Criminal Procedure

‘Presidents are not kings’ judge will oversee Trump election-subversion case

A federal judge who has previously ruled against former President Donald Trump will be overseeing the new criminal case accusing him of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election.

Aug 2, 2023 3:20 PM CDT

Trump’s election-subversion co-conspirators included DOJ official, 4 other lawyers, indictment says

A former U.S. Department of Justice official and four other lawyers were co-conspirators in former President Donald Trump’s effort to subvert 2020 election results and hold on to power, according to the federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Aug 2, 2023 10:06 AM CDT

As Trump faces new documents charges, prosecutors seek to keep defense discussions at secure place

On the same day that a superseding indictment accused former President Donald Trump of seeking to delete security camera footage at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, prosecutors sought a protective order to prevent Trump from discussing classified documents with his lawyers at that location.

Jul 28, 2023 11:35 AM CDT

Famous forensic scientist says he had ‘no motive nor reason’ to fabricate evidence

A forensic scientist who became famous after his testimony in the O.J. Simpson murder trial is defending his earlier work after a federal judge found him liable in a wrongful conviction lawsuit by two men who spent 30 years in prison before their exoneration.

Jul 28, 2023 9:35 AM CDT

Texas lawyer accused in plot to murder another attorney seeks ‘hybrid representation’ at trial

A lawyer in Waco, Texas, who is accused of plotting to murder another attorney has filed a motion seeking to participate in his defense when his trial begins next month.

Jul 25, 2023 11:46 AM CDT

Judge checked Facebook and texted during murder trial, courtroom video shows

Courtroom surveillance video leaked to the Oklahoman shows a judge scrolling through Facebook and texting on her cellphone while presiding in a murder trial.

Jul 24, 2023 11:40 AM CDT

Expert’s assertions about toolmark evidence lead judge to order new trial in pipe bombings

A Colorado man serving a life sentence for pipe bombings that killed two people in 1993 is entitled to a new trial because of an expert’s testimony about the certainty of toolmark evidence, a judge in Grand Junction, Colorado, has ruled.

Jul 24, 2023 9:07 AM CDT

Why was lawyer arrested after tossing old license plate in trash?

A Colorado lawyer who tossed his expired Texas license plate in the trash said he was wrongly arrested after the plate was used on a vehicle owned by a Walmart thief.

Jul 19, 2023 2:02 PM CDT

Illinois will make history as result of state supreme court decision on cash bail law

The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a state law eliminating cash bail. Illinois will now become the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail when the new law takes effect Sept. 18.

Jul 19, 2023 11:10 AM CDT

Sexual relationship between judge and prosecutor entitles murder defendant to new trial, court rules

The top criminal court in Oklahoma has ruled that a defendant convicted of murder in 2021 is entitled to a new trial because the judge and one of the prosecutors had a prior sexual relationship.

Jul 18, 2023 1:11 PM CDT

Trump gets bad news on election probes from special counsel Jack Smith and Georgia Supreme Court

Former President Donald Trump may be nearing possible indictments on two fronts in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Jul 18, 2023 9:47 AM CDT

Supreme Court leaves prisoner without recourse on his statutory innocence claim

A U.S. Supreme Court decision Thursday leaves some defendants without recourse to assert that they are actually innocent of a crime because of a change in statutory interpretation.

Jun 26, 2023 8:48 AM CDT

Judge recuses after he is accused of declaring that Middle Eastern men are abusive

Updated: A judge in Cook County, Illinois, has agreed to step down from a case after a lawyer alleged he made statements that are “violent, discriminatory, racist and antagonistic” during an in-chambers discussion.

Jun 23, 2023 8:30 AM CDT

Expert can’t offer ‘unqualified opinion’ that crime scene bullets match suspect’s gun, top state court says

A ballistics expert can testify that bullets at a crime scene are consistent with patterns on bullets fired from a suspect’s gun but can’t offer an “unqualified opinion” of a match, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Jun 21, 2023 12:48 PM CDT

Joe Bell fights to open cold case records of a 1946 mass lynching

At a 2008 American Bar Association event in Washington, D.C., Joseph Bell Jr., an attorney with a keen interest in discrimination cases, first met author Anthony Pitch, a historian and authority on President Abraham Lincoln. A friendship developed.

Jun 20, 2023 2:20 PM CDT