Legal Updates
Court rulings, filings, appeals, and misconduct in the case.
Prosecutorial Overreach
It was very heartbreaking to read about Aaron Swartz’s suicide at the age of 26. Aaron codeveloped RSS feeds and the website Reddit. As I read about the case the…
30 Year Wait For Retrial
Jerry Hartfield has been sitting behind bars in a Texan prison for the last 30 years even though his conviction was overturned. His case is being debated between the federal…
California Leads In Wrongful Convictions
The California Wrongful Convictions Project, launched by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law) and Hollway Advisory Services, a criminal justice research firm, announced
When Jurors Are Wrong
What happens with jurors when they wrongfully convict an innocent person? In this heartbreaking story from NPR two jurors talk about their thoughts and feelings about convicting an innocent 20…
The 3 Strikes Debacle
Californians have a chance to correct a mistake made back in 1994 when their 3 strikes law was passed. 72% of voters passed a law that seemed like a way…
Torturing Our Children
What defines child abuse is a question we need to be asking. A 16 year old girl being held in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day for several months…
New Evidence Produced Days Before Planned Execution
Former Philadelphia prosecutor Andrea Foulkes repeatedly stated she did not have evidence that would have helped the defense in the Terry Williams death penalty case. After years of appeals where…
The Costs Of Incarcerating The Elderly
According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, state and federal prisons housed more than 26,000 inmates 65 and older. The number of inmates 55 and over is nearly 130,000. The…
Privacy vs Fair Trial
A juror hearing a case in Sacramento regarding gang beatings posted remarks on his Facebook page. The judge initially asked to see the juror’s postings on Facebook to see if…
GAO Report on Overcrowded Prisons
The Bureau of Prisons is 39% over capacity making prisoners confined to smaller spaces. Up to three inmates are housed in rooms meant to house one prisoner. Sometimes inmates need…
Judges and Attorneys Want Integrity In Legal System
In an unusual move, nearly 70 former federal judges and prosecutors filed an “amicus” legal brief backing a $602,000 award for damages to a doctor who was wrongly convicted due…
Cop with Disciplinary Issues Kills Teen
Police officer, Josh Hastings, fatally shot 15 year old Bobby Moore Jr. while responding to a suspicious persons call on Aug. 12. The 26 year old Officer Hastings has a history of…