OH: The old categories of sexually oriented offender, habitual sex offender and sexual predator are out, replaced by three tiers. Instead of a judge deciding which tier to place an offender, the new law assigns offenders by their crime without considering the risk to the community or likelihood of re-offending. ⇒
MT: Bromgard served 15 years before DNA tests showed he didn’t commit the crime. He was exonerated and was released from prison in 2002. He filed the lawsuit two years later. ⇒
WY: “It looks to me like the defendant’s got a net worth of several million dollars,” Anderson said. ⇒ It’s a fact: Some people who can afford their own attorney still prefer the representation of a public defender.
FL: A Leon County Circuit judge threw out the state Legislature’s decision to appoint a second tier of special public defenders around the state to represent needy defendants who can’t be represented by the existing elected public defenders because of a conflict of interest. ⇒
CA: Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval has recently proposed adding language to The City’s existing crime-camera ordinance that would allow the Public Defender’s Office, private defense attorneys and court-appointed investigators access to camera footage from The City’s disaster agency. ⇒
AZ: Public Defender Dana Hlavac reports his office is overwhelmed with cases and has testified in Superior Court why his office should be removed from representing nearly a dozen defendants. State law dictates that public defenders are limited to 150 cases per attorney per year and Hlavac has stated his attorneys are at the statutory limit. ⇒
The award cites the office’s increased caseload and high quality of service, noting that in pretrial stages aggressive investigation and discovery has resulted in many cases being dismissed in the interest of justice. ⇒
CA: The jury found Mastbrook’s testimony more credible than the lieutenant’s. ⇒ Gotta love any jury that will believe a homeless man over a cop.
TN: Mark Stephens is expected to file papers saying his office is now too busy to defend any more misdemeanor cases. ⇒
Chief Calf’s attorney, public defender Scott Spencer, tried to focus the jury’s attention on inconsistencies in the statements of two brothers - friends of the defendant - who witnessed the fatal shooting. But jurors found surveillance video and the defendant’s own admissions more persuasive. ⇒
image: detail of installation by Bronwyn Lace