Michael Sampson, 41, succeeded in turning a minor driving with a suspended license into a charge of threatening a judge and intimidating a witness — all without uttering a word.
Continue reading “Motion to the Court: Kansas Man Charged With Threatening Judge and Witness”
Category: Courts
Donald Giles would appear to have the trifecta of mental incompetence arguments against execution. He is a paranoid schizophrenic with an IQ of 61 and a history of suicide attempts and depression. However, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Martin McDonald has ruled that Giles, 41, may be put to death if the jury so rules in his trial for the 2003 murder and robbery of Charles Goodlett.
Continue reading “Court: Paranoid Schizophrenic with IQ of 61 and Manic Depression is Eligible for Execution”
There has been a ruling in the Arizona case where an officer, Officer Adam Stoddard with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is clearly shown on this videotape reading and then swiping the confidential papers of defense attorney Joanne Cuccia in court. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe found against Stoddard and ordered him to either apologize or report to jail — a remarkably light sentence. However, his boss is Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has said that his officer will defy the order.
Continue reading “Court Rules Against Arizona Deputy on Swiping Lawyer’s Note — Arpaio To Defy Court”
It was the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland that declared “Sentence first! Verdict afterwards.” However, President Barack Obama appears to have taken a lesson our two from her majesty. Today, President Obama assured Americans that they should not be offended by trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in federal court because he will be convicted and executed. I will be discussing this story tonight on MSNBC Countdown.
Continue reading “Sentence First, Verdict Afterwards: Obama Assures Public KSM Will Be Convicted and Executed”
This afternoon, the Plaintiffs in the World Bank/IMF protest case filed a notice with the Court of the receipt of an affidavit in the case from a police detective, who contradicts the sworn testimony of former D.C. (and current Philadelphia) Police Chief Charles Ramsey. As lead counsel in one of the two cases (with my colleague Daniel Schwartz of Bryan Cave), I am limited in what I can say on the case. However, to reduce calls to my office, I am posting the filing below.
Continue reading “Detective Offers Conflicting Testimony in World Bank Case”
We have been following the expansion of defamation cases linked to Internet sites, here, and here. We now have an interesting Twitter case involving rock star Courtney Love, who lost her bid recently to dismiss a libel action filed by designer Dawn Simorangkir. Simorangkir claims in the lawsuit that Love “has embarked in what is nothing short of an obsessive and delusional crusade to terrorize and destroy” her.
Continue reading “Tweet Torts: Rocker Courtney Love Sued by Designer For Defamation on Twitter”
Conservative commentators continue their war on the Constitution this week with increasingly shrill rhetoric of how our laws and civil liberties are endangering us. Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, however, achieved a remarkable low by declaring “I don’t care about the Constitution” on air in a discussion of Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try five detainees in New York.
Continue reading “O’Reilly: “I Don’t Care About The Constitution””
Here is today’s column in USA Today on the continuing trend toward shaming or creative punishments.
Continue reading “Shaming Undermines Justice”
Necessity defenses in tort and criminal law are always somewhat controversial and rarely successful in criminal prosecutions. However, Lisa Marie Leprowse has secured a reversal of her DUI conviction from the Montana Supreme Court, which ruled that the trial court erred in not allowing her to argue that she drove drunk to avoid a fight.
Continue reading “The DUI Necessity Defense: Montana Supreme Court Rules That Woman Can Claim Necessity Defense in Driving Drunk to Avoid Fight”
We previously followed the investigation into the three deaths in a sweat lodge run by “Spiritual Warrior” James Arthur Ray at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Arizona. Now, the Lakota Sioux Tribe is suing, demanding the prosecution of Ray under the 1869 Treaty of Fr. Laramie for appropriating a Native American ritual.
Continue reading “Indian Tribe Sues Self-Help Author Over Use of Sweat Lodge”
Paul Clarke, 27, a veteran, thought that he was doing the right thing when he found a shotgun in his garden. He took the shotgun to the police station and was immediately arrested for possession of a firearm without permit and criminally charged — an offense that brings five years imprisonment. Prosecutor Brian Stalk insisted that this is a strict liability offense and his intent to help police does not matter — he is a menace to society as defined under the criminal code.
There is a disturbing trial being held in Zambia where the news editor of The Post, Chansa Kabwela, sent photos of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park without assistance to highlight the costs of a nursing strike and poor government policies. She was right. The officials, including Zambia’s President, Rupiah Banda, were horrified. They immediately arrested Kabwela for distributing pornography.
Continue reading “Journalist Charged with Pornography for Sending Pictures of Woman in Unassisted Child Birth to Government Officials”
Here is today’s column from the Washington Post on the benefits of a new type of “good-faith” defense. While “religious convictions” are usually a reference to personal faith, it turns out that it has a distinct and disturbing meaning for criminal sentencing.
Continue reading ““Religious Convictions”: When Children Die, Religion Is No Defense”
The former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson received a sentence of 13 years today — the longest term ever imposed on a congressman convicted of bribery. However, it was significantly below the 27 years sought by the Justice Department, which also failed in its attempt to have Jefferson immediately incarcerated. Instead, Jefferson, 62, will be allowed to remain free pending his appeals.
Continue reading “Ex-Rep. William Jefferson Given 13-Year Sentence”
Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered actual trials for five 9/11 suspects rather than military tribunals. The decision places the United States squarely back on the road of the rule of law in giving due process even to our most hated defendants. The five defendants include 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The other four are Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali. However, this courageous act was diminished by an inexplicable decision of Holder to order five other defendants — including USS Cole suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri — be tried in a military tribunal. I discussed this decision on this segment of MSNBC Countdown.
Continue reading “9-11 Defendants to be Given Real Trials as Holder Stands on Principle — Sort Of”