Sentencing/Post Conviction

Judge says he’d consider giving reduced sentence to rapist if he paid $150K to victim

A Louisiana judge told a convicted rapist Thursday that he would consider reducing his sentence if he paid $150,000 to the victim.

Nov 11, 2019 10:27 AM CST

Disbarred partner said he stole over $2M to cover necessities; singer James Taylor is paying victims

Singer James Taylor and his wife will contribute $1.7 million to repay money stolen by a disbarred law firm partner who was sentenced to 68 months in prison Friday.

Nov 5, 2019 11:19 AM CST

More than 450 inmates are released in this state in largest one-day commutation in US history

More than 450 inmates were released in Oklahoma on Monday as a result of a law that retroactively applies lower sentences for drug possession and low-level property crimes that voters approved in 2016.

Nov 5, 2019 9:59 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Judge tosses suit against Mueller; PTAB appointment process struck down

Judge tosses suit against Mueller U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle of Washington, D.C., has tossed a lawsuit against former special counsel Robert Mueller by Jerome Corsi, a conservative author and conspiracy theorist. Corsi claimed Mueller tried to coerce him to testify falsely that he acted as a liaison between WikiLeaks…

Nov 1, 2019 4:35 PM CDT

Federal judge’s emails lead 7th Circuit to vacate prison sentence

A federal judge who sentenced a drug defendant to more than 17 years in prison should have recused himself because his email communications with the U.S. attorney’s office “invited doubt about his impartiality,” a federal appeals court has ruled.

Oct 31, 2019 2:54 PM CDT

Woman gets 22 years in prison after showing up at her lawyer’s office with a loaded shotgun

A 78-year-old woman found guilty of raising a loaded shotgun toward her former lawyer before he wrestled it away from her has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Oct 28, 2019 10:22 AM CDT

Prisons and jails use artificial intelligence to monitor inmate phone calls

Artificial intelligence is helping prisons and jails monitor inmate phone calls to learn of criminal activity and potential suicides.

Oct 25, 2019 10:22 AM CDT

As machines play a greater role in criminal justice, third-party auditing and oversight is essential

Technology is playing a bigger role in investigations, arrests and prosecutions, so mass conviction reviews will be more common. This creates a hidden but substantial human and monetary cost to hardware and software adoption in the criminal justice system.

Oct 22, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Judge rules Florida felons can still vote despite inability to pay fees and fines

A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the state can’t bar felons from voting because they are unable to pay fines and other costs.

Oct 21, 2019 1:00 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge died from fentanyl and heroin; $117M pelvic mesh settlement announced

Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary to pay $117M settlement in multistate pelvic mesh case Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon have agreed to pay nearly $117 million to settle claims over alleged deceptive marketing for transvaginal surgical mesh devices. Forty-one states and Washington, D.C., will share in the settlement.…

Oct 18, 2019 4:11 PM CDT