Appellate Practice

‘Serial’ podcasts downplayed info supporting murder conviction, prosecutor says; DNA testing sought

A popular podcast series raised doubts about the evidence used to convict Adnan Syed of murder without any significant basis for doing so, the Intercept says, relying on information from the prosecutor in the case. Nonetheless, inspired by the podcast Serial, the Maryland Innocence Project at the University of Virginia…

Jan 15, 2015 11:15 AM CST

Judge tosses ‘inventive’ suit seeking EPA phone records from NSA, threatens footnote limits

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has tossed a suit asking the National Security Agency to provide records of phone calls, emails, and text messages for two officials of the Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg termed the suit “novel and inventive” in the opening paragraph of his…

Jan 14, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Federal judge nixes appeal bond for former Virginia governor sentenced to 2 years

A federal judge has refused to OK an appeal bond for a former Virginia governor sentenced last week to two years for trading the influence of his office for gifts, loans and perks. That means Robert “Bob” McDonnell, who also served as the state’s attorney general, could be imprisoned on…

Jan 13, 2015 10:50 AM CST

Lawyer doesn’t have to turn over Aaron Hernandez cellphone in murder case, top state court says

As jury selection continues in one Massachusetts murder case against Aaron Hernandez, the state’s top court has agreed with defense lawyers that the former New England Patriots star is not required to turn over cellphone evidence in a second murder case. Because Hernandez gave the cellphone to one of his…

Jan 12, 2015 2:55 PM CST

Former judge pleads guilty, admits taking bribe to cut jury verdict from $5.2M to $1M

A former Arkansas judge waived indictment and pleaded guilty Friday to a federal criminal information (PDF) charging him with accepting a bribe for reducing a nursing home negligence verdict from $5.2 million to $1 million. Michael A. Maggio, 53, admitted being “improperly influenced” in the nursing home case by campaign…

Jan 12, 2015 12:05 PM CST

Should 40,000 cases be tossed over drug-lab issues? Top state court to decide

Over nearly a decade, a rogue chemist at a Massachusetts evidence laboratory potentially could have tainted 40,323 drug cases. On Thursday, the state’s top court will hear arguments about how that issue should be fixed, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Last year, the Supreme Judicial Court decided it…

Jan 7, 2015 2:55 PM CST

Attorney ex-wife rejects energy chief’s $975M check; judge nixes reduction despite oil price plunge

An Oklahoma oil baron wrote a check to his ex-wife for almost $975 million on Monday. But Sue Ann Arnall, a lawyer and economist, refused the payment, according to the Oklahoman and Value Walk, which provides a copy of the $974,790,317.77 check. Arnall is appealing the divorce award as representing…

Jan 7, 2015 11:55 AM CST

Man beats murder rap but will serve at least 20 years for threatening trial witness

Found guilty in 2009 of murdering an elderly woman decades earlier, when he was a teenager, Jeffrey Glazebrook eventually got that conviction reversed. But the 54-year-old will serve at least 20 years for a mouthed a threat to kill a jailhouse informant testifying at his murder trial that was seen…

Jan 7, 2015 6:15 AM CST

9th Circuit sacks video-game maker in lawsuit brought by retired NFL players for licensing fees

Electronic Arts suffered another defeat at the hands of football players to whom the software company was looking to avoid paying licensing fees. Courthouse News reported that the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) Tuesday that EA cannot avoid paying retired players for using their likenesses in…

Jan 6, 2015 3:58 PM CST

Appeals court OKs dropped cigarette-butt evidence in slaying at lawyer’s home

A cigarette butt dropped in a parking lot by a suspect in a slaying at a North Carolina lawyer’s home was properly used as evidence even though police had no warrant, a state appeals court has ruled. Lawyers for Jason K. Williford had argued that DNA found on the cigarette…

Jan 6, 2015 1:00 PM CST

Law firms say they will perform free same-sex marriage ceremonies if court clerks won’t

Updated: Amid uncertainty about whether court clerks throughout Florida will begin performing same-sex marriages this week, at least two law firms have stepped into the breach. Fleet and Smith says it has a dozen people who are qualified to officiate at weddings and will ask for more volunteers from outside…

Jan 5, 2015 8:10 AM CST

Jury selection to begin in Boston Marathon bombing trial

Jury selection is expected to begin Monday in the federal capital murder trial of the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is charged with 30 counts, including 17 that could result in the death penalty if he is convicted in the April 15, 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon…

Jan 5, 2015 7:10 AM CST

SCOTUS litigators with more manly voices were more likely to lose, study finds

A study of 60 male lawyers arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court found that those whose voices were rated as more masculine were more likely to lose their cases. The researchers asked about 200 volunteers to rate the male lawyers’ voices based on their opening sentence, “Mister Chief Justice, may…

Dec 30, 2014 6:15 AM CST

Sheriff: Murderer’s claimed contact with 2 jurors in court elevator didn’t happen exactly as he says

Corrected: A convicted double murderer in Pennsylvania is seeking a new trial in his latest case based on his claim to have had unsupervised contact, in a courthouse elevator, with two of the jurors who later convicted him. The November encounter occurred after he became separated from the court deputies…

Dec 19, 2014 4:55 PM CST

Odor in the court! Another judge complains of ‘repugnant stench’ from filing by state AG’s office

It wasn’t the legal arguments made by the Indiana attorney general’s office that caused several state appeals judges to sniff out a problem with its legal briefs. The filings literally stink, the jurists complained, comparing the smell to cigarette or pipe smoke, according to Above the Law and the Indianapolis…

Dec 18, 2014 4:40 PM CST