So you were convicted of killing someone who’s still alive—now what?

Many installments of this column have focused on true-crime documentaries examining murder convictions and the legal process and “evidence” that led to them. While those series or stand-alone shows are undoubtedly intriguing, we always seem to be left with the same conclusion: Even if the defendant didn’t kill the person, the person is still dead. But what if we were presented with a situation in which someone was convicted for the murder of a person who was subsequently found alive and well?

Sep 6, 2023 9:42 AM CDT

Ex-prosecutor disbarred for disclosure failures in drug-lab scandal; supervisor, underling get different sanctions

A former assistant attorney general who oversaw the investigation and prosecution of a drug-using chemist at a Massachusetts crime lab has been disbarred for failing to disclose the full extent of the worker’s potential misconduct to affected drug defendants.

Sep 5, 2023 9:07 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Wire-transfer fraudsters fool 3 law practices; Quinn Emanuel discloses cyberattack

Unwitting money transfers to fraudsters yield reprimands

Three North Carolina lawyers have been reprimanded for separate incidents in which they or their staff members mistakenly transferred real estate money or…

Jul 28, 2023 2:26 PM CDT

Famous forensic scientist says he had ‘no motive nor reason’ to fabricate evidence

A forensic scientist who became famous after his testimony in the O.J. Simpson murder trial is defending his earlier work after a federal judge found him liable in a wrongful conviction lawsuit by two men who spent 30 years in prison before their exoneration.

Jul 28, 2023 9:35 AM CDT

Expert’s assertions about toolmark evidence lead judge to order new trial in pipe bombings

A Colorado man serving a life sentence for pipe bombings that killed two people in 1993 is entitled to a new trial because of an expert’s testimony about the certainty of toolmark evidence, a judge in Grand Junction, Colorado, has ruled.

Jul 24, 2023 9:07 AM CDT

‘The gloves are off’: Baby powder maker J&J sues doctors who linked talc products to cancer

Johnson & Johnson has filed two lawsuits against four doctors who published studies claiming a link between talcum powder and mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer. “When a litigant starts suing opposing experts, that’s very aggressive,” an expert says.

Jul 14, 2023 2:00 PM CDT

Federal judge’s ‘people like you’ comments don’t require sentence reversal, 7th Circuit says

A federal judge’s comments about “people like you” weren’t the kind of inflammatory remarks that would require resentencing of a man who pleaded guilty to unlawful gun possession by a felon, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jul 6, 2023 10:31 AM CDT

Lawyer referred for possible discipline after suing judge who also referred her for discipline

Updated: A Chicago lawyer who attacked a judge’s rulings and her opponent’s opening statement in a complaint seeking 27 separate declaratory judgments—including a declaratory judgment that the issues weren’t frivolous—has been referred to a federal court’s executive committee for potential discipline.

Jun 28, 2023 2:21 PM CDT

Expert can’t offer ‘unqualified opinion’ that crime scene bullets match suspect’s gun, top state court says

A ballistics expert can testify that bullets at a crime scene are consistent with patterns on bullets fired from a suspect’s gun but can’t offer an “unqualified opinion” of a match, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Jun 21, 2023 12:48 PM CDT

Former judge will avoid computer-trespassing charges in deal with prosecutors

A former judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia, has reached a deal with state prosecutors that would result in dismissal of charges alleging that she improperly allowed outsiders to access county computers.

Jun 13, 2023 9:59 AM CDT

Notes from Trump’s lawyer cited as evidence of obstruction in classified documents case

Notes from a lawyer for former President Donald Trump may constitute some of the most damning obstruction evidence against Trump in the classified documents case against him.

Jun 12, 2023 12:31 PM CDT

11th Circuit vacates sanctions against Dechert partners, orders new hearing

A federal appeals court has vacated sanctions against two Dechert partners and ordered the judge who imposed the punishment to consider whether the attorneys subjectively engaged in bad-faith conduct.

Jun 2, 2023 9:10 AM CDT

Did 1 contract clause cause Proskauer client’s $636M loss? Judge refuses to toss malpractice suit

A Massachusetts judge has refused to toss a $636 million malpractice lawsuit contending that a botched contract drafted by Proskauer Rose caused its client’s loss of a minority interest in a hedge fund.

May 17, 2023 2:48 PM CDT

Jurors award $5M to writer who sued Trump for alleged assault; what evidence supported her allegations?

Jurors in a civil lawsuit filed against former President Donald Trump have found he sexually abused and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll and he is liable for $5 million in damages.

May 9, 2023 3:01 PM CDT

Supreme Court stays execution of inmate who won support from Oklahoma AG

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday stayed the execution of an Oklahoma inmate after the state attorney general said he supported vacating the conviction.

May 8, 2023 9:55 AM CDT