Public Defenders

Conviction Overturned Because of Lawyer-Bashing Tape

The Oregon Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a man who bashed his defense lawyer on a tape recording played at trial. The defendant, Roy Norman Knight, was convicted of sexually abusing his girlfriend’s teen daughter. Prosecutors played the tape to impeach Knight’s testimony about how much he wanted…

Dec 11, 2007 4:26 PM CST

Pay Cut for $2M Legal Aid Lawyers

Unlike their American counterparts, some British lawyers make a more-than-comfortable living as legal aid lawyers. Barristers reportedly can earn as much as a million pounds annually—that’s a little over $2 million in U.S. dollars—for defending complex criminal cases. But this cushy situation is about to change, as the Legal Services…

Dec 10, 2007 5:27 PM CST

No Jail Time for Loyola Law Prof Who Helped Client Find Counsel

A Louisiana appeals court has overturned a contempt finding by a state judge that would have required a law professor working with the Orleans Parish public defender’s office in New Orleans to serve a brief jail term and take a legal ethics course. Steve Singer, who is on leave from…

Dec 5, 2007 7:35 PM CST

Judge: Put Capital Appeals in Lower Calif. Courts; Lawyers: Pay Us More

In an effort to deal with a backlog of death penalty appeals and speed up the appellate process, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court is calling for a constitutional amendment to allow some of the appeals to be shifted to lower state courts. It now reportedly takes more…

Nov 21, 2007 7:57 PM CST

La. Criminal Defense Bar Draft Not a Hot Ticket for Lawyers

An attempt by a Louisiana judge to draft criminal defense lawyers to help out, on a pro bono basis, with a backlog of indigent cases was not an overwhelming success. Only 17 of the 33 lawyers notified last month that they should appear Friday in the courtroom of Orleans Parish…

Nov 19, 2007 7:52 PM CST

Lawyer Barred, Other Defense Issues as Khadr Military Trial Looms

As the terrorism trial by a U.S. military tribunal of a Canadian arrested in an Afghanistan battle at age 15 appears about to get under way, starting with an arraignment today, the defense is in apparent disarray. Dennis Edney, a Canadian attorney, is the lawyer chosen by Omar Khadr, now…

Nov 8, 2007 6:39 PM CST

O’Connor Backs PD Prosecutors

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is proposing a way to increase collegiality between public defenders and prosecutors: Put them in one office and make them occasionally switch sides, depending on the case. O’Connor said in remarks at a conference yesterday that if she had a magic wand, she…

Nov 8, 2007 2:24 PM CST

Beleaguered Ga. Judge Won’t Respond to Prosecutors’ Filing in Nichols Case

A respected Georgia judge under fire for requiring the state to pay defense costs it says it can’t afford in a complex capital murder trial won’t contest a state supreme court filing seeking to force him off the case. Instead, Superior Court Judge Hilton M. Fuller Jr. has sent a…

Nov 8, 2007 12:19 AM CST

GA Judge in Capital Defense Cost Maelstrom Lawyers Up

A Georgia judge who has become a lightning rod for criticism over the high cost of defending a death penalty case has now got his own counsel. Profiled in a recent New York Times article as judicial scapegoat for those seeking to blame someone for what it costs to represent…

Nov 6, 2007 8:03 PM CST

Prosecutor Seeks to Oust Judge in Courthouse Shooting Case

The Atlanta prosecutor who is pursuing charges against alleged courthouse gunman Brian Nichols is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to remove the judge who is presiding in the case. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. argues that Judge Hilton Fuller Jr. exceeded his authority in regard to lawyer funding…

Nov 5, 2007 4:14 PM CST

Controversial GA Judge a ‘Fool,’ Says Fellow Judge in E-mail

Judge Hilton Fuller is facing increasing criticism for his handling of attorney fees in the Georgia trial of a courthouse shooting suspect. And one of those complaining is a fellow judge. Fuller had halted the murder trial of Brian Nichols after his defense lawyers complained of unpaid legal bills and…

Nov 1, 2007 12:12 PM CDT

ABA Calls for National Execution Moratorium

After a three-year study on state capital punishment systems, the American Bar Association is calling for a nationwide moratorium on executions until an unfair and sometimes inaccurate application of the death penalty is corrected. “The death penalty system is rife with irregularity—supporting the need for a moratorium until states can…

Oct 29, 2007 9:51 AM CDT

GA Lawmakers Target Judge for High Defense Costs

A special legislative committee has been formed to investigate whether the Georgia judge overseeing the trial of a courthouse shooting suspect should be impeached because of spiraling defense costs. Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson set up the committee because he is angered about nearly $2 million already spent on the…

Oct 26, 2007 12:01 PM CDT

Ex-Legal Aid Lawyer Pleads in Voyeur Case

Former Legal Aid Society lawyer Peter Barta has pleaded guilty to spying on colleagues changing clothes in an office. Under the plea agreement, an unlawful surveillance charge will be dismissed and the case sealed if Barta completes a year of counseling, the New York Daily News reports. The Queens lawyer…

Oct 25, 2007 12:23 PM CDT

Sex Joke No Laughing Matter for Judge, Defender

A Miami judge and public defender have apologized for joking in court last week about a case involving a man accused of having sex with a teenage boy. The mea culpa came from Judge Jeffrey Levenson, 50, and Assistant Public Defender Brian Reidy, 49, who was docked a week of…

Oct 24, 2007 7:50 PM CDT