'Jena 6' Defendants Walk With No Jail Time

My client was drunk, stupid, sleazy—oh, and black, argues Jefferson's lawyer

(NEWSER) - What do you say when you’re defending William Jefferson, on trial for allegedly taking $100,000 in bribe money and hiding it in his freezer? Pretty much whatever the heck you can think of, writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. The lawyer for the then-Congressman opened his defense yesterday with a crack about “frozen assets” before arguing that his client was sleazy and stupid, but not technically guilty. More»

Ahmed Ghailani to be tried for bombing US embassies

(AP) - The first Guantanamo Bay detainee has landed on US soil, landing in New York to face trial on charges of bombing US embassies, the Justice Department said today. Ahmed Ghailani arrived in the early morning, to be held in law enforcement custody until his trial in federal court in lower Manhattan; his first court appearance is expected later today. More»

(AP) - A Missouri mother involved in a MySpace hoax on a 13-year-old neighbor girl who committed suicide should be placed on probation for 1 year and fined $5,000 for her misdemeanor convictions, probation officials recommended. The recommendation was included in court documents filed yesterday by Lori Drew's attorney, Dean Steward, who portrayed Drew as out of work and harassed by angry neighbors. More»

Google searches, Twitter posts force end to cases

(NEWSER) - When a juror admitted last week that he had done online research during a major Florida drugs case, the judge thought he could dismiss the juror and continue. But he had to declare a mistrial when he questioned the jury—and found eight other jurors had been doing the same thing. As the New York Times reports, iPhone and BlackBerry-wielding jurors across the country are wrecking centuries-old rules of jurisprudence, and nobody knows what to do about it. More»

Will be held on camera; press faces jail for reporting

(NEWSER) - The judge in Josef Fritzl’s incest trial kicked press and the public out of the court today ahead of Elisabeth Fritzl’s video testimony in a move to protect her identity, the Guardian reports. Her recorded evidence is being played “in small portions,” a court official said, because it is reportedly excruciating to watch. Four backup jurors are available if matters prove too painful for the eight current ones. More»