Criminal Procedure

‘Plenty of punishment’ judge faces ethics hearing for reversing rape conviction after questioning sentence

Updated: An Illinois judge is facing a disciplinary hearing this week that focuses on his decision to reverse a sexual assault conviction that he imposed in a bench trial allegedly because he did not want to impose a mandatory prison sentence.

Nov 7, 2023 2:58 PM CST

Rejecting ‘extortion layaway’ defense, jurors convict dentist in murder of FSU law prof Dan Markel

Prosecutors gained a fourth conviction in the July 2014 murder of Dan Markel, a Florida State University College of Law professor, after jurors returned a guilty verdict Monday against Markel’s former brother-in-law.

Nov 7, 2023 11:12 AM CST

May death row inmate reopen habeas case if lawyer abandons him? ABA urges SCOTUS to decide

The ABA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of a death row inmate whose appointed habeas lawyer "functionally" abandoned him.

Oct 31, 2023 11:28 AM CDT

Finding Trump’s explanation ‘not credible,’ judge fines him $10K for second gag order violation

The judge presiding in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial fined him $10,000 on Wednesday for a second violation of a gag order banning remarks about court staff members.

Oct 25, 2023 3:37 PM CDT

Did the ‘BTK Killer’ have more victims? Oklahoma sheriff and district attorney spar over cold case

Imagine your child disappears. The authorities get involved, but your baby is nowhere to be found. Days go by without a word. Days turn into months. Months turn into years. Years turn into decades.

Oct 25, 2023 12:00 PM CDT

Police shootings of dogs spark Fourth Amendment lawsuits, challenges to qualified immunity

An estimated 10,000 dogs are fatally shot by U.S. law enforcement officers each year, according to the Department of Justice. Some incidents result in lawsuits citing Fourth Amendment violations, including unreasonable search and seizure, and challenge an officer’s immunity. Some generate settlements of more than $1 million.

Oct 24, 2023 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyer who claimed Trump ‘won in a landslide’ pleads guilty in Georgia RICO case

Jenna Ellis, a former legal adviser to former President Donald Trump, is the third lawyer to plead guilty in Georgia’s election-interference RICO case.

Oct 24, 2023 11:06 AM CDT

As 1 judge temporarily lifts Trump gag order, another says he’s ‘way beyond’ warning stage

Former President Donald Trump had one temporary win and one loss last week as judges considered gag orders that they had imposed.

Oct 23, 2023 1:09 PM CDT

Mississippi isn’t following state supreme court’s new rule for protecting poor defendants, critics say

Three months after Mississippi’s Supreme Court directed judges in the state to ensure that poor criminal defendants always have a lawyer as they wait to be indicted, one of those justices acknowledged that the rule isn’t being widely followed.

Oct 20, 2023 9:17 AM CDT

How elimination of cash bail is working in Illinois after 1 month

The jail population is down in Cook County, Illinois, and pretrial detention hearings are getting longer throughout the state after a law eliminating cash bail took effect.

Oct 20, 2023 8:50 AM CDT

Trump lawyer Sidney Powell agrees to write letter of apology as part of plea deal in election-interference case

Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to six misdemeanors in the Georgia racketeering case alleging election interference by 19 defendants, including former President Donald Trump.

Oct 19, 2023 11:19 AM CDT

Trump’s claim of absolute immunity isn’t supported by Supreme Court precedent

Former President Donald Trump has little precedent to help him in his bid to dismiss the election-interference charges against him based on a claim of presidential immunity.

Oct 19, 2023 9:51 AM CDT

SCOTUS will hear ‘backdoor censorship’ case of council member arrested for placing document in binder

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider what kind of evidence is needed to defeat a qualified immunity claim by government officials accused of engineering the retaliatory arrest of a new city council member who criticized the city manager.

Oct 16, 2023 3:40 PM CDT

Meet Tanya Chutkan, the judge who won’t allow Trump to call special counsel ‘deranged’

A judge with a reputation for being “temperate but unflinching” imposed a partial gag order on former President Donald Trump on Monday. Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Trump can’t attack special counsel Jack Smith, his family, his staff and witnesses.

Oct 16, 2023 1:22 PM CDT

Wrongfully convicted man urges criminal justice reform at final day of Clio Cloud Conference

More than 20 years ago, Brian Banks was wrongfully convicted of rape, delaying his dream of becoming a professional football player. At his keynote address at the Clio Cloud Conference on Tuesday morning, Banks urged the audience of lawyers and legal professionals to embrace reforms to create a fairer and more just system for people entangled in the criminal justice system.

Oct 10, 2023 1:04 PM CDT