Criminal Procedure

‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’ documentary explores what drives true-crime junkies

While most true-crime documentaries focus on the actual misdeeds themselves, They Called Him Mostly Harmless, a 2024 documentary on Max, centers less on the death of a man ultimately identified as Vance Rodriguez and more on the internet sleuths interested in the case.

Nov 25, 2024 8:55 AM CST

Illinois Supreme Court reverses actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Thursday that it had overturned the 2021 felony conviction of Jussie Smollett, a television actor who became even more of a household name five years ago after falsely reporting that he had been the victim of a violent hate crime.

Nov 21, 2024 10:30 AM CST

‘Ultimatedadbod’ lawyer arrested on child exploitation charges after chats with undercover agents reveal identity

Updated: A Tennessee lawyer was arrested last week on federal charges that include child exploitation and animal crushing after he allegedly shared a digital photo of himself with an undercover agent that included a certificate on the wall with his name.

Nov 20, 2024 8:56 AM CST

NY prosecutors appear open to yearslong delay in Trump hush money case

Manhattan prosecutors Tuesday said they will oppose a request by Donald Trump’s lawyers to dismiss his 34-count felony conviction but suggested they were open to postponing proceedings in the case until after the president-elect’s second term in the White House.

Nov 19, 2024 3:20 PM CST

Trial gets underway for alleged hit man accused of shooting attorney for litigant friend

A Hilton Head, South Carolina, man is on trial this week for attempted murder in an April 2023 shooting of a Greenville, South Carolina, attorney.

Nov 13, 2024 3:10 PM CST

Lawyer accused of stealing over $31K from jailed woman after she signed power of attorney at his request

A lawyer in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, has been accused of stealing more than $31,000 from an imprisoned woman awaiting a competency hearing after she agreed to sign an agreement giving power of attorney to his employee.

Nov 13, 2024 9:51 AM CST

Trump wants to expand death penalty to include these crimes

President-elect Donald Trump said during his campaign he would like to expand the death penalty to include child rapists, immigrants who kill U.S. citizens and police officers, human traffickers and drug dealers.

Nov 11, 2024 9:44 AM CST

Federal judge suspends deadlines in Trump criminal case

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election-interference case in D.C. federal court suspended all remaining deadlines Friday—the latest sign that the federal prosecutions of the president-elect are winding down.

Nov 8, 2024 1:00 PM CST

‘Jailbreak: Love on the Run’ misses chance to examine staff sexual misconduct at detention centers

Many states including Oklahoma, where I practice, have laws that create strict liability crimes when a person in power engages in a sexual relationship with someone subject to that authority. The underlying theory is someone cannot legally consent in those situations because of the power imbalance.

Nov 7, 2024 2:31 PM CST

As Trump wins White House, special counsel weighs how to end trials

As Donald Trump clinched his resounding presidential victory early Wednesday, the four criminal cases against him seemed to begin their march to dissolution. The election win prompted special counsel Jack Smith to start discussing how to wind down the two federal prosecutions of the president-elect.

Nov 6, 2024 2:50 PM CST

Former judge is accused of threatening to burn down polling site

A former New York judge who served time in prison was charged Tuesday with making a terroristic threat after he was only offered a provisional "affidavit ballot" at the polls.

Nov 6, 2024 11:23 AM CST

Expect more lawsuits against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, says plaintiffs lawyer

Updated: Tony Buzbee, who has filed multiple sexual assault cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs in the past two weeks, says more than 400 additional victims of the embattled music mogul passed the scrutiny of his staff, and he intends to pick up the pace of lawsuits in the coming weeks.

Oct 30, 2024 11:59 AM CDT

From behind bars, to passing the bar

Each state sets its own rules for formerly incarcerated people who want to practice law. In Kansas, Mississippi and Texas, for example, no one with a felony can practice law. But even for those who live in less restrictive states, there are other hurdles to overcome.

Oct 29, 2024 8:42 AM CDT

Meet the sheriffs who believe they are ‘The Highest Law in the Land’

In The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy, lawyer and journalist Jessica Pishko takes a deep dive into the history of this position in American life and at a far-right movement hoping to co-opt it.

Oct 24, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

Judge accused of ‘casual and illegal use’ of contempt power; crime victim cuffed

A Florida judge has been accused of conducting “improper or legally deficient” contempt proceedings in which she ordered the handcuffing of a crime victim and the jailing of the mother of traumatized, truant children.

Oct 23, 2024 10:45 AM CDT