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Law links

April 2nd, 2011, 8:30 pm by

Here are a few interesting court stories for your weekend reading:

You may recall, the El Paso County District Attorney’s office has dealt with cases of teenagers sending sexually explicit text-messages. Here’s a recent story in the New York Times on the topic.

Also in the Times, there was this blog post on a dispute over whether to allow reporters to tweet from the courtroom during a hearing for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

My friend and former Rocky Mountain News colleague Sara Burnett had this interesting story in the Denver Post about federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty against two men accused of killing fellow inmates at the Supermax prison in Florence.

And finally, my friend and colleague Andrew Cohen had this analysis in The Atlantic on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Happy reading.

John C. Ensslin

Legal affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law links

March 27th, 2011, 12:24 pm by

Here are links to some interesting court stories for your weekend reading:

First, my friend Andrew Cohen had this interesting analysis for The Atlantic on the litigation over the federal health care law reaching a mid-point.

Next, an interesting personal story about immigration law from a website called Orange County.

Here’s an interesting story on an experiment with cameras in the courtroom in Minnesota.

And last, a very good story by the New York Times’ Joe Nocero on one of the few cases to result in someone being sentenced for their role in the financial meltdown (but not the sort of person you might expect.)

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Law links

February 5th, 2011, 3:02 pm by

Here are some interesting court stories for your weekend reading:

First my SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester had this post on a talk by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on his always very readable blog “What the Judge Ate for Breakfast.”

My friend Andrew Cohen posted this interesting analysis at Atlantic.com on a federal judge’s ruling that found the new health care legislation unconstitutional.

Here’s an interesting story from the New York Times on lawsuits that have resulted from some rather unethical behavior by journalists in England.

My former Rocky Mountain News colleague Kevin Vaughan had this story in the Denver Post on an unraveling scandal involving paving contracts in Adams County.

And finally, New York Times reporter Adam Liptak had this amusing post on his Sidebar blog about an analysis of humor on the U.S. Supreme Court. The most humorous justice? Antonin Scalia.

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Law links

January 15th, 2011, 9:57 am by

Here are some interesting law and court stories for your weekend reading:

First, my colleague Andrew Cohen had this interesting column on a divorce in which home school has been a point of contention.

Next, law professor Jeffrey Rosen wrote an interesting column in the New York Times on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s world view . I met Rosen several years ago when the Denver Press Club hosted a talk on his book “The Unwanted Gaze.”

One of the funniest court stories of the week comes from Boston television station WHDH which aired this story on a cat who was drafted for jury service. Seems to me a cat could help a jury in its deliberations.

Reporters often come across suits filed by so-called “jail house lawyers”, inmates who make extensive use of a jail’s law library. Few of them ever get very far, but here’s an amazing story in the Wall Street Journal about one inmate who managed to free himself. Sounds almost like a movie script.

My friend and colleague Bill Johnson at the Denver Post had this interesting column on Gov. Bill Ritter’s pardon of long time anti-gang activist Rev. Leon Kelly. Leon is a friend of mine. I’ve admired the work he’s done over the years and I’m glad to see he was able to deal with this difficult part of his past.

And finally, here’s one of the strangest court stories of the week, this post on a lawsuit over a practice I’d never heard of before: ear candling.

Enjoy your weekend,

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law links, Christmas edition

December 25th, 2010, 10:36 am by

Merry Christmas court watchers,

After the presents are all unwrapped and dinner is done, here are some interesting court stories for your weekend reading.

First, my friend and SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester of the Wichita Eagle posted this story  on his court blog under the hearing “what were they thinking.” As often is the case with crime stories, thinking had nothing to do with it.

Ron also had this story about a fatal beating that started as a fight over a video game.

My friend Andrew Cohen had this law story year-in-review for the Atlantic.

And my friend and former Rocky Mountain News colleague Gwen Florio had this fascinating glimpse into community attititudes toward marijuana in a story she wrote for The Missoulian.

The Montrose Daily Press had this bizarre story about a district attorney, already facing criminal charges, digging the hole a bit deeper.

This is the season for pardon’s by governors. Here’s a New York Times story about one of the more controversial pardons by New York Gov. David Paterson in a racially charged fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager

And finally, here a report by a Las Vegas television station on an usually long  jury service. Apparently in Vegas, the casinos are not the only thing to operate around the clock.

In this holiday season, I consider myself blessed to know so many good writers covering the court beat.

Here’s wishing you and yours a bright and merry Christmas

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law Links

December 18th, 2010, 10:20 am by

Here’s are some interesting law stories for your weekend perusal:

First, the New York Times had this story about a fascinating bit of history from Mankato, Minn. where there are efforts to address the wrongful hanging of a Native American.

Next, the Knoxville News-Sentinel had this entertaining story about the legal battle over a memoir by a colorful character who made his living making moonshine “likker.” 

This is that time of year when journalists love to look back over their shoulder and compiled their top 10 lists. My friend Andrew Cohen compiled this list for Atlantic.com of the most interesting law stories for 2010. (Note: I’ll be compiling a similar list for El Paso County early next week.)

My friend Ron Sylvester is often in demand among SPJ chapters for his evolving talk “60 websites in 60 minutes.” Recently he gave a similar talk to the Wichita Bar Association on useful websites for lawyers. Here’s a list of what he came up with.

