Criminal Procedure

Prosecutorial ethics are getting a fresh look from criminal justice reformers

With the renewed focus on criminal justice reform, ethics complaints involving prosecutors are making the news and taking center stage. Prosecutorial decision-making is often less scrutinized or punished by courts and professional conduct boards. But the stakes are high in criminal cases, and ethics experts say whether they are intentional or negligent, there isn’t enough focus on behind-the-scenes actions in DA offices.

Dec 1, 2021 12:50 AM CST

Imposter lawyer who filed document in Cosby case wins reversal of his conviction

A federal appeals court has overturned the false statements conviction of a man who posed as a lawyer to file a document in civil litigation between actor Bill Cosby and sexual assault accuser Andrea Constand.

Nov 30, 2021 3:08 PM CST

White supremacists found liable for civil conspiracy to commit violence at ‘Unite the Right’ rally

Jurors found organizers of the violent 2017 “Unite the Right” rally liable under Virginia law Tuesday for a civil conspiracy to commit violence and intimidation.

Nov 23, 2021 4:04 PM CST

Jurors acquit Kyle Rittenhouse, siding with his self-defense claim

Jurors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, acquitted 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges Friday in the shootings of three men, two of them fatally, during racial justice demonstrations in August 2020.

Nov 19, 2021 1:48 PM CST

Did privilege help law partner’s son avoid prison in sexual attacks? Lawyer for victim thinks so

A judge in Niagara County, New York, sentenced a 20-year-old man to eight years of probation Tuesday following his guilty plea to third-degree rape and attempted sexual abuse.

Nov 19, 2021 10:15 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Steven Bannon indicted for contempt of Congress; DC Circuit gives Trump initial records victory

Steve Bannon is indicted for contempt of Congress Steve Bannon, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday for contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Bannon is charged with…

Nov 12, 2021 3:43 PM CST

In ‘rocky prosecution’ of Kyle Rittenhouse, assistant DA angers judge, tackles difficult case

A prosecutor in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse angered the judge Wednesday when he referred to the teenager’s silence after his arrest and then asked questions related to a video in which Rittenhouse discussed wanting to shoot shoplifters.

Nov 12, 2021 10:24 AM CST

Laws said to encourage vigilante justice still in effect in most states

Laws that permit citizens arrests or entitle citizens to stand their ground have been blamed for vigilante shootings and tragic consequences. Yet many states still have them on the books.

Nov 9, 2021 3:40 PM CST

Weekly Briefs: ‘Copyright troll’ lawyer is suspended; law grad who married Japanese princess fails bar

‘Copyright troll’ lawyer is suspended in NY A New York appeals court has suspended a lawyer once deemed a “copyright troll” because of the large number of copyright complaints that he filed on behalf of photographers. The Appellate Division’s Second Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court suspended lawyer…

Nov 5, 2021 3:16 PM CDT

Defense lawyer in Idaho murder case accuses Mormon church counsel of communicating with client

A recent motion filed by the court-appointed lawyer for Lori Daybell—who is charged in Idaho with first-degree murder in the deaths of her children and has been found not fit to stand trial—claims she had a phone conversation with one of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' outside counsel, who advised they could help, but instead shared what she said with the prosecuting attorney.

Nov 2, 2021 11:49 AM CDT

Former prisoner at CIA black sites is first person to describe torture there in open court

An Al-Qaida courier testified Thursday about beatings, waterboarding and other abuses that he endured at former CIA black sites for three years beginning in 2003.

Oct 29, 2021 12:32 PM CDT

A great criminal defense attorney is a zealot, despite its negative connotations

The defense attorney-client relationship is like no other. It’s a tie that binds two very different people caught up in a high stakes battle—over money, custody, liability, freedom—even life. A client tells defense counsel sacred secrets carried to the grave.

Oct 27, 2021 3:30 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS continues to hold the line on qualified immunity

Two unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decisions on Oct. 18 show the justices are continuing to broadly interpret qualified immunity to limit suits against government officials, especially police officers. Perhaps this will help fuel pressure on Congress to enact a law to revise qualified immunity, but so far such efforts have passed the House of Representatives and stalled in the Senate.

Oct 27, 2021 10:18 AM CDT

2 lawyers plead guilty in Molotov cocktail attack on cop car; prosecutors seek terrorism enhancement

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 10-year sentence for two lawyers who pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single charge in a Molotov cocktail attack on an empty New York City police car during racial justice protests.

Oct 21, 2021 11:28 AM CDT

Qualified immunity doesn’t protect officer who killed man threatening only himself, Sotomayor says

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented Monday, when the high court declined to consider whether qualified immunity should protect a police officer who fatally shot a man holding a gun to his own temple.

Oct 5, 2021 1:22 PM CDT