"Lawyers for convicted medical marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal say he is entitled to a new trial because two jurors in the case received outside legal advice that compromised their ability to make an impartial judgment."

Lawyers for juvenile suspect John Malvo (now 18) disclosed new evidence today that may help them void Malvo's confession that was obtained during a seven hour interrogation session conducted outside the presence of his lawyers.

Investigators have said there was nothing wrong with the interrogation because Mr. Malvo was no longer represented by the federal public defenders in Baltimore and that the courts in Virginia had not officially appointed anyone to represent him. The public defenders made several objections that day to Mr. Malvo, who has since turned 18, being questioned without his legal guardian or court-appointed counsel.

But one of the defense team members said yesterday that they now had evidence that detectives "knew that they should not have been questioning him."

That lawyer said that evidence, which they plan to use to try to persuade a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge to throw out the statements, includes a Nov. 7 order signed by a federal magistrate in Baltimore, Judge James K. Bredar, that said Mr. Malvo was still represented by his federal lawyers. That order, which the lawyer said was being signed as Mr. Malvo was being interrogated, was unsealed last week by Judge Bredar. A copy of the order was sent that day to prosecutors working on the case.

Even without the new evidence, we've always thought the confession would be problematic. Even if inadmissible against Malvo, it could be admissible in a separate trial against Muhammed, and it might help his death penalty case. Here's more of the facts behind Malvo's interrogation. Still, the real news is today's assertion by Malvo's counsel that the Virginia detectives knew about Magistrate Bredar's Order that Malvo's federal lawyers were still on his case despite the dismissal of federal charges. The Order stated,

Judge Bredar's order said: "While certain charging documents may have been dismissed, you may not have had the opportunity to discuss the significance of those dismissals with your clients" and that "until such time as other competent counsel have assumed responsibility for the representation of your clients" the federal lawyers should continue their representation.

Malvo's lawyers tried to stop the questioning but were rebuffed.

Four former bosses (middle managers) at Qwest Communications have been indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges. Qwest issued this statement.

Qwest continues in its efforts to cooperate with the government in connection with the investigations. Fundamental to the Spirit of Service is complete integrity in all we do. As a company and as individual employees, we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards as we conduct our business."

Here is some of the Dateline transcript of its interview with Ed Rosenthal, considered a "hero" by the jurors who convicted him--jurors who are very angry that they didn't hear all the evidence in the case. Dateline reports, "Over the years “Dateline” has interviewed many juries, but what these jurors had to say was truly remarkable."

In California, Rosenthal is garnering strong support from a group not generally associated with publicly taking a strong critical stand on drug laws. Don't miss Marijuana Mitzvah .

Clara Harris was sentenced by the jury to 20 years for husband's murder.

A Houston jury Friday sentenced Clara Harris to 20 years in prison for murdering her husband with her car after catching him with another woman. The 45-year-old dentist and mother of two appeared to collapse in the grasp of her attorneys when the verdict was announced after six hours of deliberation. The same jury of nine women and three men Thursday convicted Harris of murder. The jurors could have sentenced Harris to life in prison but ruled she acted with "sudden passion," which provided for a reduced sentence, but they then gave her the maximum 20 years provided under that provision. She could have received as little as two years in prison.

That's outrageous. What about her twin sons? They grow up with no parent? George Parnum, Harris's defense attorney,

... said during a news conference this evening that he will appeal the case, and said there were numerous grounds for such action, including evidence that was not allowed to be admitted.

That included an audiotape made by police of Clara Harris the night of the killing. Parnham describe his client as "incoherent and rambling" and it would have shown her state of mind had it been allowed.

"This fight is not over," he said.

We're glad to hear it, but we don't have much faith in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Another case where everyone loses.

Robert Chambers, the N.Y. 'Preppie Murder' inmate has been freed after serving his full 15 year sentence.

This was a very highly sensationalized murder case in New York--even without cable news networks discussing it nightly. In 1986, Robert Chambers, a young and handsome guy who had dropped out of college, met Jennifer Levin, a student at an elite private high school in Manhattan, at a trendy bar on the Upper East Side. They then went to Central Park, had sex, and she ended up strangled to death.

Chambers said it was an accident, they had been having consensual rough sex. The DA, Linda Fairstein (remember her from her role in the interrogations of the five wrongfully convicted youths in the Central Park Jogger case? She's now a fiction writer) argued Chambers killed Jennifer in a rage.

Chambers was represented at trial by the very excellent New York criminal defense lawyer Jack Litman. After nine days of jury deliberation without a verdict, Chambers plead guilty to manslaugher--which angered the Levin family and polarized the community.

On the eve of his release, Chambers issued a statement of regret through his lawyer.

"There has not been a day since Jennifer Levin's death that I have not regretted my actions on that day," the one-paragraph statement said. "I know that the Levin family continues to suffer her loss, and I am deeply sorry for the grief I have caused them."

In the statement, Chambers also said he would like to pursue a college degree and begin paying the $25 million wrongful death settlement awarded the Levin family. He said he would not grant interviews after his release.

Chambers incurred several disciplinary infractions while in prison, resulting in him having to serve the full 15 years. Obviously, it was not easy time for him. But because he did the whole sentence, he doesn't have to be on or under supervision.

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Remember Madelyne TooGood? The Irish Traveler caught on videotape striking her child in her car in a parking lot?

Now that the media has died down, and the DA of the county, who said he wouldn't offer TooGood a deal lost his re-election bid in November, a deal has been reached.

TooGood pleaded guilty to a felony battery charge. She received a one year suspended sentence, a year's probation and a $500 fine. The more serious charges against her were dismissed.