If you want to keep up with the latest developments on the court case against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, check out this blog posted by the Guardian of London.

Here’s an amusing story from the Orange County Register on how the Seinfeld holiday of Festivus became wrapped into an inmate’s attempt to limit the amount of salami served in his meals. 

And finally, here’s a post from the New York Times blog Courthouse Confidential on a woman framed for a crime that never happened.

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Law links

December 11th, 2010, 11:01 am by

Hello court watchers,

Here are some interesting law stories for your weekend reading.

First, my friend Andrew Cohen had this analysis on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear an appeal in a discrimination lawsuit.

Courthousenews.com is an useful website that collects court stories from around the country. Here’s a story they had recently on a battle between a controversial Arizona sheriff and several judges.

Law Week Colorado, another interesting website run by my friend Don Knox had this interesting story about a legal/political fight between the Colorado Bar Association and the group Clear The Bench, which tried unsuccessfully this year to unseat some Colorado Supreme Court Justices.

The New York Times had this good feature story on a U.S. Justice Department lawyer whose job includes travelling the country to defend federal health care law.

From the St. Petersburg Times, here’s a story on the final outcome to a pardon for the late rock and roll icon Jim Morrison.

The Salt Lake Tribune had this story on the aftermath of this week’s verdict finding a street preacher guilty of kidnapping and raping Elizabeth Smart.

And finally, the Guardian in London had this story on protests over the detention in the British jail of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Happy reading.

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Law links

December 4th, 2010, 9:40 am by

Here are some interesting court stories for your weekend reading:

First, a story in the New York Times about a book review by John Paul Stevens in which the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice discusses his opposition to the death penalty.

Next, from the Las Vegas Sun, a story about a lawsuit filed by a woman who objected to her jail house appearance on a reality tv show.

Here are two interesting stories on the aftermath of the trial of a man convicted in the murder of a congressional aide.

First a story from the McClatchy news service about a key witness in the trial.

And next, a story from the San Diego Union Tribune on plans for a book by the congressman who had been wrongfully targeted as a suspect in the murder.

Also from San Diego, a story on an interesting legal dispute over carrying concealed weapons.

My friend Andrew Cohen wrote a column in which he analyzes and handicaps some of the legal challenges to the national healthcare legislation.

And finally, the Los Angeles Times had what was easily the most bizarre story this week: a report on how Helter Skelter killer Charles Manson had been making phone calls and sending text messages on a contraband cell phone.

Happy reading,

John C. Ensslin

Legal affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law Links….Thanksgiving edition

November 25th, 2010, 12:26 pm by

Happy Thanksgiving court watchers,

Here are some interesting court stories for your holiday weekend reading:

First, my friend Andrew Cohen had this amusing and insightful column about his day on jury duty.

Next from my SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester’s excellent court blog , here’s a post on efforts to use DNA evidence to test prior criminal convictions in several states.

The guilty verdict in the money laundering of former Texas GOP congressman Tom Delay generated several leads with the pun “Hammer avoids Slammer.” But the best reported and written story I’ve seen was this one from The New York Times.

Here’s an interesting law blog post on a talk that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave during an interview at a banquet. Scalia talks about why he did not want the job of Chief Justice.

Closer to home, my Denver Post colleague Felisa Cardona had this story on Denver District Court Chief Judge Larry Naves stepping down from the bench.

And then, under weird court news, here’s a story from Florida about a chief judge admitting he was asked to step down.

And finally, this curious story about the controversy surrounding the dismissal of a court spokesman in Los Angeles. The case generated this note of concern from SPJ’s Los Angeles chapter.

I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy and peaceful one.

Yours truly,

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law links, Veteran’s Day edition

November 11th, 2010, 11:36 am by

Hello Court Watchers,

The courts are closed today in observance of Veteran’s Day.

But it’s been a busy week already in terms of interesting court stories in the news.

So here for your holiday reading are some links to those stories.

First off, my friend Andrew Cohen at CBS Radio News had this interesting column on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore. (It seems amazing to me that those 10 years have gone by so fast.)

From the Atlantic Magazine’s website, here’s a column on the prospect (slim) of getting cameras in the court room for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

The National Journal had this amusing story on the possibility that lame duck Florida Gov. Charlie Crist might issue a pardon for the late rock-n-roll musician Jim Morrison.

You may have read about a jury in Connecticutt giving the death penalty to a man convicting of killing several members of one family. But check out the post-verdict video on the New Haven Register’s website. It’s one of more poignant and moving statements I’ve ever seen by a crime victim following a trial.

The New York Times had this interesting story on reaction to that same death penalty case from members of the jury.

One of the most fascinating trials underway this week is the kidnap-rape case against a man accused of abducting Elizabeth Smart in Utah. My SPJ colleague Ben Winslow has been covering the trial and provides this insightful almost annotated transcript of Smart’s testimony.

Today being Veteran’s Day put me in mind of the fact that the sacrifices made by our armed forces have afforded us the freedom to try these issues in our legal system, a freedom that we shouldn’t take for granted.

So have a good holiday and happy reading.

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs reporter

The Gazette

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