American trial lawyers association

Published 1 day ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A former Scottish prosecutor has been jailed for 10 years for sexually abusing four young children more than four decades ago. John Watt QC, who was also a criminal defence lawyer, preyed on three young girls and a boy over a 14-year period. The 72-year-old had been extradited from the United States to stand trial in July. Judge Lord Braid told Watt he had committed "vile" crimes of the "utmost seriousness and depravity." Watt was also put on the sex offenders register for an indeterminate period. Former Scots QC guilty of abusing four children Last month, Watt was found guilty of one charge of rape, one of indecent assault and three of indecent conduct committed at houses in the Edinburgh area between September 1973 and August 1987. At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Braid said: "In each case … [Read more...] about Former prosecutor John Watt QC jailed for abusing children

August 09, 2022 - 13:56 BST Johnny Depp is reportedly celebrating after signing a multi-million deal with Dior to continue to be the face of Sauvage cologne amid his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard Johnny Depp is reportedly celebrating after signing a deal with Dior to continue being the face of Sauvage cologne. READ: Johnny Depp's lawyers speak out over Amber Heard's appeal According to reports, the Pirates of the Caribbean star will be paid a seven-figure sum in the multi-year deal after sales of the men's scent skyrocketed during his court battle with ex-wife, Amber Heard – who is fighting to overturn the verdict in Johnny's defamation lawsuit against her. Loading the player... WATCH: Kate Moss says ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp never pushed her down the stairs Johnny is said to have already signed on the dotted line and has even done promotional photos for Dior's new campaign, according to TMZ. … [Read more...] about Johnny Depp celebrates huge career news as Amber Heard legal battle continues

A former Nazi guard, now aged 101, who was involved in sending more than 3,500 people to their deaths at a German concentration camp has been sentenced to five years in jail. Prosecutors had said that Josef S., a member of the Nazi party's paramilitary SS, played a role in the deaths of 3,518 people at the Sachsenhausen camp, north of Berlin, by regularly standing guard in the watchtower between 1942 and 1945. The trial took nearly nine months as doctors had said the man, whose full name was not disclosed due to German trial reporting rules, was only partially fit to stand trial, and sessions were limited to two and a half hours a day. Some people interned in Sachsenhausen were murdered with Zyklon-B, the poison gas also used in other extermination camps where millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Sachsenhausen housed mainly political prisoners from across Europe, along with Soviet prisoners of war and some Jews. The defendant was regularly standing guard … [Read more...] about Nazi guard, 101, jailed for role in more than 3,500 concentration camp deaths

A man convicted and imprisoned for more than 20 years for the 1997 shooting death of another man in New Orleans was freed Monday after prosecutors agreed that his conviction should be vacated. Court records show a motion to vacate the conviction of Cedric L. Dent, 47, in the shooting death of Anthony Milton was granted by a judge Monday and the district attorney's office agreed not to continue prosecuting the case. The shooting happened outside a New Orleans supermarket, court records show. The Innocence Project New Orleans organization said its investigation determined that prosecutors in the 1990s withheld documents that showed a witness to the shooting gave a description that didn't match Dent, and that a key witness's story changed multiple times before he testified at the trial. The documents that were withheld also revealed other witnesses who gave descriptions of the gunman that didn't match Dent, reports CBS New Orleans affiliate WWL-TV . "Cedric Dent is a victim … [Read more...] about Inmate freed after conviction vacated in fatal 1997 shooting

February 11, 2022 - 16:11 GMT Anna Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, is the fake heiress who inspired Netflix's latest release. Find out where the real Anna is now… We can't wait to get stuck in to Netflix 's latest limited series, Inventing Anna , starring Anna Chlumsky and Julia Garner, which tells the true story of Anna Delvey – a con artist who pretended to be a German Heiress to secure money and a wealthy lifestyle among the New York elite. MORE: JoAnna Garcia Swisher mourns heartbreaking death in emotional tribute Anna Delvey's real name is Anna Sorokin and has led many lives by making up audacious lies about who she really is. For a number of years, Anna had everything she wanted: an expensive wardrobe, luxury hotel stays and evenings dining at fancy restaurants – but soon, her trails of debt and IOU's caught up with her. The series, which is based off the New York magazine article written by Jessica … [Read more...] about Inventing Anna: Where is the real Anna Delvey now?

