Criminal Procedure

26-Year Inmate Freed After Lawyers Reveal Real Killer

A Chicago-area judge has ordered a new trial for a man serving a life sentence for the murder of a security guard. He walked out of the Cook County, Ill., jail after relatives quickly raised the $1,000 bail in the case. Alton Logan, 54, had little hope of being freed…

Apr 21, 2008 9:52 AM CDT

Group Wins Jury Instructions Award; Here is the Plain-Language Text!

A California task force has won a first-time award for jury instructions from the National Center for State Courts. The group’s revision, starting in 1998, of the state’s civil and criminal pattern jury instructions has created plain-language jury instructions that are now widely in use throughout California and much easier…

Apr 18, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

Law Profs Propose New Federal Court for Gitmo Detainees

As the countdown continues toward controversial military trials starting next month for terrorism suspects being detained by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, two prominent law professors at major universities are proposing another approach to the problem of providing a fair tribunal yet at the same time protecting national security. In…

Apr 9, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Fed. Judge Says Jurors Should’ve Weighed Sentence in Kiddie Porn Case

Prosecutors vowed to appeal a child pornography sentencing that’s sure to raise eyebrows in New York’s legal community. U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein was supposed to sentence pizza-maker Pietro Polizzi to a mandatory minimum of five years for downloading thousands of child porn images. Instead, Weinstein tossed out the harsher…

Apr 9, 2008 5:02 PM CDT

Citing ‘Extreme’ Juror Animus, Flamboyant Mich. Lawyer Asks for New Venue

Embattled Michigan lawyer Geoffrey Fieger is scheduled to face trial Monday on criminal campaign finance and obstruction of justice charges. But the well-known plaintiffs’ lawyer is asking for an eleventh-hour change of venue because he won’t be able to get a fair trial in Detroit or the Eastern District of…

Apr 9, 2008 2:51 PM CDT

Quadruple Murder Conviction Tossed Because of Trial Delays

An Indiana appellate court has tossed a man’s conviction for a quadruple murder, saying the trial judge should have granted the defendant’s speedy trial motion to dismiss the case. The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the 160-year conviction of Jeffrey Pelley, who was accused of using a shotgun to kill…

Apr 9, 2008 12:19 PM CDT

J.D./Journalist Slapped With Restraining Order for Posting Pellicano Audio

Lawyer/journalist Allison Hope Weiner may have thought she was getting a scoop when she exited a Los Angeles courtroom during a break in the racketeering trial of P.I. for the stars Anthony Pellicano. Indeed, it was a hot story. But it was about her. Weiner was handed a restraining order…

Apr 3, 2008 9:06 PM CDT

Judge Says Kicking White Lawyers Out of Courtroom Was ‘Mistake’

An Atlanta judge who told white lawyers to leave his courtroom so he could lecture African-American defendants last week now says he regrets the move. “In retrospect, it was a mistake,” Judge Marvin Arrington told CNN. “Because my sheriff said to me, ‘Judge, that message should be given to everybody’—‘Don’t…

Apr 2, 2008 7:04 PM CDT

Grand Juror Spots Conviction Error in Unusual Oregon Case

A former Oregon man who was jailed for sex abuse, but never actually indicted is suing state authorities for $3.5 million. The federal suit filed in Portland arises from an unusual case involving David Lee Simmons, who was jailed for 30 days in 2006 after pleading guilty to felony charges…

Apr 1, 2008 10:49 PM CDT

$1M Bond for $25 Theft Lowered After Prosecutor Calls Amount ‘Silly’

The jail in Hamilton County, Ohio, is already overcrowded. But that didn’t stop a local municipal court judge from setting a $1 million bond for Gary Weaver. So what is Weaver accused of doing? The charge is that he stole about $25 by paying for items with what looked like…

Apr 1, 2008 6:13 PM CDT

Former DA on Mission to Eliminate Closed-Door Sentencing Review Panels

Bolstered by support from the legislature, prosecutors in Georgia are mounting a full assault against the state’s system of judicial review panels that, in some cases, reduced prison terms. The challenge, which is being reviewed by the state supreme court today, could impact dozens of inmates whose sentences have already…

Mar 31, 2008 5:34 PM CDT

Kansas Strikes ‘John Doe’ Rape Warrants

The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down arrest warrants in seven rape cases—reportedly the first in the country to charge someone’s DNA with a crime. In its ruling Friday, the high court said the warrants weren’t specific enough to meet legal standards, the Wichita Eagle reports. The paper notes that…

Mar 31, 2008 4:17 PM CDT

Court: Son Can’t Represent Dad in Gambino Case

With a decision that came as a surprise to both sides, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled Thursday that the son of a reputed Gambino consigliere can’t represent his father at his racketeering trial. U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein made the ruling without hearing testimony from Lewis Kasman, the…

Mar 28, 2008 9:00 PM CDT

Martians and the Mentally Ill Discussed at Arguments on Pro Se Right

A majority of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appear to support the idea that judges can bar mentally ill defendants from representing themselves, even if they are deemed competent to stand trial, according to the Washington Post. The Post wrote that Justice Antonin Scalia was a “notable and…

Mar 27, 2008 11:54 AM CDT

Man Wins Murder Trial, But Gets Almost 9 Years

Tyrone Jones didn’t have much time to celebrate after a Connecticut jury acquitted him of murder Tuesday. The next day, the judge in the murder case sent Jones to prison for violating his probation in a previous assault case. The basis of his decision to do so? Testimony by a…

Mar 20, 2008 6:34 PM CDT