Texas county to allow indigent defendants to pick own lawyers
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – Everybody who has ever watched a television crime drama knows the line where suspects are advised of their rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution that include, “if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you…
Court weighs overturning gay marriage bans in three southern states
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday appeared receptive to arguments in favor of striking down same-sex marriage bans in the conservative southern states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
New York man cleared of murder after 21 years in prison
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York man was cleared of murder on Friday after serving 21 years in prison, one of dozens of questionable murder convictions linked to a retired police homicide detective.
U.S. Supreme Court dismisses case after litigant goes AWOL
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a case it had previously agreed to hear after the man at the center of the lawsuit simply could not be found.
Briton loses challenge to overturn his conviction for Florida murders
MIAMI (Reuters) – A Florida judge refused on Friday to overturn the conviction of a British man serving a life sentence for a 1986 double murder that his lawyers say was carried out by a hit man working for notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Ringleader in Florida marching band death sentenced to six years in jail
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – The ringleader of a beating ritual that killed a Florida college marching band member was sentenced on Friday to six years and five months in prison for his role in a 2011 incident that drew national scrutiny to hazing practic…
Massive pileup in Michigan, one dead, multiple vehicles on fire
(Reuters) – One person was killed and six cars and semi-trailers set afire in a weather-related pileup of 50 to 70 vehicles on Friday morning on Interstate 94 about 10 miles east of Kalamazoo, Michigan, state police said.
London cleric Abu Hamza sentenced to life in U.S. prison
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The radical London cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison on Friday for his conviction on terrorism-related charges, including his role in the 1998 kidnapping of Western tourists in Yemen that left four ho…
U.S. Supreme Court takes no action on pending gay marriage cases
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday took no action on five pending cases that could lead to a ruling on whether states may ban gay marriage.
Transgender ex-cop sues Connecticut city, claims wrongful firing
MILFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) – A former police officer has sued Middletown, Connecticut, accusing the city of wrongfully firing her from its police force last year because she had transitioned to female from male using hormone therapy.
