Criminal Procedure

Sept. 11 defense lawyer, winner of ABA Journal’s 2024 Ross Writing Contest, recognizes humanity of reviled clients

Updated: A former public defender who represents a detainee at Guantanamo Bay is the winner of the 2024 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Jul 9, 2024 11:08 AM CDT

Lawyer freed pending appeal of Jan. 6 conviction because of Supreme Court decision

A U.S. Supreme Court decision on the scope of an obstruction statute has led a judge to order the early release of a Georgia lawyer convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

Jul 3, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS term reveals deeply divided justices frustrated with one another

At times, some have referred to the Supreme Court as “nine scorpions in a bottle.” That metaphor seems especially appropriate this year, though I would describe them as “nine angry scorpions in a bottle.” There is a strong sense that it is a deeply divided court. There were a total of 59 opinions, and 23 were 6-3 and another five were 5-4.

Jul 3, 2024 8:44 AM CDT

Trump’s NY hush-money sentencing postponed due to immunity ruling

Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush money case on Tuesday was pushed back to September, as his lawyers seek to persuade the trial judge that his conviction should be tossed out after a Supreme Court ruling that presidents have immunity for official acts.

Jul 2, 2024 2:05 PM CDT

Top elected justices are twice as likely to affirm death penalty in election years, 3-state study finds

Politics is apparently affecting the fate of people caught up in the criminal justice system, according to a study by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Jul 2, 2024 9:03 AM CDT

Supreme Court says prosecutors improperly charged hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters

Federal prosecutors improperly charged hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants with obstruction, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday, upending many cases against rioters who disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Jun 28, 2024 10:44 AM CDT

Judge hears challenge to appointment, funding of special counsel in Trump documents case

A federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump heard arguments Friday on whether U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland had constitutional authority to appoint special counsel Jack Smith.

Jun 24, 2024 3:19 PM CDT

Netflix’s true-crime documentary about woman stalking man flows like book you can’t put down

It’s rare to find a true-crime documentary that is equal parts entertaining, educational and polished to the point of resembling something you’d see on the silver screen. Netflix’s new documentary Lover, Stalker, Killer meets those criteria, though, all the while finding a way to fit an incredibly engaging narrative into…

Jun 20, 2024 1:25 PM CDT

Justice Department rejects contempt case against attorney general

Justice Department officials said Friday that the agency will not pursue contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland that the Republican-run House had voted for this week.

Jun 14, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

Appeals court upholds negligent homicide conviction for encouraging suicide by electronic means

A defendant living in Indiana who encouraged a Tennessee woman in online conversations to kill herself for his sexual pleasure can be found guilty of criminally negligent homicide, a Tennessee appeals court has ruled.

Jun 12, 2024 11:32 AM CDT

Hunter Biden convicted of lying during gun purchase

President Biden’s son Hunter was convicted Tuesday of lying on gun-purchasing paperwork and unlawfully possessing a gun.

Jun 11, 2024 10:35 AM CDT

Judge Aileen Cannon tosses another curveball in the Trump cases

A fleeting question Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas posed to Donald Trump’s lawyer during oral arguments in the Trump immunity case in late April may have been a harbinger. “Did you, in this litigation, challenge the appointment of special counsel?” Thomas asked.

Jun 10, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

Sept. 11 defense lawyer, winner of ABA Journal’s 2024 Ross Writing Contest, recognizes humanity of reviled clients

Lawyer freed pending appeal of Jan. 6 conviction because of Supreme Court decision

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS term reveals deeply divided justices frustrated with one another

Trump’s NY hush-money sentencing postponed due to immunity ruling

Top elected justices are twice as likely to affirm death penalty in election years, 3-state study finds

Supreme Court says prosecutors improperly charged hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters

Judge hears challenge to appointment, funding of special counsel in Trump documents case

Netflix’s true-crime documentary about woman stalking man flows like book you can’t put down

Justice Department rejects contempt case against attorney general

Appeals court upholds negligent homicide conviction for encouraging suicide by electronic means

Hunter Biden convicted of lying during gun purchase

Judge Aileen Cannon tosses another curveball in the Trump cases

Judge’s revelation is new twist in saga of man driving in video during suspended-license hearing

This criminal defense lawyer’s big complaint about Netflix’s ‘Abducted in Plain Sight’ is the parents

Juror excused after mystery woman left bag of cash at her home and explained why

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