Criminal Procedure

Kerik Lawyer Loses Bid for Disqualification Documents

A judge has refused to give the defense lawyer for former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik access to evidence that prosecutors are using to try to toss him off the case. Prosecutors claim lawyer Kenneth Breen is a potential witness to obstruction of justice by Kerik in a…

Dec 7, 2007 3:51 PM CST

Discovery Spat in Mich. Murder Case

Often it’s the defense that complains about the prosecution withholding evidence in pretrial discovery in a criminal case. But prosecutors are seeking an emergency order from the Michigan Court of Appeals to stop a murder trial scheduled to start Monday because the defense allegedly didn’t produce critical evidence. Allison Bates,…

Dec 6, 2007 9:26 PM CST

Fla. Judge on Hot Seat in Ethics Hearing

Lawyers will be soon be testifying against a judge before a Florida hearing panel that has been convened to determine whether a Miami-area jurist violated ethics rules and bullied attorneys and other trial participants. According to an attorney for the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Judge Cheryl Alemán violated ethics canons…

Dec 4, 2007 7:28 PM CST

Lawyer Claims Jury Pool Tainted by ‘Urban Legend’ Blog Posts

The lawyer for a man accused of hiding a suspect in the murder of a carjacked couple claims in a motion for a change of venue that blogs helped “outrage and taint any jury pool.” Lawyer Philip Lomonaco of Knoxville, Tenn., claims blogs printed false allegations that the murder victims…

Dec 4, 2007 12:08 PM CST

Judge Axes Verdict Due to Racist Remarks

A federal judge in Utah has thrown out a guilty verdict in an assault case against an American Indian defendant because of jurors’ racist remarks during deliberations. Rather than focusing on the allegations against defendant Kerry Dean Benally, who was accused of assaulting a federal officer investigating a report that…

Dec 3, 2007 8:37 PM CST

U.S. to Judge: We Can Kidnap Suspects

Extradition is only one way for the U.S. government to get suspected criminals in foreign countries back to American soil for trial. Another legitimate option is to kidnap them, a lawyer representing the United States reportedly told an appellate judge in a United Kingdom case, causing an uproar there once…

Dec 3, 2007 5:15 PM CST

Report: Recidivism Higher for Youth Offenders Tried as Adults

Children tried as adults then housed in adult prisons are more likely to become repeat offenders than youths who remain in the juvenile justice system, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Since the 1980s and 1990s, laws have pushed more juvenile offenders into the adult…

Nov 30, 2007 6:54 PM CST

Pellicano Gets Hearing on Wiretapping Misconduct Allegations

In a rare victory for celebrity private eye Anthony Pellicano, a federal judge agreed yesterday to hold an evidentiary hearing to explore defense claims that there was government misconduct in the wiretapping probe of their client. Pellicano’s lawyers have long claimed that the FBI and federal prosecutors acted improperly by…

Nov 27, 2007 8:31 PM CST

La. Judge Opens Entire Jena 6 Trial

Responding to a lawsuit filed by multiple media organizations, a Louisiana judge decided today to open to the public all trial proceedings in the case of Mychal Bell. The Jena 6 teen is to be tried beginning Dec. 6 in juvenile court for his role in an alleged group attack…

Nov 21, 2007 9:40 PM CST

House Approves Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act

The Attorney-Client Protection Act was adopted in the U.S. House of Representatives by a voice vote today, but it may not be addressed by the Senate until the spring. Supported by an unusually broad-based coalition of organizations that includes the American Bar Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the…

Nov 14, 2007 1:33 AM CST

Feds May Release 19,500 Early in Crack Cases

The U.S. Sentencing Commission reportedly is considering an unprecedented proposal for a mass commutation of disproportionately harsh sentences meted out in drug cases involving crack cocaine. If approved, it is expected to affect one in 10 federal prisoners and reduce their sentences by about two years, reports the Los Angeles…

Nov 12, 2007 6:43 PM CST

Stevens Rejects Former IL Gov’s Bail Appeal

A long-shot bid by former Illinois Gov. George Ryan to remain free on bail pending his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of his political corruption conviction has been rejected. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens today rejected the emergency bail application that Ryan made to him last week, according…

Nov 6, 2007 6:07 PM CST

Habeas Appeal Barred by Botched State Deadline

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a filing deadline for habeas petitions is not tolled while the inmate pursued a challenge in the state courts that was later dismissed because it was filed too late. The court ruled in the case of inmate Daniel Siebert, convicted of killing Linda…

Nov 5, 2007 6:08 PM CST

U.S. Secretary of State is Subpoenaed

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among other American intelligence officials, has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a federal espionage case against pro-Israeli lobbyists. Accused of receiving classified terrorism-related information from a Pentagon official who has already been convicted and relaying it to an Israeli official and…

Nov 2, 2007 7:40 PM CDT

CA Judge: New Execution Regs Invalid

An effort to enact a new execution protocol in California that would put an end to a death penalty moratorium declared last year by a federal judge has suffered a setback. The protocol is invalid, a state judge has decided, because it was not created in compliance with the required…

Nov 2, 2007 12:39 AM CDT