Lonnie Wong FOX40 News – 5:02 p.m. PST, December 16, 2011
SACRAMENTO— A Marin County Superior Court judge has finalized a ruling that California’s lethal injection protocol for executions is invalid.
That protocol was developed after a …

By the CNN Wire Staff – Fri December 16, 2011
(CNN) — California’s use of a three-drug combination in executing prisoners was declared invalid Friday by a Marin County judge, who ruled that a one-drug method …

December 6, 2011 – The Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court justices were sharply divided Tuesday concerning whether a lab analyst who did a crucial DNA test that identified a Chicago rapist must testify at his trial, …

BY DAVID CARROLL on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011 at 6:12 PM
“Our nation’s public defense systems in state courts, with few exceptions, should be a source of great embarrassment for all of us: judges, bar associations, …

By Margaret Dooley-Sammuli - Drug Policy Alliance
Under recently enacted AB 109 and subsequent legislation (“public safety realignment”), most people convicted of a drug law violation are no longer being sent to state prison. Instead, they now …

The New York  Times – By SOMINI SENGUPTA – December 15, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO — In a case with potentially far-reaching consequences for freedom of expression on the Internet, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a …

By PAUL ELIAS Associated Press – 12/15/2011 05:00:47 PM PST
SAN FRANCISCO—Prison officials failed to properly adopt the state’s new lethal injection execution procedures, a judge said in a ruling Thursday that, if upheld, will throw …

The New York Times – by MARC LACEY – December 15, 2011
PHOENIX — In a strongly worded critique of the country’s best-known sheriff, the Justice Department on Thursday accused Sheriff Joe Arpaio of engaging in …

KXLH Channel 9 News – Posted: Dec 15, 2011 4:25 PM by Marnee Banks (Helena)
The ACLU of Montana asserts there are many problems with the state’s public defender system and it’s asking the Montana Legislature …

Reposted: December 14, 2011.  [Originally posted August 2, 2011 on this site. ]
— From Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco, California —–
There [are] new practice advisories at the crimes page at the Immigrant Legal …

By Gary Klien – Marin Independent Journal
During a 26-year career at San Quentin, including five years as warden, Jeanne Woodford says she was morally opposed to the capital punishment the entire time. But she carried …

The ABA Journal Law News – Posted Dec 6, 2011 4:53 PM CST
By Martha Neil
A Michigan criminal defense lawyer spent about four hours in jail on Friday after being held in contempt for telling a …

By MICHAEL COOPER – The New York Times – Published: November 30, 2011
The governors of Washington and Rhode Island petitioned the federal government on Wednesday to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses, …

Bill would make it harder to cover up deaths in custody
Congress appears set to pass the measure, prompted in part by outrage over reports of abuse in centers that hold immigration prisoners.
By Alexa Vaughn, Washington …

Court-Appointed Investigator Offers Scathing Report on Prosecution of Senator Stevens
By CHARLIE SAVAGE – Published: November 21, 2011
WASHINGTON — A court-appointed investigator has found that the high-profile prosecution of the late Senator Ted Stevens was “permeated” …

By Raul Hernandez – Ventura County Star News
Saturday, November 19, 2011
An in-house competition in the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office on who could take the most criminal cases to trial during the last quarter of …

BY DAVID CARROLL, National Legal Aid and Defender Association (Washington, D.C.) on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 at 3:58 PM
On November 15, 2011, the Emery County Progress reported that the county attorney — the same office …

City Beat News – BY DAVE MALASKA · NOVEMBER 9TH, 2011
According to a local public defender, people appearing in two Northern Kentucky courts — particularly the poor — are having their rights violated, and judges …