News on Criminal Law

Senate votes to change cocaine sentencing rules

2010-03-17T18:45:12Z

<div id="subtitle">Senate votes to reduce penalty disparity between crack and powder cocaine</div><div><p>Legislation approved by the Senate on Wednesday would significantly reduce the disparity in sentences handed out to those convicted of crack and powder cocaine charges.</p><p>Currently, a person convicted of crack cocaine possession gets the same mandatory jail time as someone with 100 times the same quantity of powder cocaine. That 100-1 ratio has been pa...

Holder defends criminal trials for 9/11 suspects

2010-03-16T16:00:07Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday defended plans to prosecute some terrorism suspects in traditional criminal courts, urging lawmakers to avoid politicizing the decision and inflaming public fears.</p><p>Holder has faced fierce criticism for planning to try the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11, 2001, att...

Lehman report may point way for criminal charges

2010-03-12T16:00:47Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An explosive report by a court-appointed examiner on the collapse of Lehman Brothers may prove to be a roadmap for prosecutors to bring criminal cases against the investment bank's former executives, legal experts say.</p><p>The 2,200-page report could lay the groundwork for felony charges under securities...

More SF drug cases dropped amid crime lab scrutiny

2010-03-11T20:30:12Z

<div id="subtitle">SF prosecutors dismiss between 25-30 drug-related cases on Thursday amid crime lab scrutiny</div><div><p>More drug-related cases were dismissed in San Francisco courtrooms Thursday, bringing to nearly 60 the number of cases thrown out over the past two days because of accusations of evidence tampering in the city's crime lab.</p><p>Assistant Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows inmate Joshua Maxwell. Maxwell is scheduled to be executed Thursday, March 11, 2010, in Huntsville, Texas, for the robbery and fatal shooting of an o...

Letterman Suspect

2010-03-09T11:33:36Z

FILE - This Nov. 10, 2009 file photo shows Robert "Joe" Halderman outside Manhattan criminal court following his court appearance in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, File)

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lil wayne fan

2010-03-08T18:17:00Z

* LIL WAYNE BEGINS YEAR-LONG PRISON TERM Rapper LIL WAYNE has begun a year-long prison term after a string of delays postponed his sentencing for weapons possession, stemming from a 2007 arrest. The Lollipop hitmaker, real name Dwayne Carter, pleaded guilty last year (09) to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, and admitted having a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his tour bus. He was initially expected to be sentenced to a year behind bars last month (Feb10), but he was grante...

lil wayne

2010-03-08T18:16:49Z

People Lil Wayne

2010-03-08T00:46:20Z

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2009 file photo, Rapper Lil Wayne enters Manhattan criminal court in New York. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)

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Music-Rappers in Prison

2010-03-02T05:00:37Z

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2009 file photo, Rapper Lil Wayne enters Manhattan criminal court in New York. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)

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Texas Execution Affair

2010-02-24T10:32:54Z

FILE -This undated file photo originally provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Charles Hood. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the death sentence of the convicted killer Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, whose case has been dogged by admissions of an affai...

Texas agency tightens discharge rules for juvies

2010-02-23T14:46:07Z

<div id="subtitle">Texas commission tightens rules regarding release of mentally ill juvenile offenders</div><div><p>Mentally ill juvenile offenders released because they can't be treated in custody will now receive court-ordered psychiatric treatment under an emergency measure adopted by the Texas Youth Commission.</p><p>The commission's board...

Court upholds police warning of suspect rights

2010-02-23T09:45:23Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that police officers adequately warned a criminal suspect of his legal rights when they told him he had the right to speak to a lawyer before answering any questions.</p><p>By a 7-2 vote, the high court ruled the warning that police officers in Tampa, Florida<...

AG: Civilian court valuable weapon in terror case

2010-02-22T15:45:37Z

<div id="subtitle">AG Holder says criminal justice system was invaluable weapon in New York terrorism case</div><div><p>Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday the criminal justice system was invaluable in obtaining a guilty plea and intelligence from a terrorist who plotted to bomb New York's subways and that the criticism of using civilian courts for terror cases is ba...

U.S. presses for Rajaratnam criminal trial first

2010-02-22T09:12:30Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors argued on Tuesday that Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, indicted on fraud charges in a sprawling insider trading probe, would have an unfair advantage if a civil trial ...

Prosecutors presses for Rajaratnam criminal trial first

2010-02-22T09:12:43Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors argued on Tuesday that Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, indicted on fraud charges in a sprawling insider trading probe, would have an unfair advantage if a civil trial by market regulators went ahead before a criminal trial.&lt...

Obama plays bigger role in picking 9/11 trial site

2010-02-22T09:47:58Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is taking a more direct role in the decision where to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks, the White Hous...

New legal issue: Payment for child porn victims

2010-02-22T10:51:06Z

<div id="subtitle">Federal courts struggle with tough new question: Restitution for child porn victims</div><div><p>It's been more than a decade since "Amy," as she's known in court papers, was first sexually abused by her uncle. The abuse ended long ago and he's in prison, but the pictures he made when she was 8 or 9 are among the most widely circulated child pornography images online.</p><p>Now the 20-year-old ...

SEC drops civil action against ex-Broadcom execs

2010-02-22T11:42:33Z

<div id="subtitle">SEC drops civil action against ex-Broadcom execs after California criminal case tossed</div><div><p>The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday it will not pursue a civil action agai...

Holder: I made decision to charge terror suspect

2010-02-22T12:16:26Z

<div id="subtitle">AG Holder says he made decision to charge Christmas Day terror suspect; no dissent by others</div><div><p>Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday he made the decision to charge the Christmas Day terror suspect in civilian court rather than the military system, with no objection from all the other relevant departments of the government.</p><p&am...