Sentencing/Post Conviction

‘Scooter’ Libby Drops Obstruction Appeal

Former top vice presidential aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby has dropped his appeal of his conviction earlier this year in the CIA leak case. Libby, who was convicted in March of lying and obstructing an investigation into the leaked identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, can no longer afford to…

Dec 10, 2007 4:42 PM CST

Michael Vick Gets 23-Month Sentence for Dogfighting Conspiracy

Updated: NFL superstar Michael Vick has been sentenced to 23 months in prison for his federal guilty plea to conspiracy in connection with a dogfighting operation. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback had faced a maximum of five years in prison, CNN.com reports in an article on today’s sentence. Vick and three…

Dec 10, 2007 4:18 PM CST

U.S. Supreme Court Eases Way for Sentencing Departures

Updated: Judges may conclude that federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine are too harsh given the disparity with recommended sentences for powder cocaine, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today. The 7-2 ruling rejects a lower court view that the sentencing guidelines for cocaine are in effect mandatory, SCOTUSblog reports. The…

Dec 10, 2007 3:24 PM CST

48-Day Jail Term for Kiefer Sutherland

Actor Kiefer Sutherland was sentenced today to a 48-day jail term after pleading no contest to a drunken-driving charge. He must begin serving the sentence before March 30, reports the Associated Press. However, the star of the popular 24 Fox television series apparently plans to serve at least some of…

Dec 6, 2007 1:46 AM CST

Jurists Defend Mass. Judge in Murder Case

There is a growing groundswell of support by colleagues for a Massachusetts judge who has become a target for national election-year political criticism after agreeing to release a convicted killer who allegedly then murdered two newlyweds in Washington state. Although the anguish of survivors of the two claimed victims of…

Dec 5, 2007 10:06 PM CST

U.K. Lawyer at Heart of Heroin Ring

A corrupt lawyer at the heart of a multimillion-dollar British heroin ring reportedly is headed to jail for his role in orchestrating bogus alibis and fraudulent evidence to help associates avoid criminal conviction. Solicitor Naveen Sagar, 32, will be jailed today, after pleading guilty to burglary, fraud, contempt of court…

Dec 5, 2007 9:21 PM CST

Man Could Get 35 Years in ‘Arborcide’

A 60-year-old Nevada man who was convicted by a jury last month of slaughtering trees worth some $250,000 in one what attorney termed an “arborcide” reportedly faces up to 35 years in prison. However, a lawyer for Douglas Hoffman plans to ask for probation for his client, who is presently…

Dec 4, 2007 6:23 PM CST

State-Funded Prisoner Religion Program Tossed

A federal appeals court has ruled that a state-financed program that seeks to rehabilitate prisoners through Christian ideals violates the establishment clause. Americans United for Separation of Church and State had challenged the program run by InnerChange, a group affiliated with Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship that operates in six states,…

Dec 4, 2007 5:55 PM CST

Supreme Court Says It Won’t ‘Recast’ Career Criminal Statute

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a defendant challenging a sentencing enhancement for being an armed career criminal, SCOTUSblog reports. The defendant, James Logan, who was convicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm, was given a 15-year sentence under the enhancement provision because he had three…

Dec 4, 2007 3:23 PM CST

Judge Axes Verdict Due to Racist Remarks

A federal judge in Utah has thrown out a guilty verdict in an assault case against an American Indian defendant because of jurors’ racist remarks during deliberations. Rather than focusing on the allegations against defendant Kerry Dean Benally, who was accused of assaulting a federal officer investigating a report that…

Dec 3, 2007 8:37 PM CST

Teacher Pardoned for Teddy Bear Naming

Updated: Sudan’s president has pardoned the British teacher convicted of insulting religion for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Gillian Gibbons, sentenced to 15 days in jail, has been released and transferred to the British embassy and is preparing for her trip home, the Daily Express reports.…

Dec 3, 2007 1:08 PM CST

Getting Out—and Staying Out

Support builds for bill to help former inmates avoid return trips to prison

Dec 1, 2007 4:44 PM CST

A DNA First: Woman’s Murder Conviction Overturned

A judge has set aside the conviction of a New York woman in the first case of a woman convicted of murder to be freed based on DNA evidence. Lynn DeJac was released yesterday after more than 13 years in prison, Newsday reports. Howver, prosecutors plan to retry DeJac for…

Nov 29, 2007 6:24 PM CST

Ex-Judge Who Wrote Privilege Opinion Backs PD Who Told of Client Confession

The former chief judge of the North Carolina Supreme Court hopes an opinion he wrote on attorney-client privilege will help his new client—a North Carolina man convicted of murder partly based on now-discredited evidence. Former chief judge I. Beverly Lake Jr. is one of the lawyers representing Lee Wayne Hunt,…

Nov 28, 2007 1:11 PM CST

Youth Accepts Plea Deal in Teen Sex Case

A Georgia teen who received a mandatory 10-year sentence for consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl will be released from prison within days under a plea deal. A Georgia judge agreed to the deal for Joshua Widner yesterday, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. Widner had taken his case…

Nov 27, 2007 4:14 PM CST