A federal judge in New York today granted downward departures from the sentencing guidelines and sentenced a lawyer couple who pleaded guilty to insider trading to probation.

The husband had cancer and was dependent on the wife's health insurance from her job. The wife wanted to take care of her husband while he was ill.

[Defense lawyer] Breen said that Ms. Collotta's life was a "wreck" because of her actions and she needed to stay out of prison to care for her sick husband, who depends on her for the health insurance provided by her job.... Ms. Collotta tearfully told the court, "I fear that he will die without his wife and his best friend by his side."

The interesting part of the story for me is this comment by the Judge.

"This is one of those cases in which the defendants before the court are at the bottom of the food chain and those who have profited the greatest" are likely to receive a lighter sentence because of cooperation with the government."

A California Judge has ruled that O.J. Simpson must turn over whatever sports memorabilia he was trying to recover in Las Vegas as well as his Rolex watch to Fred Goldman.

According to O.J.'s lawyer, O.J. paid $150.00 for the watch, making it likely to be a fake rather than a real Rolex Submariner.

Translation: If it turns up on eBay, take a pass.

Minor point: No one's answered my question, what if the watch were real and he purchased it with his money from his pension fund which is exempt from the Goldman's judgment? Could he keep it then?

"24" star Kiefer Sutherland could use a little Jack Bauer intervention right now. He was arrested Sept. 25 for DUI. The complaint is here (pdf) and alleges he was driving under the influence of alcohol and an unspecified drug.

Rocky Delgadillo, the City Attorney that went after Paris Hilton, is also seeking to revoke Kiefer's 2004 probation for a prior DUI.

We have charged Mr. Sutherland with a second DUI offense within 10 years, which we believe also constitutes a violation of the terms of his probation from his 2004 conviction," said Nick Velasquez, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office.

"Since he is still on probation from this 2004 DUI, we have also requested that the court revoke his probation and set a probation-violation hearing."

Looking at the complaint, Kiefer was charged on October 29, 2004, pleaded guilty 4 days later on November 2, 2004, and was put on 5 years probation.

I'm wondering why he pleaded guilty so fast in 2004 -- and isn't 5 years probation for a DUI a bit excessive? Kiefer finished his alcohol treatment and 50 hours of community service in 2005.

Jena Six defendant Mychal Bell has been released on bond pending trial.

He will be tried in juvenile court. It's where charges should have been brought in the first place.

After 43 hours of deliberation, the jury considering Phil Spector's fate could not reach a unanimous verdict. (More on the drama surrounding the deliberations here.) Unable to reconcile the differences that led to a 10-2 vote (presumably for conviction), the jury declared itself hopelessly deadlocked, and the judge declared a mistrial.

The prosecution says it will retry Spector. Second trials often favor the prosecution, since the state has now previewed Spector's defense. In the meantime, Spector remains free on bail, his presumption of innocence intact.

Warren Jeffs isn't exactly a likeable guy (yes, that's an understatement), but the notion that he became an accomplice to rape by orchestrating the marriage of a 14-year-old girl to her cousin stands on questionable legal footing.

University of Utah law associate professor Daniel Medwed said he was "mildly surprised" at the verdict. He said he thought the facts of the case were not a perfect fit for the charges, and that lesser charges - possibly solemnizing an illegal marriage - might have been more appropriate. "Feeling he had done something wrong is a little bit of a stretch to saying he was an accomplice to rape," Medwed said.

The jury in Jeff's case was nonetheless convinced, finding him guilty yesterday. Whether the conviction will withstand an appeal is an interesting question.

Another appellate issue may be lurking in this bit of news:

The jurors, who began their deliberations on Friday after a week of testimony, announced in a note on Monday that they were deadlocked on one of two charges. The judge, James L. Shumate, pressed them to continue, and then early on Tuesday, for reasons the court did not explain, an alternate juror was substituted for one of the original panel members. A unanimous verdict came a few hours later.

All we know at this point is the court's official explanation: "there was an event with a juror."

The number of law-bloggers hesitant to chime in on the Jena 6 case is growing. One reason given: The facts are not only confusing, but in several significant instances, in dispute. ESPN has this pretty good primer but it's hard to get the narrative from just one source, there are just too many variations.

Earlier this week there was Instapundit and Orin Kerr. They are now joined by Ann Althouse.

