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The Unfinished Business of Felony Murder

The Crime Report

In 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court abolished key aspects of its “felony murder rule,” the common law doctrine that made everyone involved in a felony that resulted in death guilty of first-degree murder—guilty even if they personally inflicted no violence and never intended to hurt anyone. The Rest of the Iceberg.

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Only 1 out of 5 defendants in this Mississippi county get court-appointed lawyers before indictment

ABA Journal

The right to counsel is “tenuous” in a small Mississippi justice court in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, where two judges appointed lawyers for felony defendants in…

Lawyer 99
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California Supreme Court: prisoners must get lawyer when challenging convictions for killings committed by others

JURIST

The California Supreme Court held Monday that prisoners are entitled to a lawyer before a trial court can consider their record of conviction in determining whether the prisoners may challenge their murder convictions for killings committed by others. The new law in question was California Senate Bill No. Section 1170.95

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Lawyer admitted to practice after meth conviction is now accused of shooting deputy

ABA Journal

A Louisiana lawyer accused of shooting a sheriff’s deputy Saturday in a possible road rage incident had been admitted to practice following a 1989 felony

Lawyer 102
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Baltimore Prosecutor Faces Felony Charges for Perjury

The Crime Report

Scott Bolden, Mosby’s lawyer, denied the charges and said that the investigation was part of a “historical attack on Black female prosecutors,” adding that Mosby had no intention of stepping down.

Felony 98
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New York Moves to Ease Arrest Disclosure Requirements by Would-Be Lawyers

The Crime Report

The current application for admission asks would-be lawyers whether they have, as an adult or juvenile, “been cited, ticketed, arrested, taken into custody, charged with, indicted, convicted or tried for, or pleaded guilty to,” a felony or misdemeanor. The Bar’s House of Delegates is scheduled to vote Jan.

Lawyer 98
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Justice Jenkins praises criminal defense lawyer Dennis Riordan

At the Lectern

Criminal defense lawyer Dennis Riordan died two days ago at 73. ” Among many other honors, Riordan is one of only five attorneys inducted into the California Lawyers Association’s Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame. ’ ‘He’d get a wry smile on his face.

Lawyer 58