Criminal Procedure

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

Drunken taxi incident leads to lawyer’s suspension; she was a former radio host

A New Orleans lawyer has been suspended from law practice after convictions stemming from alleged drunken sexual advances on a taxi driver. The Louisiana Supreme Court suspended lawyer Jennifer Gaubert from law practice for a year and a day in a decision on Monday, report the New Orleans Advocate and…

Feb 12, 2019 12:17 PM CST

Can Justin Fairfax be impeached? Virginia official is also a BigLaw partner; firm probes sexual assault claims

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a partner at Morrison & Foerster, has taken a leave of absence from the firm as it investigates claims by two women that he sexually assaulted them. Morrison & Foerster chairman Larren Nashelsky told the National Law Journal that Fairfax is cooperating in the investigation.…

Feb 11, 2019 9:30 AM CST

Federal prosecutor moves to block nonprofit from opening nation’s first safe injection facility

Plans for the nation’s first safe injection facility hit a snag earlier this week, when Philadelphia’s top prosecutor filed a federal complaint to keep it from opening its doors. U.S. Attorney William McSwain, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in the complaint filed Feb. 5 that in providing spaces…

Feb 8, 2019 5:10 PM CST

NYPD threatens Google with legal action to stop pinpointing police activity through app

In a letter sent to Google last weekend, the New York Police Department threatened legal action if the technology company ignored demands to remove a feature on its Waze app that allows users to post locations of police checkpoints. Ann Prunty, the acting deputy commissioner for legal matters, wrote in…

Feb 8, 2019 3:23 PM CST

True criminal justice reform requires better, and smarter, data

If the promise of artificial intelligence is to make systems smarter and more efficient, there may be no better candidate than the U.S. criminal justice system. Mass incarceration runs rampant, jailing people costs tens of billions of dollars per year, and those returning to society reoffend at a rate of…

Feb 8, 2019 12:55 PM CST

ABA president urges Montana lawmakers to rethink driver’s license suspension in sentencing

In a letter to the Montana House Judiciary Committee, ABA President Bob Carlson expressed his support for a bill that would eliminate the suspension of a driver’s license or privilege as a sentencing option for nonpayment of fines, fees or restitution. He told the committee, which plans to have a…

Feb 8, 2019 11:57 AM CST

SCOTUS allows execution of Muslim prisoner to go forward without his imam present in 5-4 decision

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court granted a request on Thursday night by the Alabama Office of the Attorney General to let it proceed with the execution of a Muslim inmate who won a stay Wednesday after he claimed that the prison violated his religious rights by refusing to allow his…

Feb 7, 2019 1:15 PM CST

Police can go after peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions, appeals court rules

Updated: An appeals court in Florida has ruled that selling cryptocurrency directly to another person is money transmission under state law, overturning a trial judge.

Feb 7, 2019 7:00 AM CST

Ex-attorney on the run after failure to report to jail; his mother was found dead

A disbarred Georgia attorney facing 15 years in jail for defrauding clients out of their settlement checks remains on the run after police suspect that he stabbed his 77-year-old mother to death over the weekend. Richard Merritt, a former personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer from Smyrna, Georgia, was ordered…

Feb 6, 2019 2:04 PM CST