Criminal Procedure

15 years of inaction on inmate’s habeas petition is ‘shockingly dysfunctional malfeasance,’ judge says

A South Dakota judge said Tuesday that 15 years of inaction on an inmate’s habeas petition was breaking his heart. Judge Doug Hoffman of the Second Judicial Circuit spoke at a court hearing that discussed how David Allen Lee’s habeas corpus appeal fell through the cracks, the Sioux Falls Argus…

Mar 27, 2019 2:13 PM CDT

Philadelphia DA plans to end ‘mass supervision’ by cutting length of probation and parole

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Thursday that his office will seek lower terms of probation and parole when making sentencing recommendations and negotiating plea deals. Krasner already has sought shorter sentences, charged crimes at a lower level, and reduced reliance on cash bail for low-level offenses. Now he hopes…

Mar 22, 2019 4:54 PM CDT

Justice Thomas breaks 3-year silence in oral arguments

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas surprised courtroom observers when he asked a question during oral arguments Wednesday in a case alleging repeated prosecutor bias in jury selection. Thomas asked about the race of jurors eliminated by the defense, report the Washington Post, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters…

Mar 20, 2019 3:03 PM CDT

District attorney says testing rape kits is ‘our moral imperative’

In less than four years, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s national rape kit testing program has led to 186 new arrests and 64 new convictions, including 47 felony sexual assault convictions. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. also announced that more than 55,000 rape kits have been tested in 32…

Mar 14, 2019 3:42 PM CDT

‘Proven Innocent’ proves stale but prompts a discussion about lawyers with criminal histories

I previously wrote about how and why Marvel’s Daredevil isn’t a good role model for defense attorneys. To my surprise, I received quite a bit of backlash. The majority of complaints and negative comments circled around the fact that Daredevil, as a comic book character, isn’t meant to be a “role model” for attorneys. Many readers took offense to my use of a comic book character to equate the real-life tensions and contradictions defense attorneys face.

Mar 14, 2019 8:58 AM CDT

Manafort charged in New York state as he’s sentenced to more prison time in second federal case

Paul Manafort was sentenced to an additional 3½ years in prison in a federal conspiracy case Wednesday. When combined with a prior federal sentence he received for bank and tax fraud, his total sentence will amount to 7½ years in prison.

Mar 13, 2019 1:52 PM CDT

‘Epic mishap’ doesn’t justify dismissal of charges against ‘Real Housewives’ star’s son, judge rules

Criminal Justice

Mar 12, 2019 11:26 AM CDT

Lawyer arrested on intimidation charge after allegedly writing ‘This nasty creature is a known snitch’ on Facebook

A Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer is being held without bail after her arrest Tuesday for allegedly making threats on Facebook in posts that discussed a “snitch” and used a rat emoji. Alexis Plunkett, 38, is charged with bribing or intimidating a witness and dissuading or preventing a person from…

Mar 7, 2019 11:01 AM CST

Former BigLaw attorney sentenced to prison for stealing $600K from church

A lawyer living in Wilmington, Delaware, has been sentenced to prison for stealing $600,000 from a historic Harlem church in a real estate transaction. John Shasanmi was sentenced Friday to 1½ to 4½ years in prison, the New York Daily News reports. He had pleaded guilty in January to two…

Mar 4, 2019 3:02 PM CST

SCOTUS rules 6-3 for inmate on ineffective assistance; dissent implies Gideon was wrongly decided

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh joined with Supreme Court liberals on Wednesday in ruling for an Idaho inmate who claimed ineffective assistance by his lawyer. The court ruled 6-3 for Gilberto Garza Jr., who waived his right to appeal in two…

Feb 27, 2019 1:09 PM CST

Innocence Project sues museum for access to archives on ‘tragically flawed’ bite-mark evidence

The Innocence Project has sued the federal government’s National Museum of Health and Medicine for denying it access to archival information on the history of bite-mark analysis. The Feb. 20 suit, filed in federal court in New York City, says access to information on the “tragically flawed forensic science” could…

Feb 21, 2019 1:35 PM CST

Houston police will mostly end no-knock warrants after fatal drug raid, police chief says

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Monday that the police department will mostly end no-knock search warrants after two people were killed and five officers were wounded in a drug raid last month. “The no-knock warrants are going to go away like leaded gasoline in this city,” Acevedo said during…

Feb 21, 2019 7:00 AM CST

Supreme Court deals blow against civil forfeiture in ruling for owner of seized Land Rover

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Eighth Amendment's ban on excessive fines applies to the states in a decision that could curb state seizure of property from criminal suspects.

Feb 20, 2019 11:47 AM CST

Former state justice gets 2-year prison sentence; he used government credit card to buy gas

Former Justice Allen H. Loughry II of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has been sentenced to two years in prison for a conviction mostly stemming from his use of a government credit card to buy gas for personal travel. Senior U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. of…

Feb 15, 2019 1:55 PM CST

Lottery scammer nabbed after trying to persuade former FBI and CIA director to give him $50K

A telephone scammer was sentenced to 71 months in prison last Friday after trying to persuade former FBI and CIA director William Webster to give him $50,000 to collect purported lottery winnings. The scammer had told Webster and his wife that his name was David Morgan, he was head of…

Feb 13, 2019 1:39 PM CST