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Media reps, prosecutor split on how airing testimony should be banned
Media reps and a prosecutor disagreed on the Maryland Judiciary’s effort to let recordings of criminal trials be aired while respecting the witnesses’ safety and dignity.
Md. court hears victim’s appeal of hearing that freed Adnan Syed
Attorneys for Hae Min Lee’s brother argued that Adnan Syed’s murder conviction should be reinstated because her family was denied adequate opportunity to testify before the guilty verdict was vacated.
Lee’s family seeks redo of Syed’s hearing, says victims’ rights violated
The family of a young woman killed in 1999 has appealed a Baltimore judge’s order vacating the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, who was imprisoned for decades for Hae Min Lee’s death. In papers filed Friday with the Court of Special Appeals, Lee’s brother Young argued through counsel that the family’s constitutional and statutory rights […]
Texas inmate’s death leads to $1.6M settlement
Welcome to Monday, the 50th anniversary of National Public Radio. Here are some news items to get your week started. — Texas county pays $1.6 million settlement in death of allegedly untreated ill inmate. — What is the secret of attorney Ben Crump‘s success? — Victims’ families have a North Carolina district attorney removed from […]
Crime victims allege Baltimore police violate 4th Amendment
The Baltimore Police Department routinely violates the constitutional rights of violent crime victims by searching, seizing and retaining their personal property without a warrant or consent, a civil rights group has alleged in a lawsuit filed last week in federal district court. The three plaintiffs named in the suit claim that “after they were assaulted, […]
Court: Victims have say before plea deals are approved
Court-approved plea bargains can be scrapped if the crime victims were not given an opportunity to challenge the deal, Maryland’s second-highest court ruled this week. In a reported decision, the Court of Special Appeals said vacating the plea agreements preserves the victims’ constitutional and statutory rights to give impact statements. Meanwhile, vacating the agreements does […]
Md. high court weighs constitutionality of victim-impact video
A defense attorney told a skeptical Maryland high court Friday that a videotaped, set-to-music victim-impact statement designed to stir a sentencing judge’s emotions violated a convicted double-murderer’s federal constitutional rights to due process and be free from arbitrary and capricious punishment. “A sentencing proceeding in a homicide case is not a memorial service for the [&hellip[...]
Md. high court opens term with Fourth Amendment, due-process cases on docket
Maryland’s top court on Wednesday opens the public sessions of its 2017-2018 term in which it will consider among its approximately 150 appeals the constitutional rights of individuals who flee from the police and of convicted criminals at sentencing. On its first public day, the Court of Appeals will hear a request that it reinstate […]
