Lots of crimes in the news today--

Diana Ross gets sentenced to 2 days in an Arizona jail for a DUI

Scott Peterson's trial is about to begin--motions hearing starts Wednesday, followed by jury selection, then trial. The defense wants the jury sequestered. We doubt that will happen.

Martha Stewart's lawyer gets Faneuil to say he didn't think he was doing anything wrong and Martha never told him to lie. Martha's secretary testified today, breaking down in tears.

The mother of Michael Jackson's accuser spent time in a mental hospital in 1998 and coached her kids to lie in their lawsuit against J.C. Penney, according to a custody affidavit filed by the boy's father.

Martha Stewart's lawyer, Robert Morvillo, began his cross-examination of the Government's star witness Douglas Fanueil today. The cross is ongoing, so far, Morvillo has hit hard on Faneuil's memory. Fanueil also repeated his testimony about his fears of telling the truth.

Full CNN/Money coverage of Martha's trial is here.

by TChris

Mark Geragos, defense attorney for Scott Peterson, is ready to rock. Geragos notified the court and prosecutors that he is ready to begin Peterson's trial immediately. Geragos had been scheduled to begin a murder trial in Pasadena, but an appeal has delayed that case.

Geragos may want to proceed with Peterson's trial now in the hope that he will catch the prosecution unprepared. While delay often benefits the defense in a criminal case, Larry Posner, former president of the National Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers, thinks the request for an immediate trial is good news for Peterson.

"If the defense has announced this (wish to go to trial immediately)," said Posner, "it's a sign of tremendous confidence. The defense is saying (to the prosecution), 'We have weighed everything you have, and it's not there. Let's do it now.' That has to be it. You can't bluff that."

Loyola Law Professor Stan Goldman agrees.

"The longer you wait, the more the prosecution will get its ducks in a row," Goldman said. "You might as well try it now. It's a strategy that worked in the (O.J.) Simpson case successfully.''

And USC Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky cites a number of factors that may have motivated Geragos to press for a trial:

"There's a perception that the judge will react badly to requests for extensions, there's a client who wants to go forward as soon as possible, and sometimes there's a defense strategy for public relations purposes. Imagine a situation where there have been (public) revelations damaging to the prosecution. The climate for the defense is to go forward now."

A gag order prevents Geragos from commenting upon the reason for his request.

by TChris

A police officer in Garland, Texas who was captured on videotape running up to and tackling a man sitting on a motorcycle has been sentenced to two years' probation, fined $600 and ordered to participate in anger management counseling. He also gave up his license to be a peace officer. The tackle came at the end of a high speed chase.

The officer entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor assault charge. He was fired earlier this year, as were two other officers who made false reports about the case. The man he was chasing has been charged with a felony for fleeing an officer.

Such sad news to report: police have found the body of 11 year old Carlie Brucia, who was kidnapped from a car wash this week.

The body of an 11-year-old girl whose abduction was captured by a surveillance camera was found Friday in a church parking lot, and a mechanic has been charged with her murder. Sarasota County sheriff's officials said Carlie Brucia's body was found about 1 a.m. outside a church a few miles from the car wash where she was abducted. Authorities did not say how she died or whether she had been raped.

Sheriff Bill Balkwill said Joseph P. Smith, 37, has been charged with the girl's murder. Smith, who could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder, is believed to be the tattooed man in a mechanic's shirt who was seen in the surveillance video leading Carlie away by the arm Sunday evening, authorities said.

Investigators found the body after negotiations with Smith, said a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Earlier, authorities had said Smith was not cooperating.

Just two weeks prior to jury selection in his murder trial, actor Robert Blake has lost his lawyer. The Judge allowed his lawyer to quit the case today after a hearing at which she found there were "irreconcilable differences" between the two. The trial is postponed indefinitely.

This is the third lawyer to leave the case. Not a good sign.

Maximillian Potter, writing in Denver's excellent monthly magazine, 5280 details the first Air Force Academy prosecution resulting from the rape scandal, and says the families of both the accused and the alleged victim think it's more about politics than justice.

The cadet on trial is 20 year old Douglas Meester. His preliminary hearing is set for March, and trial is set for May. He is the first cadet to face a court-martial for cadet-on-cadet rape. Possible penalty: Life in prison.

A chilling article, read the whole thing.

The Government's star witness in the Martha Stewart trial, Douglas Faneuil, finished his direct testimony and faced cross-examination today.

Faneuil originally supported Stewart and Bacanovic's version, but struck a deal with the government in June 2002 to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and cooperate with prosecutors. Asked Wednesday to explain why he changed his story, Faneuil said: "There came a point in time where I just couldn't continue to lie. I felt that the coverup was part of my daily existence, and I just couldn't take it anymore."

