Criminal Procedure

Lawyers and Wannabes Sharpen Skills with Objection! Video Game

A guest blogger for PC World raves about the Objection! video game testing players’ ability to identify objectionable courtroom questions. The reviewer played the role of a lawyer defending an accused murderer. She noted that players have to raise their objection before the witness answers a prosecutor’s question, with less…

Mar 12, 2009 6:45 PM CDT

Supreme Court Vacates Ruling Allowing Indefinite Detention of Terrorism Suspect

The U.S. Supreme Court won’t be hearing a challenge to the indefinite detention of an alleged enemy combatant following his recent indictment. The high court dismissed the case as moot and vacated a federal appeals court decision upholding the president’s power to detain the terrorism suspect, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri,…

Mar 6, 2009 7:13 PM CST

‘Unusually Engaged’ Justices Appear Split on Inmate Right to DNA Test

Liberals and conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided yesterday on whether a convict has a constitutional right to a DNA test of evidence, leaving Justice Anthony M. Kennedy once again as the man in the middle. Kennedy appeared at times to agree with both sides during oral arguments,…

Mar 3, 2009 1:37 PM CST

Waterfront Eatery With Pager Problem Hires Diver; Was He a Police Agent?

When Chris Shake ran short of the pagers he gave to customers who wanted to stroll outside while awaiting a table at his Old Fisherman’s Grotto eatery, he suspected a competitor of taking both his customers and the seating devices. So the can-do Monterey, Calif., restaurateur set out to prove…

Feb 25, 2009 6:58 PM CST

Top Texas Judge Faces Ethics Case Over Late Filing Refused on Inmate’s Execution Day

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct filed an ethics complaint today against the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concerning her controversial refusal to accept a late filing in a death penalty case on the day of the inmate’s scheduled execution. The commission’s complaint (PDF) against Judge…

Feb 19, 2009 11:17 PM CST

Judges Should Control Sex Offender Registration, ABA House Says

Congress should amend existing statutes to allow judges to determine whether juveniles convicted of sex crimes should be required to register as sex offenders, the ABA’s policymaking House of Delegates said today. Federal law currently require all youths 14 years old or older who are convicted of sex-related offenses to…

Feb 16, 2009 2:07 PM CST

Jury Verdict Unsealed in Fatal N.Y. Fire: 2 Tenants Not Guilty

An unusual delay apparently didn’t derail a New York jury verdict that was reached Wednesday but only announced in open court today. Two tenants accused of constructing illegal walls that doomed two firefighters who died in a 2005 fire were found not guilty, reports the New York Times. The firefighters…

Feb 14, 2009 12:00 AM CST

Verdict Sealed in Fatal N.Y. Fire Case Despite Lawyers’ Objections

A jury reached a verdict yesterday in the trial of two tenants accused of illegally creating extra rooms that doomed two New York firefighters in the so-called Black Sunday blaze in 2005. They died jumping from the fourth floor when they were trapped by flames in a room without a…

Feb 12, 2009 6:57 PM CST

Kozinski ‘Blows a Gasket’ in Prosecution Thwarted by Indian Definition

A federal appeals court has overturned the assault conviction of a Montana man, saying he doesn’t qualify as an Indian under a statute giving jurisdiction to the federal courts. The 2-1 ruling (PDF) by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Cruz could raise jurisdictional problems…

Feb 11, 2009 7:17 PM CST

Disbarred NJ Lawyer Beats the Rap in Misappropriation Case

A New Jersey lawyer who was disbarred for misappropriating mortgage settlement funds can’t be criminally convicted for the same conduct, a state appeals court ruled today. Because prosecutors didn’t charge Lawrence Coven in time, a three-judge appellate panel held, the criminal case against him concerning four mortgage refinancings was properly…

Feb 11, 2009 6:47 PM CST

Judge Reprimanded for Suing Colleagues Over Jail Overcrowding

A judge who filed a lawsuit in an effort to change the pretrial release system will receive a reprimand from the Florida Supreme Court. The action stems from a mandamus petition filed by Judge Clifford Barnes of St. Lucie County that sought to force judges to provide meaningful first appearance…

Feb 4, 2009 7:02 PM CST

Chief Judge Blasts US Attorney Over ‘Egregious Failure’ to Disclose

The chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has issued a 42-page ruling blasting the U.S. attorney there over an alleged pattern of violations by his office of a requirement that exculpatory evidence must be disclosed to the defense in criminal cases. “The egregious failure…

Jan 27, 2009 5:46 PM CST

Supreme Court Allows Frisk of Passenger Believed to be Carrying Gun

A police officer who has a reasonable suspicion that a car passenger is armed and dangerous may conduct a pat-down search without violating the Fourth Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said police officers involved in lawful traffic stops need…

Jan 26, 2009 4:48 PM CST

Supreme Court Protects Ex-DA Sued by Inmate for Supervision Errors

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled prosecutors are entitled to absolute immunity from suits for mistakes in cases they supervise. The suit had targeted former Los Angeles District Attorney John Van de Kamp, the Associated Press reports. The suit by inmate Thomas Goldstein had contended Van de Kamp failed to…

Jan 26, 2009 4:28 PM CST

Ex-FBI Agent Sentenced to 40 Years in ‘82 Murder, But May Win On Appeal

A former FBI agent was sentenced today to 40 years in prison after being convicted last year of second-degree murder for telling gangsters about an agency tipster who was subsequently slain in South Florida by a hit man. However, there is a good chance that 68-year-old John Connolly Jr. will…

Jan 15, 2009 9:03 PM CST