Criminal Justice

Al-Qaida Inspired Militants a New Threat

Six men accused of plotting to storm Fort Dix represent a new threat: militants inspired by but not linked to al-Qaida.

May 9, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Neighbors of Fort Dix Suspects Didn’t Suspect

Neighbors and others who associated with six Muslim men arrested in an alleged plot to kill as many American soldiers as possible at Fort Dix, New Jersey say they had no idea the six might be capable of such destruction. For instance, suspect Dritan Duka, 28, known as Tony, sold…

May 9, 2007 2:04 AM CDT

NJ May End Death Penalty, Other States Too?

In a move that could be influential elsewhere, New Jersey legislators will start considering this week whether to abolish the state’s death penalty and may well do so. If that happens, it will be the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976 that a state…

May 8, 2007 8:33 PM CDT

5 Years, and Still No R. Kelly Child-Porn Trial

Rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly still hasn’t been tried in the child pornography case brought against him five years ago. But time is on his side, experts say. The delay, although unusual, may well be helping Kelly in more ways than one. For example, he has had six best-selling…

May 8, 2007 5:32 PM CDT

Jury Mulls Whether Military Info Was Open Secret

A federal jury in Santa Ana, Calif., is deliberating the fate of an engineer accused of exporting or trying to export military information to China. After Chi Mak’s 2005 arrest, anonymous intelligence officials suggested the damage he inflicted on national security could rival that of John A. Walker Jr., accused…

May 8, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

Angry Lawyer Shows No Signs of Illness

A defense lawyer yelled and pounded his fist on the table, prompting a scolding yesterday from the judge presiding over the murder trial of Phil Spector. The trial had been delayed because of illness suffered by lawyer Bruce Cutler. But his voice was in fine form yesterday as he angrily…

May 8, 2007 5:01 PM CDT

Judge Accused of Pot Smoking Accepts Deal

Prosecutors will dismiss a marijuana charge against a Florida judge if he passes drug tests for the next six months. Judge Lawrence Korda was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession for smoking pot in a park. The Broward County judge apologized to his family and the courts as he finalized the…

May 8, 2007 4:48 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Judge Amazed at Publicity

The judge who sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail is hardworking, unassuming and not given to grandstanding for the cameras. Lawyers who argue cases in front of Judge Michael Sauer told the Los Angeles Times he wouldn’t change his judgment to make an example out of a celebrity.…

May 8, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

Fort Dix Terror Plot Alleged

Six New Jersey men have been arrested in a terror plot to storm Fort Dix with automatic weapons. The group allegedly scouted several locations before settling on Fort Dix, according to WNBC-TV in New York. One suspect allegedly said he was familiar with the base because his family owned a…

May 8, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

Star Witness Testifies in Hollinger Case

The government’s star witnesses took the stand yesterday in the trial of media magnate Conrad Black, accused of taking unauthorized payments as chairman of Hollinger International. F. David Radler was president and COO of Hollinger and is the only senior executive in the case who has pleaded guilty, according to…

May 8, 2007 2:45 PM CDT

Litigant Arrested for Courtroom Rifle Shot

Police say a civil litigant fired a rifle in a courtroom in Rockland County, N.Y., striking a window above the judge’s head before fleeing. A court officer and a police officer who was there for traffic court gave chase, firing one shot, the Journal News reports. A bystander in the…

May 8, 2007 2:31 PM CDT

Chevron to Plead in Oil-for-Food Scandal

Chevron is negotiating a plea deal that includes at least $25 million in fines and an acknowledgment that it should have known kickbacks were being paid to Saddam Hussein in an oil-for-food program. Chevron was one of five companies that bought oil from Iraq as part of a United Nations…

May 8, 2007 1:32 PM CDT

Should 9th U.S. Attorney Be Added to Fired List?

Congressional investigators reportedly are probing whether a ninth U.S. attorney should be included among the current list of eight top prosecutors who allegedly may have been fired as part of a political purge. Lawmakers are concerned that Todd Graves, a U.S. Attorney in Kansas City, Mo., may have been forced…

May 8, 2007 2:27 AM CDT

In Oregon First, Defendant Asked to Pay for Trial

In what reportedly may be the first time this has happened in Oregon, a prosecutor in Deschutes County is asking a convicted defendant to foot a substantial portion of the cost of taking his case to trial. The cost of trying John Michael Nilles for allegedly shaking a 16-month-old infant…

May 8, 2007 1:16 AM CDT

Private New Orleans Lawyers Defend Prisoners

In the latest chapter of an ongoing post-Katrina battle that has pitted a local prosecutor against a local judge, private lawyers are now being drafted to help deal with a backlog of unrepresented prisoners being held in New Orleans jails. Moments after Judge Arthur Hunter issued another ruling Monday calling…

May 8, 2007 12:48 AM CDT