As cross-examination began, Faneuil admitted he has used cocaine, marijuana and the party drugs Ecstasy and ketamine, sometimes called Special K. But he described the cocaine and ketamine uses as extremely limited, and said he had never been under the influence of any drugs during the workday at Merrill Lynch.

He also acknowledged that Bacanovic never "explicitly" directed him to lie.

Apparently, Faneuil smoked dope after signing his cooperation agreement with the Government. His agreement has a clause that says he can't break any laws. But the jury won't get to hear about it:

A routine clause in Faneuil's 2002 cooperation agreement requires him not to break the law. Stewart's attorney, Robert Morvillo, claims Faneuil broke that clause when he smoked marijuana on an April 2003 trip to Jamaica, and said the government should have "torn up" its agreement with Faneuil. But the judge did not allow defense lawyers to ask Faneuil about the trip, saying such a line of questioning amounted to "an attack on the motive of the government in presenting this case."

Faneuil faces more cross examination tomorrow.

Phil Spector has changed lawyers, leaving Robert Shapiro for Leslie Abramson :

Abramson, who became famous for her role in the murder trial of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, said she had been phasing out her defense practice with an eye toward retirement when she was contacted by Spector.

"I was about to hang it up when I got the call," she said. "No other defendant would get me to give up my freedom. No other defendant was someone I considered an idol, an icon and the definition of cool."

It's nice to see Leslie back on the scene. She's a dynamo and will do a great job for Spector. Marcia Morrissey, another great LA defense lawyer, will be working the case with her.

Douglas Faneuil, the star witness for the Government in the Martha Stewart trial, took the stand today and admitted he told a lie:

Former brokerage assistant Douglas Faneuil, the government's star witness in the Martha Stewart trial, testified Tuesday that he illegally relayed information about one client to another and then lied about it. "I did something illegal," Faneuil said shortly after taking the witness stand. "I told one client what another was doing and lied to cover it up."

Prosecutors have said Faneuil's boss, stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, told Faneuil to pass along a "secret" tip to Stewart on Dec. 27, 2001 - that ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal was trying to get rid of his shares. Waksal later admitted using insider knowledge about a negative government report to illegally dump his own company stock.

His testimony contradicts Stewart and Bacanovic's claim that they had a pre-existing agreement to sell Stewart's ImClone stock when its price fell below $60 per share.

We'll be discussing the case at 6pm ET on the Dan Abrams show on MSNBC--as well as the latest developments in today's Kobe Bryant hearing.

A female prison guard held hostage for two weeks by inmates at an Arizona prison has been released. There aren't many details yet, only that the guard is receiving medical attention.

A nightmare, we're sure, but we're glad she is safe.

Update: A later AP story:

"Her voice is exceptionally strong," said Corrections Department Director Dora Schriro. "I would characterize her spirit as being exceptionally strong. To the eyes, she looks well."

Gov. Janet Napolitano, who went with Schriro to meet the medical helicopter that transported the female guard, said the officer told the director, "Thank you for not leaving me, thank you for not rushing the tower, they would have killed me."

How did the hostage-taking event happen to begin with?

No information was immediately released on what led to the surrender at the medium- to high-security Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis, but in one concession, one of the inmates was allowed to give an interview to a radio station.

"It was initially an escape attempt. We were on our way out," Ricky Wassenaar, told KTAR-AM radio in an exclusive interview. "This was a stopping point to get some arms, firearms, to get out of here. Unfortunately, the plan went bad."

by TChris

The case of Marcus Dixon, the black high school student who received a ten year sentence for having consensual sex with his white girlfriend who had not yet reached the age of sixteen, demonstrates the need for sentencing reform, according to an analysis prepared by The Sentencing Project. TalkLeft has written about Dixon's case here and here.

The Sentencing Project criticizes the prosecution's decision to charge Dixon with a felony carrying a ten year mandatory minimum sentence, rather than limiting the charge to a misdemeanor that more appropriately fit the crime.

This choice is a noteworthy example of the impact of prosecutorial discretion upon the sentence that a defendant will receive if convicted. There are two statutes in Georgia law that could apply to this case: one a broadly conceived piece of legislation intended to target persons engaged in child molestation (a felony), and one narrowly tailored to address consensual intercourse between two teenagers within three years of age of one another (a misdemeanor). The prosecutor chose the general statute, which holds a much more severe penalty, and in doing so, made Dixon eligible for a ten-year mandatory minimum under Georgia’s “seven deadly sins” laws.