gets record expunged with help of legal services group

A Kentucky woman who plans to attend law school hopes to someday help others expunge their criminal records because of her own experience. Kristen Hawthorne returned to Bloomington, Illinois, last month to pick up a judge’s order expunging her felony conviction, the Bloomington Pantagraph reports. Hawthorne had been convicted for…

Mar 4, 2019 9:30 AM CST

Judge used expletives and said defendant was ‘just a criminal,’ meriting new sentence, court says

A drug court defendant in Washington state is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the judge showed “personal animosity,” a state appeals court has ruled. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joe Wilson used expletives as he tried to coax the defendant to comply with drug treatment after an arrest…

Feb 28, 2019 7:00 AM CST