Judge who caused ‘national spectacle’ by challenging public defender to fistfight loses his job

Rejecting a recommended 120-day suspension and $50,000 fine for a Florida judge who challenged a public defender to a fistfight last year, the state supreme court on Thursday removed him from office. Calling the June 2014 incident in Brevard County Judge John Murphy’s courtroom a “national spectacle” that was “fundamentally…

Dec 17, 2015 1:05 PM CST

Defense lawyer is charged with child neglect after toddler son is found alone in courthouse

A Florida criminal defense lawyer was charged with child neglect for allegedly leaving her toddler son alone in an Osceola County courthouse break room on Thursday. Authorities said Alicia Warner, 33, initially told deputies the two-year-old boy was alone only about seven minutes, after the two were separated when elevator…

Dec 11, 2015 3:25 PM CST

Judge dresses down public defender for ‘warehouse’ remark

Using the word “warehouse” in a bond court hearing got an assistant public defender dressed down at length by a Florida judge on Tuesday. At issue was a $1,000 bond set for possession of flakka, a synthetic drug. Initially, Broward County Judge John “Jay” Hurley was going to release defendant…

Dec 8, 2015 2:45 PM CST

Release of police info draws suspicion, but it helps some defense attorneys

Dec 1, 2015 2:10 AM CST

Judge who called state position a ‘lie from the pit of hell’ faces ethics charges

A Florida judge is facing ethics charges after calling the state position in an appeal seeking his recusal a “lie from the pit of hell.” Judge John Patrick Contini’s troubles began when he offered email advice to an assistant public defender and then criticized prosecutors who sought his recusal, calling…

Nov 30, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Prosecutors and PDs will share in $18M equal-pay settlement

Lawyers and sheriff’s deputies in Fulton County, Georgia, will share an $18 million settlement in eight lawsuits claiming they were paid less than others in the same civil-service category. The money will be paid to 343 county employees, including public defenders and assistant district attorneys, report the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and…

Nov 24, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Judge orders murder retrial, cites ‘overwhelmed’ PD who had 88 felony cases

A Maryland judge has cited the “untenable” caseload of a public defender in overturning the murder conviction of a defendant the PD represented at trial after juggling 88 felony cases in the previous six months. Judge Michael Mason of Montgomery County ordered the retrial of Raminder Kaur, convicted in the…

Nov 23, 2015 10:40 AM CST

PD’s office says it can’t accept any more cases; ethics prof sees triage system

Citing an overload of cases, public defenders in New Orleans say they need a moratorium on any new case assignments. In a “bombshell request,” the Orleans Parish Public Defenders office asked Judge Arthur Hunter on Friday to stop assigning it any new cases, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The office…

Nov 23, 2015 9:34 AM CST

PD pays $300 to appeal $25 fine for vibrating cellphone

An assistant public defender in Griffin, Georgia, says some people may have thought she was ridiculous to pay $300 to appeal a judge’s $25 fine for a vibrating phone. But Lauren Sprayberry says she’s been vindicated after the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 16 the judge didn’t give Sprayberry…

Nov 23, 2015 8:27 AM CST

As execution looms, appellate lawyers fight client’s effort to get new counsel and seek clemency

Scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for setting a house fire that killed three children almost 15 years ago, a 36-year-old death row inmate in Texas has effectively been abandoned by his court-appointed appellate counsel, some observers say. Raphael Deon Holiday sent letter after letter from prison seeking to find…

Nov 17, 2015 2:00 PM CST

Free courthouse ‘boutique’ helps defendants look their best at trial

A little-known room in a Texas criminal courthouse helps defendants put their best-dressed foot forward at trial. Stocked with donated clothes, some with designer labels, the so-called “boutique” has been run by the Dallas County Public Defender’s office for about 12 years. It outfits those who don’t have family to…

Nov 11, 2015 12:50 PM CST

Public defender suit says she was terrorized by serial stalker assigned as a client

A man with a history of stalking charges who had previously targeted a female public defender for unwanted attention was nonetheless assigned to another female public defender in a new criminal case, a lawsuit says. That resulted in months of traumatizing harassment that will likely affect her for the rest…

Nov 5, 2015 11:00 AM CST

Proposed law would ban federal prosecutors from reading emails between prison inmates and attorneys

Federal officials in Brooklyn, New York, say it isn’t practical to segregate inmate emails to their legal counsel from ordinary email. So the feds have solved the confidentiality problem by saying there isn’t any: Prosecutors have the right to review the electronic communications, although in-person attorney-client conversations and hard-copy letters…

Oct 29, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Turn off security cameras in interview area of new $230M courthouse, federal judge says

A federal judge has ordered those in charge of a new $230 million courthouse in Staten Island, New York, to turn off video cameras that had been running in attorney-client interview rooms. Although the cameras do not record what is said during pre-arraignment meetings and were intended to enhance security,…

Oct 21, 2015 3:05 PM CDT

County’s judges and public defenders are sued over alleged inadequate representation

Seven individuals have sued an Indiana county, contending that its public defender services are inadequate. Among other issues, the suit alleges, each Johnson County public defender is supervised by an individual judge, which compromises the public defenders’ independence, Courthouse News reports. Also at issue are what the suit describes as…

Oct 13, 2015 2:35 PM CDT