News: Criminal Defense

The Illinois House voted 109-0 to allow the last statements of murder victims, whether they are conversations with priests or other hushed individuals or statements to the police, to be heard in court as hearsay evidence.

The Imperial Grand Wizard for the infamous Ku Klux Klan is currently being tried for a plot that was uncovered to kill the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. This center was established to combat hate crimes and has brought a number of accusations about the Ku Klux Klan to court.

Craigslist’s “casual encounters” section has come to be recognized at the red light district of cyberspace. Up until this point, listings for erotic services only had to be verified by a computerized telephone procedure. Now, the creators of Craigslist will require a credit card number and a fee to be paid for each advertisement. There will also be a harsher search for illegal activity- which was only monitored previously by viewers.

While voters in Massachusetts were making the important election decision for their local governments and presidency, they were also making great strides in the decriminalization of marijuana. They approved a law change that would make being caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable with a fine of $100, in place of jail time, or more severe punishments.

Authorities recently learned that tortured confessions were gathered in several Chicago prisons, some twenty-five years ago.  Former prisoners are stepping forward to describe the horrors that they experienced for crimes that they may or may not have committed.  A confession under coercion is not legitimate in this country.  These men claim that they were subjected to physical violence from members of the justice department, so that they would plead guilty in court.

Intellectual property laws have long been disputed in the court system.  They maintain that something, which may or may not be tangible, is the property of one person or a group of people.  Provisions under this law include: copyright of books, music, artwork, etc., as well as trademarks and patents.

People have been coming to the courts for decades to argue over the ownership of these items.  Exceptions, known as “fair usage,” have been established, but like many laws on the books, those referring to intellectual property continue to evolve and change.

Last week, President Bush signed a new federal law, known as the Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act of 2007. This bill, also called the HR4120, strengthens existing punishments for the possession and distribution of child pornography. Kansas lawmaker Nancy Boyd proposed the bill on November 8, 2007. Less than one year later, on October, 8th, it became nationally illegal to create and distribute child pornography.

Famed two-time consecutive champion of the Indianapolis 500 and winner of the 2007 reality TV show, "Dancing with the Stars," Helio Castroneves, 33, was indicted Thursday in Miami Federal Court on charges of conspiracy, tax evasion, and tax fraud.

A former Michigan postal employee was found to be amassing thousands of pieces of undelivered mail in a storage unit in Fowlerville northwest of Detroit.  According to authorities, Jill Hull confessed to hiding the mail in the storage unit for up to three years.  Hull claims she stored the mail because she just could not deliver the mail on time.

The trial of Jose Luis Gonzalez, 63, is expected to conclude today in Laredo, Texas.  Gonzalez is accused of murder after he shot and killed a teen that broke into his house in July 2007.  The teen, Francisco Anguiano, 13, and three other boys, ages 11 to 15, broke into Gonzalez’s home to search for snacks.  Gonzalez confronted the group in his home with a 16-gauge shotgun.  According to attorneys on both sides, Gonzalez forced the boys to get on their knees and then shot one of them.  Gonzalez claims he thought the teen was going to advance on him and that is why he shot him.

The FBI arrested the evangelist and former rock promoter Tony Alamo, 74, in Arizona on suspicion of transporting minors across state lines for sexual activities.  Alamo claims the Bible declares puberty as the age of consent.

FBI agents and Flagstaff police arrested Tony Alamo, birth name Bernie LaZar Hoffman, outside a Flagstaff mountainside resort motel on Thursday.  According to police officials, several women were traveling with Alamo when authorities arrested the preacher.  All of the women with Alamo that day were over the age of consent.

The recent illegal accessing of Alaskan governor, and Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin’s email account has garnered a large following in the popular media due to impending political election, however, the case has also garnered a great deal of attention from federal investigators as well.

Thunder Collins, 29, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of murder after a shooting in a garage of a Benson area home in midtown Omaha, Nebraska.  The shooting occurred on Tuesday morning and left Timothy Thomas, 38, dead at the scene and Marshall Turner, 26, in critical condition after two gunshot wounds, both men from California.  The incident transpired during an alleged struggle over a handgun during drug deal gone bad.  Douglas County police also arrested Karnell Burton, 20, in connection with the shooting.

Former New York Mets pitcher and actor Joseph Petcka is facing charges of aggravated animal cruelty to a companion animal in New York’s Supreme Court after he allegedly beat Norman the cat to death in a drunken stupor fueled by jealousy.  The incident took place on March 27, 2007 after Petcka's girlfriend, Lisa Altobelli, told him she wanted to end their relationship.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials went to the O'Neal home on Wednesday for a routine predawn probation inspection of their home.  Redmond O’Neal was serving a three years probation sentence following a guilty plea stemming from a drug possession charge back in June.  In that case, Redmond pleaded guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) as well as possession of heroin and methamphetamine.  His sentence included mandatory attendance in a drug treatment program.  

An almost half-ton Texas woman is indicted in the death of her two-year-old nephew.  The woman, Mayra Lizbeth Rosales, was charged with a capital murder charge in the death of Eliseo Gonzalez Jr.  According to prosecutors, the toddler died of blunt force trauma to the head while in her care.  The child showed evidence of two blows to the head.

Anna Pastuszuwska and Andy Somora, formerly of Chicago, decided they wanted to get married on the beach in Lakeside, Michigan.  The couple wanted to have their wedding there because they had spent many wonderful times in the resort when they were dating.  After the ceremony, the wedding party proceeded to the Burnison Art Gallery for the reception.