Criminal Justice

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ among winners of 2024 ABA Silver Gavel Awards

Killers of the Flower Moon, a film by Martin Scorsese, is among the winners of the 2024 ABA Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts.

May 22, 2024 12:40 PM CDT

Motley Rice has filed ‘barrage of claims’ for drug cartel victims; is there an endgame?

The Motley Rice law firm has filed a “barrage of claims” in federal courts for families of people killed by the Juarez cartel, arguing that their clients are entitled to a share of assets seized from drug dealers, Bloomberg Law reports.

May 22, 2024 10:47 AM CDT

Bookkeeper’s vacation was her undoing, civil suit says; discovery leads to plea in $2.5M theft

A bookkeeper for a New Orleans law firm pleaded guilty to wire fraud last week after she was accused of embezzling $2.5 million from her employer.

May 22, 2024 8:38 AM CDT

Trump says he ‘would actually’ consider Texas AG Ken Paxton for US attorney general

Former President Donald Trump said this weekend he “would actually” consider Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. attorney general if he returns to the White House.

May 21, 2024 3:44 PM CDT

Amal Clooney was among the experts who advised on the International Criminal Court arrest warrants

Amal Clooney on Monday said she helped weigh the evidence that led to the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

May 21, 2024 11:55 AM CDT

Judge in Trump hush-money trial received letter of caution for making $35 in political contributions

The judge presiding in former President Donald Trump’s hush-money election-interference trial received a written letter of caution last year because of $35 in Democratic political donations that he made in 2020.

May 20, 2024 2:18 PM CDT

Another state approves death penalty for child rape

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill last week that authorizes the death penalty for aggravated rape of a child by an adult.

May 16, 2024 2:14 PM CDT

Driver won’t obey judge’s order to apologize for his command to police officer

An Alabama man ticketed for speeding acknowledges telling the police officer standing in front of his car to “get your ass out of the way.” But he is refusing to obey a judge’s order to write an apology letter.

May 16, 2024 12:29 PM CDT

Legal community ‘bamboozled’ by woman who allegedly posed as attorney for years

A former paralegal is under investigation for the unlicensed practice of law for allegedly holding herself out as an attorney in Chatham County, Georgia, for a period of years.

May 15, 2024 3:08 PM CDT

Judge used N-word when questioning whether prosecutors were too aggressive, transcript shows

Updated: A Black judge in Louisiana used the N-word and complained about a “piss-poor" resolution of a case while chastising prosecutors during an April hearing, a transcript indicates.

May 15, 2024 11:19 AM CDT

Former BigLaw partner failed to pay taxes on about $3.4M in income, plea agreement says

A former partner at Husch Blackwell and Dykema Gossett has reached an agreement to plead guilty to failing to pay taxes on about $3.4 million in income.

May 15, 2024 9:11 AM CDT

Prosecutors excluded Jewish people from juries in one California county for decades, review suggests

Several prosecutors in Alameda County, California, excluded Jewish people from juries in past decades, according to the Alameda County district attorney.

May 14, 2024 3:16 PM CDT

Clinical law prof who worked for social justice killed in triple murder

An associate clinical professor at the Mississippi College School of Law died over the weekend in a fatal shooting that also claimed the lives of her mother and sister.

May 14, 2024 1:59 PM CDT

Justice Department warns against threats to voting rights, election workers

Attorney General Merrick Garland warned Monday of mounting violent threats against election workers across the country, and vowed that the Justice Department will be “relentless” in prosecuting those who threaten the democratic process.

May 14, 2024 12:50 PM CDT

Lawyer’s true-crime book explores how he defended a neurodivergent client charged with murder

Updated: In 1997, in the small town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia, a reclusive man was accused of keeping his wife captive in his home and murdering her. A local politician-turned-defense attorney took on the case.

May 13, 2024 4:00 PM CDT