Criminal Justice

Must Hunter Biden’s indictment be dismissed after presidential pardon? Special counsel doesn’t think so

The special counsel’s office is opposing motions to dismiss the tax-fraud and gun indictments against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, arguing that a presidential pardon does not require it.

Dec 3, 2024 12:48 PM CST

Lawyer convicted of tampering with corpse has law license revoked at her request

A Florida lawyer who pleaded guilty to tampering with a corpse of a woman killed in Dallas has had her license revoked at her request.

Dec 2, 2024 3:34 PM CST

Amid worry about Trump, calls for career Justice Dept. staff to stay

Attorney General Merrick Garland and top Justice Department officials are encouraging career staffers to remain in their jobs through the next administration, stressing that institutional knowledge is important as new leaders take hold, according to people familiar with those conversations

Dec 2, 2024 2:30 PM CST

With Hunter pardon, Biden joins short list of presidents who absolved family

While controversy over presidential pardons has a long history—from George Washington absolving instigators of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1795 to Gerald Ford pardoning Richard M. Nixon after the Watergate scandal forced his resignation—few have used the constitutionally vested power to pardon family members.

Dec 2, 2024 11:25 AM CST

Lawyer mailed feces to federal judges, GOP politicians, ethics complaint says; he blamed his ‘rage’ on racism

An Ohio lawyer on inactive status is accused of violating disciplinary rules by mailing human feces to federal judges and politicians along with messages accusing them of racism and kowtowing to President-elect Donald Trump.

Nov 27, 2024 11:09 AM CST

In ‘stunning fall from grace,’ med-mal lawyer is convicted of trying to extort medical system for $25M

A medical-malpractice lawyer once regarded as a top plaintiff’s attorney in Maryland was convicted of attempted extortion Friday, a day after a federal judge found him in contempt and ordered his detention overnight for violating court orders while representing himself.

Nov 27, 2024 8:50 AM CST

Presumed vindictiveness of increased sentence imposed by federal judge requires do-over, 4th Circuit says

A federal judge who increased a sentence of probation by six years after a drug defendant’s successful sentencing appeal will have to try again, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Nov 26, 2024 9:19 AM CST

Florida judge cites crosswording juror in mistrial grant; ‘I didn’t know it was a bad thing,’ juror says

A Florida judge granted a defense motion for a mistrial in a murder case involving the Home Depot after a juror worked on crossword puzzles during testimony and deliberations.

Nov 26, 2024 8:45 AM CST

Who is the real Roger Pearce? Successful lawyer used assumed name for more than 50 years

A successful land use and zoning attorney living in a $1.4 million condo with his wife in Seattle was sentenced last week to two years of probation for making a false statement when he sought to renew his passport.

Nov 25, 2024 2:38 PM CST

With D.C. case dismissed, Trump is no longer under federal indictment

A judge dismissed the federal election-obstruction charges against President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, ending a historic investigation that never went to trial but led to enduring changes in the legal landscape over a president’s immunity from prosecution.

Nov 25, 2024 1:15 PM CST

Trump plans to fire Jack Smith’s team, use DOJ to probe 2020 election

President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith to pursue two federal prosecutions against the former president, including career attorneys typically protected from political retribution, according to two individuals close to Trump’s transition. Trump is also planning to assemble investigative teams within the Justice Department to hunt for evidence in battleground states that fraud tainted the 2020 election, one of the people said.

Nov 25, 2024 12:15 PM CST

Obbligato: What They Don’t Teach You in Law School

Read the winner of the 2024 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction, written by Rita Radostitz, a former public defender who represents a detainee at Guantanamo Bay.

Nov 25, 2024 8:58 AM CST

‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’ documentary explores what drives true-crime junkies

While most true-crime documentaries focus on the actual misdeeds themselves, They Called Him Mostly Harmless, a 2024 documentary on Max, centers less on the death of a man ultimately identified as Vance Rodriguez and more on the internet sleuths interested in the case.

Nov 25, 2024 8:55 AM CST

Judge denies bid by former Duane Morris partner to stop his wife’s funeral

A Chicago judge on Wednesday denied a former Duane Morris partner’s emergency motion to stop his deceased wife’s parents from holding her funeral, so that he can obtain her remains.

Nov 21, 2024 10:51 AM CST

Illinois Supreme Court reverses actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Thursday that it had overturned the 2021 felony conviction of Jussie Smollett, a television actor who became even more of a household name five years ago after falsely reporting that he had been the victim of a violent hate crime.

Nov 21, 2024 10:30 AM CST