Evidence

Weekly Briefs: Judge lifts Trump sanction, for now; $997M settlement offered in condo collapse

Judge willing to accept $110K, cooperation to end Trump sanction A trial-level judge in New York lifted a $10,000 daily civil contempt sanction against former President Donald Trump on Wednesday. But Judge Arthur Engoron warned that the sanction could be reinstated if Trump doesn’t pay $110,000 in accumulated fines and…

May 13, 2022 2:37 PM CDT

California bill would discourage secrecy in court orders and settlements

A bill that cleared California’s Senate Judiciary Committee last month would discourage secrecy about safety hazards discovered in litigation.

May 12, 2022 8:31 AM CDT

Technical problems during remote trial violated parent’s due process rights, top state court says

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ordered a new trial for a mother whose faulty cellphone service caused her to miss much of remote proceeding to terminate her parental rights.

May 10, 2022 11:05 AM CDT

Former paralegal in federal prosecution office is convicted for outing witnesses

A former paralegal at the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey was convicted Tuesday based on accusations that she outed cooperating witnesses against her gang member son.

Apr 29, 2022 2:06 PM CDT

Weekly Briefs: SCOTUS will hear inmate’s appeal of DNA testing; prosecutor accidentally shoots himself

Supreme Court will hear death row inmate’s DNA test bid The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the case of a Texas death row inmate who said DNA testing would establish his innocence. After inmate Rodney Reed lost a bid in state court to obtain the test, he…

Apr 29, 2022 12:31 PM CDT

What is in the audio that led prosecutors to charge dentist in law prof’s murder?

Defense lawyers for a dentist and his former girlfriend claim that a newly enhanced secret recording exonerates their clients in the July 2014 murder of law professor Dan Markel at his Tallahassee, Florida, home.

Apr 26, 2022 11:07 AM CDT

Execution stayed for Texas woman who confessed in toddler’s death after 100 denials

The top criminal court in Texas has stayed the execution of Melissa Elizabeth Lucio, who confessed to the murder of her 2-year-old daughter after repeated denials during an hourslong interrogation.

Apr 25, 2022 3:26 PM CDT

Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him $10K per day in fight over business documents

A state court judge in New York City has held former President Donald Trump in civil contempt and ordered him to pay $10,000 per day until he turns over subpoenaed documents or takes other steps to show that they don't exist.

Apr 25, 2022 1:11 PM CDT

Judge won’t toss $13B suit against Baker Donelson and insurer for alleged spying on litigant

A state court judge in Georgia has refused to toss a $13 billion lawsuit alleging that Baker Donelsen and American Family Insurance conspired to spy on a litigant with illegally placed electronic devices.

Apr 20, 2022 3:52 PM CDT

Google’s ‘privileged’ email labeling, said to prevent lawsuit disclosure, was ‘eyebrow raising,’ judge says

Google’s alleged effort to shield emails from lawsuit disclosure through labeling was “eyebrow raising” but probably not sanctionable, a federal judge said Friday.

Apr 11, 2022 1:37 PM CDT

New York attorney general asks court to hold Trump in civil contempt, fine him $10K per day

New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked a state court judge to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt and fine him $10,000 per day until he turns over subpoenaed documents in her civil probe of his business.

Apr 7, 2022 2:44 PM CDT

Prosecutors in this city are ‘leaving in droves;’ what’s to blame?

Prosecutors in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City are increasingly leaving their jobs as they struggle with higher workloads attributed to new discovery laws in New York.

Apr 5, 2022 1:36 PM CDT

SCOTUS should not restrict counsel’s investigations in death penalty cases, ABA says

In an amicus brief filed Monday, the ABA urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reaffirm that counsel representing habeas petitioners should be able to investigate new evidence without first proving that the evidence will provide relief to their clients.

Apr 5, 2022 9:34 AM CDT

Duped: New book explores what makes people confess to crimes they didn’t commit

Hanging on a wall in Saul Kassin’s office at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City are photos of 28 people who confessed to crimes they didn’t commit. He periodically updates this collection, which he calls his “wall of faces,” as more false confessions come to light. Kassin has written a new book exploring this phenomenon, Duped: Why Innocent People Confess and Why We Believe Their Confessions.

Apr 1, 2022 1:40 AM CDT

Trump and law prof likely ‘dishonestly conspired’ to block election vote count, judge says

A federal judge in California said Monday it is “more likely than not” that a former Chapman University law professor and former President Donald Trump “dishonestly conspired” to obstruct Congress in its certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

Mar 28, 2022 3:00 PM CDT