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Colorado justices struggle with juror in Black defendant’s trial who ‘didn’t want diversity’
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court this week struggled with the fate of a Black defendant’s convictions in an overwhelmingly White jurisdiction, after a trial judge refused to dismiss a juror who admitted he “didn’t want diversity.” Although the justices have previously addressed cases involving people of color who were removed from juries because of […]
‘Plenty of punishment’ judge faces ethics hearing for reversing rape conviction after questioning sentence
An Illinois judge is facing a disciplinary hearing this week that focuses on his decision to reverse a sexual assault conviction that he imposed in a bench trial allegedly because he did not want to impose a mandatory prison sentence. Judge Robert K. Adrian of Adams County, Illinois, said the sexual assault defendant had received […]
Lawyer accused of destroying child-porn images on client’s cellphone
A lawyer in Sumner County, Tennessee, is facing criminal charges after she was accused of deleting child pornography from her client’s cellphone. Criminal defense lawyer Jocelyn Mims has been charged with tampering with evidence, making false reports to an officer and intentionally failing to report child sex abuse, the Tennessean reports in a story noted by the Legal […]
Lawyer pleads guilty to paying federal court clerk for client referrals
A criminal defense lawyer has pleaded guilty to four charges after he was accused of paying tens of thousands of dollars to a federal clerk in the Southern District of New York for referring potential clients. Lawyer Telesforo “Ted” Del Valle Jr. of Leonia, New Jersey, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of conspiracy, bribery, […]
Why did township lawyer blurt out ‘white power’ at meeting? He had no explanation
A Michigan lawyer who represented Mt. Morris Township since the 1990s has resigned after he raised his fist at a meeting and blurted out “white power.” Lawyer Leo P. Carey acknowledged that he made the remark at the Nov. 27 meeting but said he isn’t a racist, Jolena Sims, the township supervisor, told MLive.com. He offered […]
Ohio prosecutors broke rules to win convictions and got away with it
Ernie Haynes never imagined that taking care of his three grandsons after his daughter’s drug overdose death would turn him into a felon at the hands of a longtime Ohio prosecutor known to sidestep the rules intended to protect a defendant’s rights in criminal trials. A week after his daughter died in December 2017, the […]
Jail populations are bouncing back to near pre-pandemic levels
In the first year of the pandemic, the number of people in prisons dropped by 15% in 2020, and jail populations fell by 25% by the summer of 2020, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. As of midyear 2022, the BJS found that local jails held 4% more people than in 2021 and 21% more than […]
Giuliani is ordered to pay $148 million to Georgia election workers he defamed
Former Trump campaign attorney Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay a staggering $148 million to two former Georgia election workers he spread lies about following the 2020 election. The decision on Friday comes at the end of a week-long federal civil trial in Washington, D.C., where an eight-person jury heard from the workers — […]
Majority of Smithsonian’s Collection of Human Brain Specimens Was ‘Gathered Without Consent,’ Report Finds
Most of the human brain specimens held by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History were gathered without consent, according to a new report from the Washington Post. “The vast majority of the remains appear to have been gathered without consent from the individuals or their families, by researchers preying on people who were hospitalized, poor, or […]