Criminal Procedure

‘Hoe Haters’ Gang Members and Victim’s Relatives Brawl Outside Georgia Courtroom

Sheriff’s deputies in DeKalb County, Ga., arrested seven people on Thursday after gang members and relatives of a murder victim brawled outside the courtroom. Members of a gang known as the “Hoe Haters” scuffled with relatives of high school student Marcus Holloway, who was killed in a drive-by shooting. There…

Jan 13, 2012 1:29 PM CST

Ginsburg Opinion Rejects Due Process Inquiries on Eyewitness IDs; Sotomayor Dissents

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled there is no due-process requirement for judges to hold pretrial screenings to assess the reliability of eyewitness identifications in criminal cases. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion (PDF) rejecting a theft defendant’s claim that pretrial screening is needed because of the grave…

Jan 11, 2012 4:34 PM CST

Judge Orders Defendant’s Mouth Taped Shut

A Pennsylvania judge ordered a man’s mouth taped shut by sheriff’s deputies for repeatedly disrupting jury selection for his trial. The unusual order came after Erik Britt, who was acting as his own attorney during the pre-trial hearing for assaulting a prison guard, ignored Judge Timothy Creany’s warnings to stop…

Jan 6, 2012 10:59 PM CST

Plea Deal In Money Laundering Case Connected to Prominent Boston Lawyer

A Dover, Mass., man pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday in connection with a money laundering scheme that allegedly included prominent Boston lawyer Robert A. George. George, the target of a federal sting operation, is accused of arranging for Michael F. Hansen to help launder drug money. He faces federal…

Jan 6, 2012 7:06 PM CST

Seattle Sues Lawyer Who Requests Police Dash-Cam Videos

Updated: The city of Seattle filed suit (PDF) against an attorney for requesting copies of police dash-cam videos. Seattle lawyer James Egan learned of the suit Wednesday, after he had appealed the city’s earlier decision to reject his citizen’s request for 36 dash-cam videos that showed possible violations by Seattle…

Jan 5, 2012 5:50 PM CST

Md. Top Court Rules Poor Defendants Entitled to Lawyers at Bail Hearings; PD Says He Can’t Comply

Updated: Ruling on statutory grounds, Maryland’s top court has held that indigent defendants have a right to state-provided legal representation at bail hearings. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Public Defender Act gives defendants the right to legal representation. The opinion (PDF) did not address constitutional arguments.…

Jan 5, 2012 3:56 PM CST

Prosecutors Seek Court Order For Suspect to Turn Over Computer Password

Federal prosecutors have asked a Denver court to order a bank-fraud suspect to hand over her computer password so that they may search her files for evidence against her. The move is extremely rare, the Denver Post reports, as civil-liberties groups say U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn’s decision could test…

Jan 4, 2012 8:03 PM CST

Franky the Drug-Detecting Dog Is Subject of Fourth Amendment Cert Petition

The U.S. Supreme Court could decide as early as this month whether to accept a case that asks whether a sniff by Franky the drug-detecting dog is a Fourth Amendment search requiring probable cause. Many court watchers expect the court to accept the case, Florida v. Jardines, the Associated Press…

Jan 4, 2012 3:50 PM CST

Georgia to Change Stance on Sentencing After High Costs and a Doubled Inmate Population

With $1 billion in state prison operation costs and a doubled inmate population in the past two decades, Georgia is looking toward its fellow Southern states for examples of successful alternatives to prison time for nonviolent offenders. The winter, Georgia’s General Assembly will examine ways to send fewer people to…

Jan 3, 2012 8:33 PM CST

Defense Counsel Asks Judge to Order US Attorney to Remove Press Release from Website

Defense counsel for an Alabama pharmacy owner facing criminal charges for allegedly violating Medicaid rules have taken the unusual tack of asking a federal judge in Mobile to order the U.S. Attorney’s office to take down an online press release. In the Internet age, such publicity threatens Chris Vernon’s right…

Dec 22, 2011 9:33 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Criminal Lawyers, Illustrated; Juvenile Clients—and Their Mothers

Drawn Out Posts New York City solo Nathaniel Burney laments at the Criminal Lawyer that he hasn’t done a lot of substantive posting since being named to the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100. But he notes that instead, he’s been cranking posts at The Criminal Lawyer’s Guide to Criminal Law, which…

Dec 22, 2011 2:35 PM CST

As Judge Vacationed in China, Clerks Issued Warrants and Continuances

Clerks for a Missouri judge handled a number of her cases while she was in China on vacation for 10 days in October, dismissing five, issuing as many as 18 bench warrants and continuing more than 300, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. For some defendants, that meant a longer stay…

Dec 20, 2011 12:00 AM CST

‘Extraordinary Legal Event’ Unfolds as Man Exonerated of Wife’s Murder Seeks to Hold DA Accountable

Michael Morton spent nearly 25 years in prison for murdering his wife before Texas authorities finally tested DNA evidence and determined that another man was responsible for the slaying. Formally exonerated by a Texas judge today, Morton is asking, through his lawyers, to try to hold accountable the prosecutor he…

Dec 19, 2011 9:57 PM CST

Law Firm to Complain About Judge Who Jailed Attorney for Contempt for Blocking Client Drug Queries

The law firm that employs a young Michigan attorney who was briefly jailed for telling his client at arraignment not to answer a judge’s questions about drug use is planning to file a complaint over the early December incident. Miel & Carr, which got another judge to grant an emergency…

Dec 13, 2011 7:15 PM CST

Sandusky Waives Preliminary Hearing in Child Sex-Abuse Case

In a surprise move this morning that startled a Centre County, Pa., courtroom packed with media and other onlookers, former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing in the child sex-abuse case he faces. Nearly a dozen witnesses were expected to testify…

Dec 13, 2011 2:58 PM CST