So, are the facts confusing or too disputed to pass judgment? Yes and no.

More...

John D.R. Atchison, the federal prosecutor from Florida arrested last week when he flew to Detroit allegedly to have sex with a five year old, tried to commit suicide yesterday.

John D.R. Atchison, 53, used a sheet in an attempted hanging around 4 a.m., said Sanilac County Sheriff Virgil Strickler. Another inmate yelled out to jailers, who kept Atchison from hurting himself, Strickler said.

He was placed on a suicide watch when arrested, but it was lifted at his lawyer's request and after Atchison assured the court he wouldn't try and kill himself.

James C. Thomas of Detroit, Atchison's lawyer, had also asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia M. Morgan to lift the suicide watch on Atchison, based on what his client told him.

"We all operate on the best of intentions," Thomas said today. "At the time, I thought it was the right decision. Apparently, it was a mistake. "I feel as bad about it as anyone."

Atchison has been removed from the jail. Hopefully they will take him somewhere he can get a complete psychiatric evaluation. As I wrote last week, he clearly needs help.

Jena Six defendant Mychal Bell was not released on bail today.

The hearing was not open to the public. Yesterday, a Louisiana appeals court ordered that a hearing occur within 72 hours to determine if Bell could be released. The hearing was held today.

I'm wondering whether a probation revocation proceeding is pending that's preventing his release. According to this source, he was put on probation for a Dec. 2005 battery and it's not up until Jan. 2008. Any one of his subsequent convictions for either the July, 2006 or September, 2006 offenses could trigger a probation revocation proceeding.

I'm not familiar with the juvenile statutes in Louisiana, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's no bail on a first appearance on a probation violation, pending a probable cause hearing. Here's Bell's criminal record (same link):

• a battery Christmas Day 2005, for which he was put on probation until Jan. 18, 2008
• criminal damage to property that occurred on July 25, 2006.
• a battery Sept. 2 and criminal damage to property Sept. 3 (probably 2006)

Update: No verdict today, the jury will resume deliberations Monday.

*******

Here's how to blow a five month trial out of a judge's desire to avoid a deadlocked jury: Let the jury deliberate a week and then change the jury instructions to add new ways the jury can find the defendant guilty. Then, suggest to the jury they change their method of deliberations.

It's hard not to be shocked by what the Judge in the Phil Spector trial did today. He went from this instruction:

...in order to convict Spector of second-degree murder the jury had to find that "the defendant must have committed an act that caused the death of Lana Clarkson." It went on to specify the act was pointing a gun at her, which resulted in the gun entering her mouth while in Spector's hand.

to this one:

Fidler told the panel that to prove Spector guilty, "the people must prove that ... the defendant committed an act with a firearm that caused the death of Lana Clarkson, such as placing a gun in her mouth or forcing her to place the gun in her mouth at which time it discharged, pointing the gun at or against her head at which time it entered her mouth and discharged, pointing the gun at her to prevent her from leaving the house, causing a struggle which resulted in the gun entering her mouth and discharging.

More...

The Jena Six case is huge news today. Here's some links to today's articles.

• Jena Six News Page

• New York Times

• CNN Jena Six Page

• Al Sharpton wants a Congressional inquiry.

• Friends of Justice account of Mychal Bell's trial (very compelling)

• Update: Christy at Firedoglake has a thoughtful post on the Jena Six

Note: I have removed the link to the Jenna Times page because I found the coverage selectively inclusive -- meaning it omitted important details which in my view, prevents a full, unbiased and accurate understanding of the events that have transpired.

I can't understand the Judge in the Phil Spector case. Yes, if you're a prosecutor or a judge, it's a drag to try a case for five months and get a hung jury. But when the jury is deadlocked, you don't get a do-over on the charges or the instructions just to force a verdict. That's a recipe for reversal, in my opinion.

Yesterday, the Judge said he was contemplating allowing the jury to consider a lesser charge to solve the impasse. At least a good night's sleep cured him of that.

But today, while deciding against allowing the jury to consider a lesser charge, he decided to modify a critical jury instruction by striking a central statement from it. To make up for any prejudice, he said he'll allow the attorneys to present additional closing arguments.

As the LA Times characterizes it, he "threw the prosecutors a life preserver."

More...