A federal appeals court on Monday restored the death sentence of a bank robber convicted of killing his best friend, his friend's fiancée and their three children. In a 32-page opinion, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that would have freed Ronald Jeffery Prible Jr . if the state did not retry Prible within six months. The panel ruled Prible, 50, failed to raise issues sufficiently compelling to discredit his conviction and sentence. A Harris County jury condemned Prible to death row in 2002 for killing Esteban "Steve″ Herrera; Herrera's fiancée, Nilda Tirado; Tirado's 7-year-old daughter Rachel Elizabeth Cumpian; Herrera's 7-year-old daughter Valerie; and the couple's 22-month-old daughter Jade Herrera in 1999. Testimony from the two-week trial showed Prible shot Herrera, then raped and shot Tirado before setting her body on fire to hide DNA evidence. The children died from smoke inhalation from the resulting fire. … [Read more...] about Death sentence restored for bank robber convicted of killing his best friend, his friend’s fiancée and their 3 children

Taylor Swift has denied a 2017 copyright infringement claim that stated she stole the lyrics of her 2014 hit song Shake It Off. The Gorgeous crooner, 32, filed the documents in federal court yesterday (August 8) and claimed she’d ‘never heard’ the song she is accused of plagiarizing. Swift was hit with plagiarism charges in 2017 by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who claim Swift cribbed her lyrics from their 2001 track, Playas Gon’ Play, performed by 3LW. In the excerpts of motion obtained by Billboard, the Folklore singer unequivocally rejected the accusation and wrote that “the lyrics to ‘Shake It Off’ were written entirely by me”, before providing context around how they came to be included in the song. She told the judge, “In writing the lyrics, I drew partly on experiences in my life and, in particular, unrelenting public scrutiny of my personal life, ‘clickbait’ reporting, public manipulation, and other forms of negative personal criticism which I learned I just … [Read more...] about Taylor Swift claims ‘Shake It Off’ lyrics ‘were written entirely’ by her amid copyright lawsuit

The director of mental health did not have confidence in the Canterbury health authority’s ability to ensure a “timely review” following an alleged murder by a mental health patient. Laisa Waka, 52, was just metres from her home in Christchurch, when she was attacked by a man wielding a knife about 4.20pm on June 25. She died at the scene. A 37-year-old man, who has name suppression, was arrested a short time later, about 500 metres away in Epsom Rd, and charged with murder. The man was a patient in a secure unit at Hillmorton Hospital. He was on community leave at the time of Waka’s death. READ MORE: Man who allegedly murdered woman walking home from work keeps name secret Wider inspection of mental health service follows alleged fatal stabbing Fiji police pay respects to constable who lost mum in Christchurch stabbing Correspondence released to Stuff under the Official Information Act reveals Health Minister Andrew Little wrote to the director of mental … [Read more...] about Health leader had ‘no confidence’ in local DHB’s ability for ‘timely’ review into alleged murder

Update: On Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Sources tell CBS News the search was related to a Justice Department investigation into Trump's handling of presidential records. In the story below, first published on Feb. 10, 2022, shortly after the National Archives referred the matter to the Justice Department, legal experts told CBS News that Trump could face consequences for violating the Presidential Records Act or criminal statutes governing the handling of classified material. Washington — Former President Donald Trump's alleged improper handling of White House records while he was in office and after he decamped to Florida has prompted fresh scrutiny over whether he flouted federal law and, if he did, whether he can be held accountable for doing so. The law governing the records-keeping responsibilities of presidents is the Presidential Records Act , which was … [Read more...] about The consequences Trump could face for mishandling White House records

Murder To Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story dropped on Netflix on 29 April, and quickly became our newest obsession. The show follows the case of Cyntoia Brown, who was convicted of the first-degree murder of Johnny Michael Allen when she was just 16-years-old. She was tried as an adult in court, and sentenced to life in prison – with a minimum term of 51 years. However, Brown insisted that her actions were as a result of fearing for her life. Kim Kardashian was among those who threw their weight behind the case, leading to her sentence being commuted last year. And if you’ve already whizzed through the entire episode – and read through all background info – here are seven more true crime documentaries and series to delve into The Innocent Man This series follows the story of four men who were wrongfully jailed for the rape and murder of two women in Oklahoma, back in the 80s. Both women were brutally attacked and raped before their deaths, and it took the police … [Read more...] about Finished Murder To Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story? 7 true crime documentaries on Netflix to get you through lockdown