Evidence

Testimony: Hacker Says News Corp. Unit Hired Him

A computer hacker testified in a corporate-spying lawsuit Wednesday in California that a unit of News Corp. hired him to develop pirating software to penetrate a rival satellite service’s security system. Christopher Tarnovsky, who says his first $20,000 was paid in cash hidden in electronic devices mailed from Canada, denied…

Apr 24, 2008 11:43 AM CDT

Judge Says Dan Rather Can Subpoena CBS Investigator

Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather won a minor legal victory in a case in which he says he wants only the true story to come out about President Bush’s Vietnam-era military service. Rather is trying to achieve this in a $70 million suit against CBS and his former…

Apr 23, 2008 1:02 PM CDT

When Protective Orders Don’t Work, Satellite Monitoring May Control Abusers

It’s a sad and all-too-frequent story when an abuser, often male, violates a court protective order. Today, for instance, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that a woman found murdered yesterday had an order of protection against her husband. While he is reportedly not a suspect in that crime, he is…

Apr 22, 2008 11:27 PM CDT

Child Protection v. the Constitution: Did Removal of 437 Kids Violate Parents’ Rights?

Updated: As the state of Texas proceeds with DNA tests this week to try to determine exactly who parents and siblings are in a controversial custody case that, at last count, involved 437 children, lawyers for the families—as well as some observers—are expressing concern about possible violations of parents’ constitutional…

Apr 22, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

N.Y. Lawyer Sued for Defamation Over Letter He Wrote to Court

A Manhattan judge has refused to dismiss a defamation suit brought against a New York legal aid lawyer, because he wrote it as a friend of the court rather than as an attorney representing a client. Hence, the letter does not fall within the absolute privilege that applies to statements…

Apr 22, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

Anatomy of a Cold Case

More than nine years ago, a forensic anthropologist was called to a creek bed where hunters in Henry County, Ky., had just found the skeletal remains of a body. Handing up bone shards to other investigators, Emily Craig could see the victim had been shot in the head. Authorities got…

Apr 21, 2008 9:29 PM CDT

‘Dim-Witted Desperado’ Pleads in Craiglist Hit Man Case

A married Michigan woman who advertised on Craigslist for a hit man to murder her boyfriend’s wife has pleaded guilty to three federal charges in the murder-for-hire scheme. Three Californians who took note of Anne Marie Linscott’s “freelance” employment ad on Craiglist in November 2007 contacted authorities, Reuters reported, and…

Apr 21, 2008 3:42 PM CDT

Young Children Removed from Texas Ranch Not Abused, State’s Expert Says

Updated: In the second day of a massive 416-child custody hearing, at least one expert for the state of Texas testified today that there was no sign of abuse among the boys and younger girls removed from a ranch run by a polygamous sect. Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist, testified…

Apr 18, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

Court Lets Stand Ruling Overturning Shaken-Baby Conviction

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has refused to review a ruling that found new evidence has cast doubt on shaken-baby syndrome. The appellate ruling, issued in February, granted a new trial to former day care provider Audrey Edmunds, who was found guilty of reckless homicide in 1996 for the shaking death…

Apr 18, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

N.Y. Attorney General Probes Marketing of Auction-Rate Securities

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed information from 18 financial institutions about their sale and marketing of auction-rate securities. Cuomo wants to know what the Wall Street firms told consumers who bought the securities about the safety and liquidity of the investments, the Wall Street Journal reports. He…

Apr 18, 2008 11:28 AM CDT

Huge 416-Child Custody Hearing in Texas Ranch Raid Involves 350 Lawyers

Updated: A huge custody hearing began today concerning 416 children taken by Texas officials from a ranch operated by a renegade Mormon sect that reportedly promotes polygamy. It bogged down almost immediately as lawyers for the children demanded to see the evidence being introduced—three teenagers’ medical records. “State District Judge…

Apr 17, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

U.S. Plans to Collect DNA From Every Federal Arrestee

The U.S. government is planning to expand its DNA database by collecting samples from anyone arrested for a federal crime and from many foreigners detained by federal authorities. Currently, the federal government collects DNA only from those who are convicted of felonies. The new requirements would add an estimated 1.2…

Apr 17, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

Defense Builds Exact Replica of Cell, Site of Grisly Murder

A stage-set designer and his team of nine contractors worked for months in a Colorado warehouse, building what amounted to the most disturbing project of the designer’s career: an exact replica of a Florence Penitentiary cell in which inmate Rudy Sablan is accused of murdering Joey Estrella in 1999. Opening…

Apr 16, 2008 7:00 PM CDT

Merck Ghostwriters Behind Favorable Vioxx Articles

Documents unearthed in lawsuits against the painkiller Vioxx show the drug’s maker, Merck, wrote article drafts about the drug’s performance but found outside physicians to be listed as authors. Two studies published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association show the company apparently manipulated dozens of publications to…

Apr 16, 2008 11:52 AM CDT

Judge Nixes Plan to Drop Counsel Off Cliff in Cage Dangling from Crane

How far must a judge and jury go to hear the facts of a murder case? Dangling over the side of a cliff in a cage suspended from a crane, in order to view the scene of a claimed 1995 murder of a model allegedly thrown off a cliff by…

Apr 15, 2008 3:21 PM CDT