Sentencing/Post Conviction

Former Skadden associate gets 30-day sentence for lying in Mueller’s probe

A former associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected Alex van der Zwaan’s request for probation, report the National Law…

Apr 3, 2018 11:52 AM CDT

Federal judge blasts township court for jailing man who couldn’t pay littering fine

A New Jersey township violated the constitutional rights of a college student who had only 11 cents in his pocket when he was jailed for being unable to pay a littering fine, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman ruled for Anthony Knieser on his motion for…

Apr 3, 2018 11:01 AM CDT

Supreme Court gives second chance to death-row inmate denied funding for an investigator

A federal appeals court applied a legal standard that was too tough when it denied funding to a death-row inmate seeking an investigator to show ineffective assistance of counsel, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

Mar 21, 2018 9:35 AM CDT

Trump pick for Sentencing Commission once called for it to be abolished

The U.S. Sentencing Commission is a bipartisan, independent, seven-member panel that sets sentencing guidelines for federal judges. Although it rarely attracts public attention, in recent years it has done more than Congress or the White House to reduce the population of the federal prison system, mainly by recommending lighter sentences for drug offenses.

Mar 21, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court refuses to hear broad challenge to death penalty

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a case broadly challenging the death penalty while also challenging Arizona’s system for making death penalty determinations.

Mar 19, 2018 1:36 PM CDT

Jailed investigator will testify because it may help capital client’s cause

An investigator who refused to testify for prosecutors in a capital appeal on religious grounds has changed her mind after learning her testimony could help the condemned man. Greta Lindecrantz, a 67-year-old Mennonite, changed her mind after spending nearly two weeks in jail, report the Washington Post, the Denver Post,…

Mar 12, 2018 10:55 AM CDT

Trump backs death penalty for drug dealers; is it constitutional?

President Donald Trump backed the death penalty for drug dealers on Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, while his administration is reportedly studying the issue.

Trump said the United States got the idea of capital punishment for drug dealers from Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Washington Post reports.

Mar 12, 2018 9:10 AM CDT

Judge cites ‘multitude of lies’ and sentences Martin Shkreli to 7 years in prison

A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, sentenced a tearful Martin Shkreli to seven years in prison for securities fraud Friday after he told the court he was there because of his “gross, stupid and negligent mistakes.”

Mar 9, 2018 1:50 PM CST

Judge considers probation for man who robbed bank in hopes of receiving prison medical care

A Nebraska judge said Wednesday he wanted to consider probation for a homeless man who said he had robbed a bank in hopes of getting medical treatment in prison. The admitted robber, 54-year-old Terry Bailes, had worked at a manufacturer of farm equipment and forklifts for six years before developing…

Mar 9, 2018 10:19 AM CST

Dark tale of ‘The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist’ brings false convictions to light (podcast)

For nearly two decades, Dr. Steven Hayne and Dr. Michael West were the go-to experts who Mississippi law enforcement and prosecutors relied on when there was a potential homicide. Hayne performed the bulk of the autopsies in the state, while West was a dentist who touted his skill in bite-mark analysis and his pioneering use of UV light on human skin to detect trace markings he claimed he could match to objects. But after years of investigations and countless testimonies from the men, their claims of expertise began to fall apart—and wrongful convictions began coming to light.

Mar 7, 2018 8:05 AM CST

One-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album and lawyer payments at risk as a result of Shkreli forfeiture order

A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, has ordered former drug company CEO Martin Shkreli to forfeit $7.36 million in connection with his conviction for securities fraud. U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said Shkreli will have to pay the money from his own funds or from “substitute assets”—which could include…

Mar 6, 2018 12:34 PM CST

Calls grow for ouster of judge who approved probation plea deal in church-camp rape

More than 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the removal of an Oklahoma judge who approved a probation plea deal for a man who pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl. The petition calls for the ouster of Judge Wallace Coppedge, who approved the plea deal for…

Mar 5, 2018 1:08 PM CST

‘Blatant shortcomings’ in lawyers’ work merited habeas relief, Sotomayor says in cert denial dissent

Lawyers for a Louisiana death row inmate with a major neurocognitive order never presented that mitigation evidence to jurors and didn’t investigate the issue on post-conviction appeal, according to Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Yet the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Todd Wessinger’s claim that he had received…

Mar 5, 2018 11:36 AM CST

Former partner blames BigLaw stress for plot to sell sealed lawsuits to targeted companies

Updated: A former BigLaw partner says he was suffering from anxiety and depression when he was arrested in a plot to sell sealed whistleblower lawsuits he obtained while working at the U.S. Justice Department.

Mar 5, 2018 8:00 AM CST

Fordham A2J initiative gets students inside infamous Rikers Island

Corrected: Deema Nagib, a third-year student at Fordham University School of Law, has traveled dozens of times to the notorious Rikers Island jail complex to meet with detainees who shared horror stories with her about life inside.

Mar 5, 2018 7:00 AM CST