Evidence

Suit Spurs Gov. to Quit E-mail

New Jersey’s governor won’t be using e-mail following a lawsuit seeking messages he exchanged with a state union president. Gov. Jon Corzine claims the messages are shielded by executive privilege, but he intends to avoid the possibility of future discovery disputes, the New York Times reports. “We’ll go back to…

Jul 12, 2007 1:46 PM CDT

Top CA Court: Spector Atty Must Testify

A former lawyer for Phil Spector must testify in the music producer’s ongoing murder trial, the California Supreme Court determined today. By refusing to hear Sara Caplan’s appeal of a ruling by the trial judge holding her in contempt for not testifying, the court effectively is affirming the lower court’s…

Jul 12, 2007 1:50 AM CDT

FBI Discusses Patriot Powers

A meeting with the FBI director yesterday did little to sway privacy advocates from their resolve to curb agents’ power to obtain certain records without a court order. FBI Director Robert Mueller spent two hours with critics to discuss new guidelines governing National Security Letters, used by his agency to…

Jul 10, 2007 8:26 PM CDT

Judge to Mob Trial Lawyer: Chill Blogging

It isn’t just defendants and jurors who have been pushing their luck lately by blogging about their case while it is at trial. An attorney representing an alleged mobster in an ongoing Chicago trial has reportedly been told in chambers by the judge to stop discussing his views of the…

Jul 10, 2007 1:06 AM CDT

Fearful Witnesses Protect Gangs

Police fighting gang crimes in Trenton, N.J., are stymied by witnesses who are too afraid to come forward. At least 20 people were present during a gang gunfight more than a year ago that injured an innocent bystander: 7-year-old Tajahnique Lee who was struck in the face by a bullet…

Jul 9, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

Alleged Madam May Reveal Records

The alleged D.C. madam has offered the media phone records that could identify customers after a federal judge’s decision to allow their release. Deborah Jeane Palfrey originally wanted to charge for the records, but now says they are available for free through her Web site, according to Reuters. “Jeane has…

Jul 6, 2007 4:30 PM CDT

Funding Innocence

Get-out-of-jail-free cards come easily in the game of Monopoly, though by chance.

Jul 1, 2007 7:27 PM CDT

White House Subpoenaed

The Senate Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed the White House, the vice president’s office and the Justice Department, setting up a potential constitutional conflict. The committee seeks documents to learn more about the legal justification for the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program as well as the telecommunications companies that aided…

Jun 28, 2007 2:36 PM CDT

Spector Lawyer to Appeal to Top Court Judge’s Testify-or-Do-Time Ruling

A former defense lawyer for music producer and murder defendant Phil Spector will appeal to the California Supreme Court a trial judge ruling that she must testify in his case or face jail time for contempt. To accommodate Sara Caplan’s plan to do so, Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler…

Jun 27, 2007 2:36 AM CDT

Did Missouri Execute an Innocent Man?

A dozen years after Larry Griffin was executed, despite his continuing proclaimations of innocence, by the state of Missouri, there are major unanswered questions about whether he was actually guilty of the 1980 drive-by shooting he was convicted of committing. After a University of Michigan law professor brought to light…

Jun 26, 2007 8:35 PM CDT

U-Haul Sanctioned for Lost Evidence

A Los Angeles Times investigation has found that U-Haul lost, altered or tossed out truck and trailer parts sought by injured customers in almost a dozen lawsuits since 1989. Judges have entered judgments against U-Haul in at least two cases for such misconduct. U-Haul told the newspaper that the few…

Jun 26, 2007 8:12 PM CDT

Dog DNA Inconclusive in Atlanta Murders

The attorney for Wayne Williams says DNA tests of dog hairs recovered from child victims in Atlanta are inconclusive. Williams was convicted of two of 29 Atlanta slayings that took place over a two-year span, ending in 1981. Prosecutors linked Williams to the crimes by forensic evidence such as blood…

Jun 26, 2007 1:23 PM CDT

Appeal of Contempt Ruling to No Avail; Will Phil Spector Lawyer Go to Jail?

A former defense lawyer for music producer and murder defendant Phil Spector may soon be headed for the slam. Sara Caplan had been held in contempt by the trial judge for refusing to testify about missing evidence she allegedly saw an expert collect from the murder scene, at Spector’s home…

Jun 26, 2007 1:17 AM CDT

Siren Suit Ruling Sounds Research Alarm

A lawsuit against a maker of fire-truck sirens provides a look at a common practice: academics who conduct research while acting as paid litigation consultants. The practice can produce conflicts of interest, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) observes in a story about researcher William Clark of Washington University medical…

Jun 22, 2007 5:46 PM CDT

Home Search: Did Family See TV Show?

Authorities conducting a multiple murder investigation searched a suburban Chicago home yesterday to see if the family watched a recent episode of the television show “Law and Order.” Sources told the Chicago Tribune that Illinois State Police are trying to find out if the family had seen the May 8…

Jun 21, 2007 11:52 PM CDT