No Line for Hilton’s Parents at Jail Visit

Despite worldwide publicity critical of the special treatment Paris Hilton has already received, those in charge of the hotel heiress’ California incarceration for probation violation reportedly continue to bend the rules on her behalf. Family members of fellow inmates complained that their visits were delayed by several hours or cut…

Jun 13, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Toxic Tap Water for Years at Marine Base

At least twenty-five years after toxins were found to have seeped into the water supply at a North Carolina marine base, the situation is still being studied. A report released Tuesday, as emotional testimony began at a hearing by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee by individuals who say they…

Jun 13, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

‘Mockingbird’ Legacy: Remembrance of Racist Times Past

Although it is a novel, rather than non-fiction, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” has, perhaps more than any other book, impressed into the minds of many a consciousness of the racist justice system that characterized the segregated American south for much of the last century. An instant best-seller after…

Jun 13, 2007 9:53 PM CDT

Ex-White House Counsel Miers Subpoenaed

The House Judiciary Committee will subpoena former White House counsel Harriet Miers to testify about her role in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. In the Senate, the Judiciary Committee will subpoena former political director Sara Taylor to testify. Both committees are also seeking relevant documents. The Washington Post learned…

Jun 13, 2007 5:15 PM CDT

E-Mail Debates Firing Response

E-mails released yesterday show that aides to President Bush helped determine the response to a controversy over the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. Then-White House counsel Harriet Miers and aides to political adviser Karl Rove debated the response in “spirited and sometimes angry e-mail exchanges,” the Washington Post reports. “These…

Jun 13, 2007 4:46 PM CDT

Durham DA Defends Rape Prosecution

Durham County, N.C., District Attorney Michael Nifong asserted yesterday he was only doing his duty in pursuing allegations against three Duke lacrosse players. Nifong’s attorney said his client had reasons to believe a crime was committed, the Washington Post reports. “It is not unethical to pursue what some may see…

Jun 13, 2007 4:37 PM CDT

Congress to Pass Gun Control Bill

Prompted by the recent carnage at Virginia Tech, in which an apparently mentally disturbed student shot and killed more than 30 people, Congress reportedly is likely to pass the first major federal gun control legislation in more than a decade. Drafted with the help of the National Rifle Association, a…

Jun 13, 2007 1:48 AM CDT

PD Who Helped Partner Tie Sham Knot Seeks Legal Immigration Alternative

A St. Louis public defender who chose to break the law rather than lose the man he loves admits he made a serious mistake. But the lack of legally recognized marriage alternatives for same-sex couples is what tempted him to transgress, Eric Affholter says. Now facing criminal fraud charges for…

Jun 13, 2007 12:48 AM CDT

Ethics Case Against Durham DA Begins

A North Carolina bar prosecutor said in opening arguments today that Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong intentionally concealed evidence in his prosecution of three Duke lacrosse players.

Nifong is accused of withholding DNA tests showing genetic material on a woman who said she had been raped did not match that of the defendants. He is also accused of lying to the media, knowing it could prejudice the investigation, and making false statements to judges about the case, the Washington Times reports.

Charges against the men have been dismissed. Nifong could be disbarred if he loses the ethics case. His attorney contends he committed no intentional ethics violations.

Jun 12, 2007 8:24 PM CDT

Ex-Felon on N.Y. Expert List

New York City will increase oversight of those on a roster of court-appointed experts following disclosures that a convicted felon on the list billed $61,000 for work never performed. Richard Gottfried was placed on the list as a mitigation expert, even though he was convicted of federal fraud charges in…

Jun 12, 2007 7:32 PM CDT

Laws Create Tribal Justice Gap

Federal laws and court precedents limit the authority of tribes to prosecute crimes, creating a “justice gap” on reservations, according to a Wall Street Journal report (sub. req.). Tribes can impose no more than a one-year sentence for any crime, and their jurisdiction is limited to American Indians. Federal prosecutors…

Jun 12, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

Zoloft Defense Loses in S.C.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a youth who claimed he was involuntarily intoxicated by antidepressants when he shot his grandparents. Christopher Pittman was sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting his grandparents while they slept and then setting fire to their home. He…

Jun 12, 2007 5:43 PM CDT

Legal Fees an Issue in Dynegy Case

The case of a former executive at Dynegy Inc. illustrates the importance of company-paid legal fees.

Former Dynegy accountant Jamie Olis maintains he didn’t have the resources to mount an adequate defense against criminal charges after his company ceased paying fees, according to a Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) account of his case. He claims then-U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby pressured the company to stop paying fees.

A civil jury in Texas agreed, ordering the energy company last month to pay $2.5 million in damages for wrongly holding back the fees.

But the verdict came too late for Olis, who is serving a six-year prison term for helping create sham financial transactions.

Jun 12, 2007 3:52 PM CDT

Court to Consider Cocaine Sentences

The U.S Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether federal judges may depart from guidelines to correct disparities in sentencing for crack and powder cocaine.

Many federal judges have been ignoring guidelines that impose heavier sentences for possession of crack cocaine, Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times reports. Federal appeals courts are divided on the issue.

The justices selected an appeal by prosecutors seeking a higher sentence for Derrick Kimbrough, a veteran from Norfolk, Va. The federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 19 to 22 years in prison for Kimbrough’s crime, possessing and distributing more than 50 grams of crack.

A federal judge called that sentence “ridiculous” and refused to impose it.

Jun 12, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

UN Court Convicts Serb Leader

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal today convicted the leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. Milan Martic was convicted of murder, torture and persecution for committing hundreds of murders as the leader of Serbs who rebelled in 1991, Associated Press reports. Presiding Judge…

Jun 12, 2007 2:31 PM CDT