Sentencing/Post Conviction

Size Doesn’t Matter: Conviction, Lawyer’s Conduct OK’d in Exposure Case

A Texas doctor who sought to overturn his indecent exposure conviction, with the help of a well-known attorney and an unusual appellate argument supported by expert testimony, has lost the legal battle. “The court rejected the argument by high-profile attorney Dick DeGuerin and his associate Neal Davis that the doctor…

Aug 20, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

Parole Hearing Transcript Gives Details of John Lennon’s Murder

In his parole hearing earlier this month, the convicted murderer of John Lennon describes in his own words what happened on Dec. 8, 1980. Asked by the New York parole board to confirm that he called out Lennon’s name as the ex-Beatle and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned to their…

Aug 19, 2008 8:01 PM CDT

Teacher ID’d After Interpol Public Plea Gets 39 Months in Child Sex Abuse Case

A Canadian schoolteacher has been sentenced to 39 months in a child sex abuse case in Thailand that captured international attention over authorities’ use of a high-tech investigative technique and an unprecedented Internet appeal for public help in tracking down a seemingly anonymous suspect. Christopher Paul Neil’s face had been”swirled”…

Aug 16, 2008 12:13 AM CDT

Once Cleveland’s Top Municipal Lawyer, Cornell Carter May Lose Law License

Convicted in a felony case concerning the misuse of a former employer’s credit card, the onetime director of the municipal law department in Cleveland agreed to a deal that would save his law license. Cornell Carter, 41, entered a one-year diversion program that could have resulted in the case being…

Aug 15, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

Texas Judge is Convicted of Perjury, Gets 30-Day Jail Term in Groping Case

A Texas judge accused of fondling a temporary worker and exposing himself to her has been convicted of perjuring himself in a related investigation. A Kleberg County jury found Willacy County Judge Eliseo Barnhart guilty yesterday of two counts of aggravated perjury, and the judge in the case sentenced the…

Aug 15, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

Ex-Prisoner Puts Tenn. Federal Judge Appointment on Hold

More than a year ago, President George W. Bush nominated Gustavus Puryear IV to be a federal district judge in Nashville, Tenn. His nomination is supported by Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, which ordinarily would put him on a fast track to confirmation. But a former…

Aug 14, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

Overseer Moves to Seize $8B in California Funds for Prison Health Care

A court-appointed overseer for health care in California prisons has asked a federal judge to turn over $8 billion in state funds. J. Clark Kelso said the money is needed to meet minimum constitutional standards for prison health care, the Los Angeles Times reports. He said U.S. District Judge Thelton…

Aug 14, 2008 2:02 PM CDT

2-Month Sentence for Lawyer on Sidelines of Milberg Kickbacks Case

Although prosecutors sought probation for a former name partner at a California entertainment law boutique, a federal judge gave Richard Purtich a two-month sentence yesterday for helping another law firm secretly pay kickbacks to a mutual client. Purtich, while working at King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner, helped the New York…

Aug 12, 2008 9:59 PM CDT

John Lennon’s Killer Denied Parole

Mark David Chapman, the convicted killer of John Lennon, will remain behind bars at least another two years. He has just been denied parole for the 5th time. In a one-page decision, the parole board sides with Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, who said she and Lennon’s two sons would never…

Aug 12, 2008 6:35 PM CDT

Judicial Independence in Kuwait: Death Penalty for Royal Family Member

Reportedly caught in his home in Kuwait with 22 pounds of cocaine and 165 pounds of hashish, Talal Nasser al Sabah was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death. The capital sentence is highly unusual, in this case, because Talal is a member of the Persian Gulf country’s royal…

Aug 12, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

N.Y. Lawyer Sentenced to 3 Years in Belarus Espionage Case

Jailed in Belarus since his arrival in March, a New York lawyer with health problems has now been tried behind closed doors and sentenced to three years in prison. Emmanuel Zeltser was convicted of industrial espionage and carrying forged documents, after other charges were dropped, reports Reuters. His secretary, Vladlena…

Aug 11, 2008 6:47 PM CDT

ABA Urges Presentence Info Be Shared

Prosecutors and defense counsel should have access to material gathered by federal probation officers during their preparation of presentence reports, according to a resolution passed by the ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates this afternoon. The resolution calls on Congress to revise Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure…

Aug 11, 2008 5:51 PM CDT

Hamdan Sentenced to Only 5.5 Years By Military Tribunal, Could Get Out in 5 Months

Prosecutors sought a prison term of at least 30 years for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the Osama bin Laden chauffeur convicted this week of some, but not all, of the terrorism support charges against him. However, a jury of six military officers sentenced him to five-and-a-half years today. With credit for…

Aug 7, 2008 7:46 PM CDT

National Century Execs Jailed, Ordered to Repay $2,384,147,105.09

Down to the penny, a federal judge in Ohio wanted former executives of one of the nation’s largest private fraud cases to know how much damage they caused. U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley on Wednesday sentenced Donald Ayers, the former chief operating officer of National Century Financial Enterprises, to 15…

Aug 7, 2008 1:38 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Gets 30 Months for Stealing $250K from Clients

Some 30 friends and family members attended a Tuesday sentencing hearing for a former Billings, Mont., attorney, supporting the man they knew as a devoted family man and warmhearted community volunteer. But Pierre “Pete” Bacheller, 54, also stole more than $250,000 from clients, including a disabled woman for whom he…

Aug 6, 2008 8:35 PM CDT