A Wisconsin jury has rejected hunter and Hmong immigrant Chai Vang's self-defense arguments in his trial for shooting six hunters. He was convicted of first degree murder and faces life in prison.

The crime rocked the north woods in part because four of the victims were shot in the back and all but one were unarmed, according to testimony. The slayings exposed racial tension between the predominantly white north woods and immigrants from the Hmong ethnic group of Southeast Asia.

Some background here.

by TChris

A federal marshal who shot another driver after a traffic altercation in Maryland has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. A jury rejected Arthur Lloyd's claim that he acted in self-defense. The verdict isn't surprising if this description of the evidence is accurate:

Chai Vang, the Hmong immigrant from Minnesota who killed six hunters in Minnesota Wisconsin last year, is about to go on trial. Jury selection begins Thursday. The Chicago Tribune has a very detailed two part series on the case, beginning today.

Why would an ambitious immigrant, a healer, suddenly turn into a methodical killer? Did the alienation Vang experienced in America play a role in the shootings? Was the clash of cultures a factor?

Vang's lawyers initially said they may raise a cultural defense. That appears not to be the case now. It will be a self-defense case, hinging on who shot first:

by TChris

Authorities in New Orleans have created a temporary facility (chain link pens topped with razor wire) to hold recently arrested individuals. One might expect law enforcement officers to have a sense of priority in the wake of the disaster, but they’re arresting people for disturbing the peace (what peace?) and for possessing small amounts of drugs. This arrest is beyond stupid:

One man had mooned a state police car on patrol.

I stopped writing about the case of Natalee Holloway a long time ago. There was no news and it finally seemed like all but the Holloway family was ready to move on. But now the cable news stations are back to almost full-time Holloway coverage. And not one show I've seen states what I think is the obvious: Aruba has learned how to play dirty, most likely courtesy of our FBI, with whom the Aruban authorities began sharing investigation files last month.

The "news" in the case is not news at all. There's no big break. All that happened was the Kalpoe brothers were re-arrested yesterday on suspicion of other charges . They can be held and interrogated anew for eight days.

Here's what I think happened. Time is running out on keeping Joran van der Sloot detained. The 116 days he can be detained without charges under Aruban law expires in early September. The authorities ran out of leads long ago and none of the suspects have cracked - despite untold hours of interrogation and harsh detention conditions. So, out of leads and short on time, the Aruban authorities decided to turn up the heat on the Kalpoe brothers. They dug and dug until they believed they had enough to link the brothers to crimes totally unrelated to Natalee.

by TChris

The State of Maryland wants to keep John Muhammad alive so that Virginia can kill him. Muhammad is being held for trial in Montgomery County as Maryland tries to add to the sentences of death and life imprisonment imposed by other courts.

Muhammad went on a hunger strike after his transfer to the jail, complaining of bad food and inadequate access to his legal papers. Maryland responded by obtaining a court order to force feed Muhammad. Muhammad's lawyer thinks "the situation will be resolved without having to put him on an IV." Wouldn't it be easier and less expensive to give Muhammad his legal documents and a better meal?

by TChris

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham hasn't been charged with a crime (yet), but documents filed in the government's forfeiture action against his house accuse Cunningham of taking a bribe.

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham "demanded and received" a bribe from a Pentagon contractor who paid far above market value for the congressman's Del Mar-area home in 2003, according to court documents filed Thursday by federal prosecutors.

Without citing details, prosecutors said in the documents that Cunningham sold the house in return for his influence in Congress, where he serves on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.

When will charges against Cunningham be announced? Feel free to start your own office pools.

TalkLeft background on Cunningham is collected here.

by TChris

What started as a joke ended in tragedy as a 14 year old boy put his 5 year old half sister into a large coin-operated washing machine.

The boy put no coins in the machine but it started anyway, [defense attorney John] Graham said. The boy tried "frantically" to stop the washer and free his sister, taking a large rock from the parking lot to smash at the glass, Graham said.

The tragedy was compounded when a Virginia prosecutor charged the kid with manslaughter. That decision was foolish: the boy has been punished enough by the death of his sister, and he had no way of knowing that the machine would start on its own. Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed, and the charges were dismissed today.

Oh, that clever F.B.I. You've all read by now about the Justice Department's big bust of an Asian counterfeiting and smuggling ring. From Los Angeles, to Newark, a huge coordinated effort by FBI agents and local cops brought down an international organization trafficking in millions. Here's the DOJ press release. The New York Times has more ont "Operation Smoking Dragon" and "Operation Royal Charm":

Federal law enforcement agents sent out invitations for a mock wedding on a yacht off Atlantic City to lure 42 people who were accused of taking part in an Asian smuggling ring that brought counterfeit money, drugs and cigarettes into the United States, officials said Monday.

The wedding "guests," who had been invited to attend the nuptials of two supposed American smugglers who were actually undercover agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were among 57 people arrested in recent days as part of the smuggling inquiry, the officials said. In all, 87 people have been indicted.

Update: One other condition that was ordered by the Judge: Abramoff must keep up his "course of mental health treatment."

That I don't hold against him. Who wouldn't need mental health treatment after being investigated for so many years?

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Lobbyist Jack Abramoff appeared in federal court in L.A. today and was released.

He was told he could post $250,000 of a $2.25 million bond on Tuesday in Florida only if federal prosecutors there determine that the money came from legitimate sources, said U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek. Family members would be liable for the balance of the bond if Abramoff fails to appear at any subsequent hearing.

A defense attorney said Abramoff was in contact with law enforcement immediately after hearing about the charges. "He does look forward to returning to Miami where he will vigorously defend against the charges," Anthony Pacheco said after the court appearance.

Good lawyering by Pacheco, Neal Sonnett, Abbe Lowell and whoever else was involved. He doesn't have to post the money until he gets back to Florida.

by TChris

It has become routine for people to forget they're carrying items in their carry-on luggage that aren't permitted on an airplane, but a pipe bomb?

A University of Oklahoma student told federal investigators he forgot a pipe bomb he built for fun was in his luggage when tried to board an airplane, court documents show.

Scott Sullivan, the architect of the accounting fraud scheme that toppled WorldCom, was sentenced today to five years in prison. He could have gotten 25 years, but he was rewarded for his cooperation in the case against former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers, who got 25 years and will almost certainly die in prison.

Sullivan provided the only direct evidence at Ebber's trial that Ebbers knew of the fraud. But Ebbers testfied at his trial and while he did okay on direct, he didn't do so well on cross-examination. As I said at the time,

Why did Ebbers take the stand? With only one witness, Scott Sullivan, testifying that Ebbers knew about and endorsed the illegal accounting practice, why not just stick with an attack on Sullivan? When a defendant does great on direct exam, being questioned by his own lawyer, and then flubs it on cross, being questioned by the government, the contrast alone makes jurors think he's guilty. Just another reason why most defendants should not take the stand.