We think this is an appropriate resolution to the case. It is equivalent to what other defendants receive when charged with the same offense-- whose stories do not end up in the media. The court and the new DA rose above the lynch mob mentality and should be commended.

"Jurors convicted Clara Harris of murder today for running over her husband outside a Clear Lake-area hotel on July 24 after finding him with his mistress. Harris faces the possibility of life in prison but if the jury next decides it was a crime of sudden passion, she could receive a much lighter sentence, and probation is possible on any sentence less than 10 years."

Update: Skillful defense couldn't prevent a guilty verdict.

If you are a juror in the case, or live with one, please do not read this:

The Jury is out in the Clara Harris murder trial. In closings, the DA, as is typical, told the jurors not to consider their sympathy for Mrs. Harris. And how's this for a derogatory, sexist comment about women--coming from a female DA, no less--

"For heaven's sake, a man is cheating on you, you do what every wife in this county does: Take him to the cleaners...

Excuse us? We hope DA Mia Magness lost every female on the jury with that comment.

Defense attorney George Parnham argued the killing was an accident, Mrs. Harris didn't have murder on her mind when she and her stepdaughter went to the Hearbreak Motel where David Harris and his office worker were carrying on.

We always thought a nice touch in this case was that the Hearbreak Motel at which David Harris carried on with his office worker was the same hotel at which he and Clara Harris had their wedding reception. Talk about a cad!

Here are the options the jury has to weigh:

Judge Carol Davies told jurors today that they can acquit Harris if they have a reasonable doubt, or they can convict her of murder, which can bring a life sentence. The two other options jurors received were convicting her of manslaughter, which can mean two to 20 years in prison, or criminally negligent homicide, which carries as little as 180 days in jail or as much as 10 years in prison, depending on whether the jury finds she used the car as a deadly weapon. Any punishment less than 10 years means probation is possible.

We predict a compromise verdict --manslaughter. Texas has jury sentencing, so it will be interesting to see what sentence they impose on her should they convict her. Her crying throughout the trial and the support she has from her in-laws (another odd twist to the case) should help her there.

Update: The jury deliberated seven hours today without a verdict and is sequestered.

"A co-pilot removed from a Delta Air Lines flight after security screeners said they smelled liquor on his breath was acquitted Wednesday of operating a plane under the influence of alcohol."

"Gary A. Schroeder, 42, of Yorktown was found innocent of the misdemeanor charge by General District Judge Norman A. Thomas. While evidence showed Schroeder apparently had been drinking, there was no evidence that he was under the influence of alcohol, Schroeder said. "

Actor Steven Seagal was the star witness Tuesday in the NY trial of accused mobsters Peter Gotti and others. The Government is alleging that "reputed Gambino boss Peter Gotti (brother of the late mob boss John Gotti), and reputed capo Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone and four other men engaged in extortion, gambling, wire fraud, loan-sharking and sundry other illegal business practices. "

Based upon this lively recap of Seagal's testimony, we're sorry we missed it.

The actor described being "invited" to take a car ride two years ago to a meeting with a capo in the Gambino crime family who spoke to him in not-so-gentle terms about paying extortion. Afterward, Seagal testified another mob associate gave him the bottom line. "Y'know, if you had said the wrong thing, they were going to kill you," he said he was told....

In a nutshell, Segal and a connected pal were doing some films together, Seagal backed out when he thought the friend began acting erratic. The friend got "the mob" to threaten Seagal, so Seagal went to another branch of "the mob" for help.

When asked why he didn't go to the FBI for help, "Seagal said that working through the FBI would have been too time-consuming. "I am a movie star," he said. "If I want to continue to make movies, I can't go into the witness protection program."

Seagal was reportedly very nervous at first. But by the end of his four hours on the stand, he was an old pro.

Seagal became progressively more comfortable during the course of his four hours of testimony. At first, the judge took the role of coach, repeatedly prompting him to relax, breath deeply and speak up. By the afternoon, however, when defense attorney George Santangelo engaged in an energetic cross examination, Seagal conceded nothing.

"You want to scream at me?" Seagal demanded. "You think that's going to make it better? This is a court of law."

At this, Judge Frederic Block interceded. "Listen, I don't have any experience in the martial arts," he told Seagal. "But I do have other powers. So take it easy."

Findlaw's Sherry Kolb explains why it was wrong to prosecute Ed Rosenthal for growing marijuana. First, the factors that distinguished Ed's case from most drug cases:

First, Ed Rosenthal grew marijuana for sick and dying patients. Second, Rosenthal acted as an agent of Oakland, California's program to dispense marijuana to people whose doctors have prescribed it. Third, California's Proposition 215 expressly authorized the program.

After discussing the issues of states rights/federal rights, civil disobedience and more, Kolb concludes:

In considering the Rosenthal conviction, then, a number of factors turn out to be significant. First is the nature of the defendant's actions. Ed Rosenthal grew marijuana to relieve the suffering of sick people, and he harmed no one in the process. Second is the fact that he went to great lengths to ensure that his actions conformed to the law of California, by obtaining official authorization. And finally, the Administration that chose to prosecute Rosenthal was guilty, in so doing, of hypocrisy.

Because California is not alone in singling out the medical use of marijuana for protection, the Justice Department has apparently decided to make an example of Ed Rosenthal. He is dangerous because he dissents from the Attorney General's position.

Whether the issue is medicinal marijuana, our failure to execute enough people in the Northeast, or the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, it seems, Ashcroft considers dissenters to be enemies of the State (or at least, of the federal government).