Sotomayor and Gorsuch dissent in SCOTUS decision blocking information about secret CIA jail

Mar 3, 2022 1:28 PM CST

Florida lawyer arrested for removing her clothes at a bar; it was second arrest in 2 days

A Florida lawyer was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct after she allegedly stripped naked at a bar and refused to leave.

Feb 24, 2022 1:06 PM CST

Member of Chicago Police Department claims he was discriminated against at UIC Law

A lieutenant with the Chicago Police Department recently filed a state court lawsuit against the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, alleging he was harassed and discriminated against for being white.

Feb 17, 2022 1:44 PM CST

Pretrial risk-assessment tools should only be used if they’re transparent and unbiased, warns ABA House

The ABA House of Delegates passed a resolution Monday urging governmental entities to refrain from using pretrial risk-assessment tools unless “the data supporting the risk assessment is transparent, publicly disclosed and validated to demonstrate the absence of conscious or unconscious racial, ethnic or other demographic, geographic or socioeconomic bias."

Feb 14, 2022 2:58 PM CST

Manhattan DA walks back prosecution policies criticized as too lenient

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York City on Friday reversed parts of a Jan. 3 memo that directed prosecutors to avoid seeking jail time for some robberies, assaults and gun crimes.

Feb 7, 2022 10:48 AM CST

‘Father of Miranda’ Yale Kamisar dies at 92

Yale Kamisar, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School who influenced landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the rights of criminal defendants, has died at age 92.

Feb 7, 2022 9:23 AM CST

Lawyer Michael Avenatti is convicted of stealing money from Stormy Daniels

Jurors in Manhattan, New York City, convicted lawyer Michael Avenatti on Friday for diverting to himself nearly $300,000 in book-deal payments intended for his client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Feb 4, 2022 4:37 PM CST

Judge gets suspension for shoving shackled defendant who cursed at him

A judge in Crawford County, Georgia, will receive a 30-day unpaid suspension and a reprimand for pushing a cursing, shackled defendant into a wall after a court hearing.

Feb 2, 2022 1:41 PM CST

New Tennessee law helped inmate leave death row; judge’s ruling creates possibility of parole

A former death row inmate in Tennessee will get a chance to seek parole as a result of a resentencing following prosecutors’ concession that he can’t be executed because of an intellectual disability.

Feb 2, 2022 9:07 AM CST

Can the true-crime genre help attorneys with their jury trials?

It’s good to be back. After my usual holiday break, I now find myself staring straight into the eyes of my fifth full year writing this column for the ABA Journal. It has been a privilege and an honor to have such a far-reaching platform for my thoughts on law and pop culture, and I look forward to continuing the content.

Jan 31, 2022 3:21 PM CST

Defendants should get initial appearance before judge within 24 hours, report says

How long can a person be held in jail before seeing a judge or an attorney? The U.S. Supreme Court has never answered that question, which means that some arrestees are thrust into a “terrifying procedural limbo,” according to a study on the “initial appearance crisis.”

Jan 21, 2022 2:58 PM CST

Impact of pretrial detention falls more heavily on minorities and low-income people, new report says

More than 60% of defendants are detained before trial because they can’t afford to post bail, according to a study finding that the impact falls most heavily on minorities and low-income people.

Jan 21, 2022 11:52 AM CST

New Mexico has 1/3rd the number of public defenders necessary to meet caseload, study finds

The Law Offices of the Public Defender of the State of New Mexico only has one-third of the full-time attorneys it needs to handle its adult criminal and juvenile caseloads, according to a joint study by the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense and Seattle-based accounting and consulting firm Moss Adams.

Jan 20, 2022 11:14 AM CST

Local police used fake DNA reports in bid to win confessions, state attorney general says

Police in Virginia Beach, Virginia, used fake DNA reports in an effort to get confessions, cooperation or convictions, according to outgoing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.

Jan 18, 2022 9:22 AM CST

Top Baltimore prosecutor is indicted for allegedly lying to get money for Florida home purchases

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was indicted Thursday for allegedly committing perjury and filing false mortgage applications to buy two homes in Florida.

Jan 14, 2022 10:26 AM CST