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Justices appeal court
Appeals court upholds decision to try girls charged in Slender Man stabbings as adults
A Wisconsin appeals court has upheld prosecutors’ decision to try two girls as adults for stabbing a friend 19 times to please the fictional Slender Man character.The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday, report the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Courthouse News Service.The two accused girls were 12 at the time of the attack in May 2014. At issue is their eligibility for a juvenile adjudication under a Wisconsin law that says children above the age of 10 should be tried in adult court in cases of intentional homicide and attempted intentional homicide, unless they show they are entitled to a “reverse waiver.”The statute allows a reverse waiver in specific circumstances. They include situations in which the juvenile can’t receive adequate treatment in the criminal justice system, and juvenile court jurisdiction would not depreciate the serious of the offense.The appeals court upheld the decision by Judge Michael Bohren of Waukesha County, who found that … [Read more...] about Appeals court upholds decision to try girls charged in Slender Man stabbings as adults
Appeals Court Reverses Death Sentence, Doesn’t Mention Judge-Prosecutor Affair
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed the death sentence for a convicted double murderer who was nearly executed in 2008 before the state ran of out time to perform the lethal injection.But in determining that Charles Dean Hood should be resentenced, the court makes no mention of a now-admitted affair between the judge and the prosecutor in his case that created a legal ethics ruckus when it became known years later, according to the Associated Press.The court finds, in a split decision today, that mitigating evidence not presented to jurors requires that Hood be resentenced, according to the Dallas Morning News. That evidence includes allegations that Hood was abused as a child.Meanwhile, a group of prominent lawyers last week petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the relationship between the judge and prosecutor in Hood’s Collin County case, the newspaper reports. They include Kenneth Mighell, a former U.S. attorney; William Sessions, an ex-director of the … [Read more...] about Appeals Court Reverses Death Sentence, Doesn’t Mention Judge-Prosecutor Affair
Judge overstepped his authority by blocking deferred prosecution agreement, appeals court says
A trial judge who refused to suspend speedy trial limits because of his disapproval of a deferred prosecution agreement “significantly overstepped” his authority, a federal appeals court has ruled.The decision (PDF) on Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the refusal by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who deemed the deferred prosecution agreement too lenient, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) report.The panel opinion was written by Judge Sri Srinivasan, who was said to be on a shortlist of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees before the nomination of Merrick Garland.Fokker, an aerospace company, was accused of violating U.S. sanctions by shipping aircraft parts to Iran, Sudan and Myanmar. The deferred prosecution agreement required the company to pay $21 million in fines and penalties. If the company met conditions of the agreement, the criminal case would be dismissed in 18 months. The government … [Read more...] about Judge overstepped his authority by blocking deferred prosecution agreement, appeals court says
Judge can’t use electric shocks ‘to enforce decorum,’ Texas appeals court rules
Home Daily News Judge can't use electric shocks 'to enforce… Constitutional Law By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted March 7, 2018, 1:13 pm CST Shutterstock.com. A Texas appeals court has overturned the conviction of an “obstreperous defendant” who was shocked while wearing a stun belt three times on a judge’s orders during a heated exchange. The court said the judge ordered the shocking of Terry Lee Morris “not for legitimate security purposes, but solely as a show of the court’s power.” Stun belts deliver a 50,000-volt shock that can induce anxiety and temporarily affect cognitive abilities, according to the Feb. 28 opinion by the Texas Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso. The court said Morris’ Sixth Amendment right to be present at trial was violated because he was too afraid to return to the courtroom after being shocked. The Washington Post and Texas Lawyer have reports. “While the trial court’s frustration with an … [Read more...] about Judge can’t use electric shocks ‘to enforce decorum,’ Texas appeals court rules