Criminal Justice

21231 ABA Journal Criminal Justice articles.

8 Targets in Prison Masturbation Cases

Updated: A Florida inmate convicted this week of masturbating while alone in his jail cell is reportedly only one of eight targets—along with state taxpayers—of what a Miami Herald columnist describes as “a spectacular case of selective prosecution.” Given the likely prevalence of such commonplace behavior in state prisons (not…

Jul 27, 2007 8:09 PM CDT

Top HS Grad, 18, Jailed for Deportation

When Juan Gomez graduated from high school in Miami this year, everyone he knew expected great things of him. The 18-year-old reportedly is one of the most stellar students ever to attend Killian High—a popular football player, he also graduated among the top 20 in his 780-student class and earned…

Jul 27, 2007 7:44 PM CDT

Judge Sentences Nicole Richie to Jail

Following the pathway to California incarceration recently blazed by her reality TV co-star Paris Hilton, 25-year-old Nicole Richie is also headed to jail for a brief period. As part of a plea bargain, the daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie was sentenced to about four days in jail for driving…

Jul 27, 2007 7:07 PM CDT

Ex-DA Apologizes, More Fully

The former district attorney for Durham County, N.C., apologized yesterday as a judge considers whether to hold him in criminal contempt of court. Newsday says it was the first “complete and unqualified” apology by Michael Nifong. The disbarred DA acknowledged there was “no credible evidence” that three former Duke lacrosse…

Jul 27, 2007 2:35 PM CDT

Superstar QB Lawyers

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is assembling a superstar legal team to fight federal dogfighting charges. Vick pleaded not guilty yesterday. Vick’s legal team now includes William Martin, who leads the white-collar criminal defense practice at the Washington, D.C., office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, the American Lawyer reports. Martin…

Jul 27, 2007 2:03 PM CDT

4 Dems Seek Alleged AG Perjury Probe

Updated: Upping the ante in continuing Congressional hearings on issues ranging from the firings of nine U.S. attorneys to American policy on terrorism, four Senate Democrats have formally asked the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible perjury by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. “It has become…

Jul 27, 2007 1:53 AM CDT

Vick: I’m Not Guilty in Dogfighting Case

One of the nation’s marquee professional football players, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he has run an illegal dogfighting operation out of his property in rural Surry County, Va. since 2001. A federal magistrate in Richmond entered the plea today and released Vick…

Jul 27, 2007 12:35 AM CDT

Law Enforcement Gap on Tribal Lands

Native American women living on reservations are more than twice as likely to be raped as other women in the United States. One reason why is a quirk in the law governing Indian reservations that makes it impossible for tribal authorities to prosecute whites who commit crimes on their own…

Jul 26, 2007 11:23 PM CDT

7 Charged in WA Voter Reg Fraud Case

Seven people were charged today in what officials say is the biggest voter-registration fraud case ever brought in Washington state. The seven allegedly are responsible for submitting nearly 2,000 fictitious registrations, but the case reportedly involves lazy employees seeking to reduce their workload rather than an attempt to influence election…

Jul 26, 2007 10:18 PM CDT

Judge Voids Hazleton Immigration Law

In a ruling with national implications, a federal judge in Pennsylvania today struck down a controversial Hazleton municipal ordinance that would have imposed hefty fines on businesses for hiring illegal immigrants and landlords for renting to them. The ordinance was unconstitutional, ruled U.S. District Judge James M. Munley, because it…

Jul 26, 2007 9:38 PM CDT

Judge’s Loafers Lucky Fit for FL Inmate

Wearing the trial judge’s loafers may have been the final sartorial touch that helped a Florida inmate win an acquittal on cocaine trafficking charges. Michael Fernandez, 22, was mistakenly brought from jail to his Fort Lauderdale trial Tuesday in his jail uniform. Although officials sent for—and received—his street clothes before…

Jul 26, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

Record $100 Million for Unjust Conviction

A federal judge in Boston has awarded $100 million to four men unjustly convicted of murder in Massachusetts state court in 1968, reportedly the largest such judgment ever made. Ruling today, U.S. Dist. Judge Nancy Gertner found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had suppressed evidence that four men convicted…

Jul 26, 2007 8:06 PM CDT

Canine Bites Dog Doc, Owner Prosecuted

Sent to a canine psychologist for treatment of the “anxiety issues” that had led him to attack four children and two adults, a German Shepard promptly bit the professional, too. The dog will now be euthanized, but his 58-year-old British owner—who spent $20,000 pounds trying to help him become a…

Jul 26, 2007 7:51 PM CDT

Mortgage Bias Investigated

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether several mortgage lenders charged minorities higher rates than whites. Grace Chung Becker, a deputy assistant attorney general, told a House Financial Services subcommittee yesterday that the department opened the bias investigations based on lending data and referrals, Reuters reports. Federal Reserve data for…

Jul 26, 2007 6:33 PM CDT

More Backdating Charges

The government has announced charges against three more executives as its pursuit of options backdating offenses intensifies. ABAJournal.com noted one of the cases against the ex-CEO of KLA-Tencor in a post earlier today. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit yesterday against the former executive, Kenneth Schroeder, accusing…

Jul 26, 2007 6:11 PM CDT

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