Get ready for the second Scott Peterson trial
The AP reports: Convicted killer Scott Peterson will be heading to trial again over the death of his pregnant wife, this time in civil court. The parents of Laci Peterson […]
Criminal Law
Criminalizing balloon sales
The AP reports: The California Senate on Thursday voted to ban helium-filled metallic balloons because they too frequently fly away and get tangled in electrical lines. That has caused hundreds […]
California Supreme Court allows prosecutors who help make movies and books off cases to remain on the case
The Sacramento Bee reports: The state’s high court ruled Monday that a Santa Barbara deputy district attorney who helped in the making of the movie “Alpha Dog” can stay on […]
Supreme Court upholds lethal injection
CNN reports: The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, upheld Kentucky’s use of lethal injection as a means of executing prisoners, ruling that the method — used in 35 states […]
U.S. Supreme Court ponders absolute immunity for prosecutors
The LA Times reports: Prosecutors have long been shielded from lawsuits brought by people who were wrongly convicted. Even if a defendant is later shown to be entirely innocent, the […]
Italian high court rules that women wearing jeans cannot be victims of rape
The BBC news reports: Italy’s highest court has ruled that a woman wearing jeans cannot be raped. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Rome on Wednesday overturned a rape conviction, […]
Ex-Sheriff Carona seeks to whittle down charges
The LA Times reports: Attorneys for former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge to dismiss most of the charges against him, alleging federal […]
Wiretaps show ex-Sheriff Carona plotting testimony
The Sacramento Bee reports: Former Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona was caught on a wiretap plotting with a former top assistant to lie to a grand jury investigating him for […]
Federal law enforcement routinely seeking real time cellphone data to track targets
The Washington Post reports: Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and […]
Supreme Court to review constitutionality of lethal injections
AP News reports: The US Supreme Court announced Tuesday it would consider the constitutionality of lethal injections, which is used in almost all executions in the United States. The court […]
Federal terror prosecution may re-define \”danger to community\” standard for bail hearings
The Sacramento Bee reports: Should a California man who poses little threat to his neighbors remain behind bars because of his alleged ties to a terrorist group that threatens lives […]
McTiernan seeks to avoid guilty plea in wiretaps case
The Sacramento Bee reports: John McTiernan, director of such hit movies as “Die Hard” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” requested a withdrawal Monday of his guilty plea in a Hollywood […]