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Requests for Pardons Flood White House

Petitioners include the American Taliban, but not Scooter Libby

(Newser) - President Bush is nearing the end of his term, and felons are coming out of the woodwork in historic numbers to ask for pardons and reduced sentences, the New York Times reports. It is not unusual for there to be a spike in pardons granted by a president in his...

Court Tosses Conviction in Abramoff Affair

Ruling says feds were overzealous in case against GSA official

(Newser) - A key conviction in the Jack Abramoff scandal was reversed today, as a federal appeals court ruled that the Justice Department overreached in its prosecution of David Safavian. The onetime chief of staff at GSA provided inside information on government-owned properties to Abramoff; he was convicted of lying to multiple...

Boy-Band Brain Gets 25 Years for Fraud

Pearlman gets max for scamming investors, banks out of $300M

(Newser) - Lou Pearlman, the honcho behind the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced yesterday to the maximum of 25 years in federal prison for masterminding a decades-long scam that bilked thousands of investors out of some $300 million, the AP reports. "The sympathy factor just doesn't run very high...

Fritzl Triggers Change in Austria Sex Law

His rape conviction was wiped off books as he adopted grandkids

(Newser) - The Josef Fritzl case has spurred Austrian legislators to initiate changes in sex crime laws to prevent child abuse, the BBC reports. As Fritzl kept his daughter imprisoned as a sex slave, he was granted custody for three of the children he fathered with her— despite a rape conviction. His...

Mother Found 'DC Madam' Hanging, Fla. Police Say

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 52, faced prison time after conviction

(Newser) - The so-called “DC Madam” hanged herself in Florida, police said today, committing suicide two weeks after her conviction for money laundering and racketeering. Officials say her mother found Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 52, hanging in a storage shed this morning, along with suicide notes whose details they did not divulge....

Rove Sought Pics to Soil Ala. Gov: Report

Ex-operative couldn't deliver 'compromising' photos of Democrat

(Newser) - Karl Rove wanted photos taken of the Democratic governor of Alabama having an affair, but the campaign worker appointed to snap the pics found no evidence he was cheating, she tells CBS. Jill Simpson has testified that Rove was involved in the Justice Department's successful corruption case against Don Siegelman,...

Vegas Tree Chopper Sought Better View of Strip

Saw-wielding retiree could face 35 years

(Newser) - A retiree convicted of killing 500 trees in a Las Vegas suburb was trying to better his view of the famous Strip, the Los Angeles Times reports. Douglas Hoffman, 60, was found guilty last month of felling $250,000 worth of mesquite and other trees over the course of a...

Jury Convicts Chessboard Killer
Jury Convicts Chessboard Killer
Oct 24, 2007 1:42 PM CDT

Jury Convicts Chessboard Killer

Russia's Alexander Pichushkin claims to have killed 61

(Newser) - A Russian jury today convicted the so-called Chessboard Killer, who terrorized a Moscow park for 14 years, on 48 counts of murder. Alexander Pichushkin claims to have killed 61, placing a coin on a chessboard square for each victim. But although many would like to see the country's most infamous...

Duke Prosecutor Will Do One Day Behind Bars

Nifong sentenced to 24 hours for lying about evidence

(Newser) - Mike Nifong, the disgraced district attorney in the Duke rape case, will spend a night in jail for contempt of court, a Durham, NC, judge ruled yesterday. The judge concluded that Nifong, who has already been disbarred, "willfully" withheld DNA evidence that exonerated three lacrosse players accused of raping...

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan
Lay Judges
to Join Bench
in Japan
Aug 25, 2007 8:38 AM CDT

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan

Will citizens temper Japan's courts, where 99.9% are found guilty?

(Newser) - Japan will give citizens the gavel in an effort to counteract its judicial system’s prejudice for presuming guilt. Six citizens and three trained jurists will sit on criminal cases, and the majority will rule, Bloomberg reports. The new system follows a clamor of criticism about forced confessions, inhumane treatment...

Lohan Escapes Drug-Possession Charges

Tabloid queen faces seven misdemeanors after DUI arrests

(Newser) - Lindsay Lohan scored a lucky break today when LA County authorities decided not to bring felony drug-possession charges against the actress in two DUI arrests. She faces seven misdemeanors—including being under the influence of cocaine—but police decided the amounts of coke found at the crime scenes either were...

Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism
Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism
Aug 16, 2007 1:36 PM CDT

Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism

Dirty-bomb suspect faces life after 3-year detention

(Newser) - A US District Court convicted Jose Padilla, a US citizen once suspected in a dirty-bomb plot, of conspiring to commit terrorism abroad by providing aid to Islamic extremists. Padilla, a former Guantanamo detainee who became symbolic of the Bush administration's aggressive legal arguments for detaining suspected terrorists, was not charged...

Jury Convicts Jealous Punter of Assault

College athlete stabbed rival in an attempt to take over his starting spot

(Newser) - Mitch Cozad, the North Colorado punter who stabbed rival Rafael Mendoza in the leg in an attempt to steal his starting spot on the football team, was convicted of second-degree assault yesterday and faces up to 16 years in prison.  The more serious charge of attempted murder was tossed...

Wronged Ex-Cons: Why Some Get Payday, Some Don't

(Newser) - How much is a year of jail time worth if you're falsely convicted? The potential awards vary widely, the American Prospect reports. Some states fix rates, with exonerated Wisconsinites claiming $5,000 per year in the clink while those from Alabama get $50,000. Twenty-two states have no laws guaranteeing...

Judge Orders Libby to Prison
Judge Orders Libby to Prison
Jun 14, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

Judge Orders Libby to Prison

Defense likely to appeal trial court's ruling

(Newser) - Scooter Libby may not remain free pending appeal, the judge in his perjury trial ruled today, and must begin serving his 30-month sentence this summer. His defense team will turn next to a federal appeals court, the Washington Post reports, but the most pressing legal question now is whether President...

Bring Justice to Libby: Fine Him
Bring Justice to Libby: Fine Him
Jun 7, 2007 9:47 AM CDT

Bring Justice to Libby: Fine Him

Bush can keep Scooter free without letting him off the hook, former attorney says

(Newser) - Former federal prosecutor and Bush 41 lawyer William Otis suggests a third way on Scooter Libby—between pardon and prison. The rule of law demands some penalty for leaking Valerie Plame's identity, says Otis, but "a sense of proportionality" rules out sending Libby to the hoosegow. The court's $250K...

Doctor Guilty of al-Qaeda Pledge
Doctor Guilty of al-Qaeda Pledge
May 22, 2007 10:41 AM CDT

Doctor Guilty of al-Qaeda Pledge

(Newser) - A Muslim doctor from Florida who was caught in an FBI sting has been convicted of conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda. Rafiq Sabir, 52, faces up to 30 years in prison after he swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden to an undercover agent posing as an al-Qaeda recruiter...

Bank Panel Faults Wolfowitz
Bank Panel Faults Wolfowitz
May 7, 2007 4:07 PM CDT

Bank Panel Faults Wolfowitz

(Newser) - World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz is guilty of a conflict of interest for finagling promotions and raises for his girlfriend, according to a panel of seven bank directors. The result isn't binding and doesn't recommend a punishment, but bank insiders tell the Times that a majority of the 24 board...

Nacchio Goes Down for Insider Trading

Federal jury convicts former Qwest CEO for dumping company stock

(Newser) - Joseph Nacchio, former CEO of Internet-bubble-blowing telecom Qwest, was found guilty of 19 counts of insider trading by a federal jury in Denver yesterday. Nacchio dumped more than $100 million in Qwest stock in 2001, before the stock imploded over questionable accounting practices. The jury acquitted on 23 other counts.

Gitmo Detainee Pleads Guilty
Gitmo Detainee Pleads Guilty
Mar 27, 2007 6:33 AM CDT

Gitmo Detainee Pleads Guilty

Australian who trained with al Quaeda has spent five years in custody

(Newser) - David Hicks became the first person convicted under President Bush's much-maligned military tribunal system after entering a surprise guilty plea  to charges of providing material support to terrorists. The contentious proceedings may prove a new source of controversy, however, as the judge excluded Hicks' stwo civilian lawyers from court and...

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