Historic New Low For NYC Homicides

Gothamist reports:

At today's NYPD graduation ceremony, Mayor Bloomberg announced some impressive news: The 2013 murder total, through today, was 332—a 20.7% drop from 2012's total of 419. This is the lowest since the city started keeping track in 1963. Bloomberg bragged, "New York’s crime-fighting strategies have made us America’s safest big city—and one that cities across the globe want to learn from. Twelve years ago, no one thought New York’s crime rate could go any lower. But it did: since 2001, crime has gone down by 32 percent and in a city of 8.4 million people, there have been fewer than 350 homicides."

At the peak of the crack epidemic in the late 80s/early 90s, New York City saw about 2000 homicides annually. Gothamist has the breakdown by year at the link.

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Posted in: 2013 in review,crime,murder,NYC

MICHIGAN: Gay Murder Victim Met His Alleged Killers On Grindr

Detectives in Ann Arbor, Michigan say that a 71 year-old gay man was murdered by three men that he hooked up with on Grindr.

Nineteen-year-old Richard Thompson, of Flat Rock, told police that when he was signaled by 20-year-old Rikky Ranger and 19-year-old Mark Paling, he got David Maurer in a chokehold while the two other men went through the Lurie Terrace apartment and stole a gun, computer, cash and credit cards, according to transcripts of a Dec. 15 probable cause hearing obtained by The Ann Arbor News Wednesday. [Detective William] Stanford detailed for the magistrate how Ranger met Maurer on the gay hook-up website, Grindr, how the three suspects came to Ann Arbor from the Downriver area to drink, smoke marijuana and engage in sexual activity with Maurer that night only to leave the 71-year-old face down dead in his own couch. The three suspects, who identified themselves as homeless to Stanford, used Maurer’s credit cards and cash in the ensuing days for necessities. “They used the money for hotel rooms, gasoline and food,” Stanford said.

The suspects remain jailed without bond and face life in prison. (Tipped by JMG reader Glenn.)

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Posted in: Grindr,hook-up sites,Michigan,murder

Bidding On Painting By George Zimmerman Nears $100,000 On eBay

Raw Story reports:

After beating the rap on murder charges and a pair of domestic violence cases, George Zimmerman has turned to art. The Florida man is selling his first-ever painted work on eBay and has already attracted nearly 100 bids – and just short of $100,000 – in an auction that ends early Monday morning. Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., confirmed the auction is legitimate and the artwork is authentic. The 18-inch-by-24-inch canvas shows a rippling American flag in close-up, painted in light and dark blue hues, with the words “God, One Nation, with Liberty and Justice for All,” painted in white letters on the darker stripes.

Many famous killers liked to paint. Gacy, Manson, Hitler....

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Posted in: eBay,George Zimmerman,murder,Trayvon Martin

Quote Of The Day - John Scarpa

"A sentence of 25 years to life is an incredibly long period of time, judge. Shouldn’t that be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain classes of individuals? Who is the victim in this case? Is the victim a person in the higher end of the community? Amanda was engaged in a life of prostitution, life of drug use, HIV exposure. She was having sex with other individuals knowing she had the chance of spreading diseases." - Queens attorney John Scarpa, defending his client Rasheen Everett for the murder of transgender prostitute Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar.  The judge slammed Scarpa's comments then sentenced Everett to 29 years in prison.

The Anti-Violence Project has issued a statement:

AVP is calling for a public apology by Scarpa for this outrageous statement that says that transgender women and sex workers should be legally devalued by society. This type of speech is tantamount to hate speech and says that LGBT people, and particularly transgender women, are “other” and not worthy of protection. This hate speech is irresponsible and we are also calling on the Queens District Attorney’s office to issue a public condemnation of Scarpa’s dangerous and offensive remarks.

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Posted in: crime,disgusting,hate crimes,murder,NCY LGBT Anti-Violence Project,NYC,prostitution,Queens,transgender issues

Oakland County's Ax-Murdering Housewife Seeks Clemency

Sorry about that headline.  But this case was all-over your evening news back in 2004, when kindergarten teacher Nancy Ann Seaman axed her long-time husband to death on Mother's Day.

Earlier this month, Ms. Seaman filed for clemency consideration with Governor Rick Snyder.  You might recall [but probably not] that 3-years ago, a federal judge granted Seaman's petition for Habeas Corpus.

Ms. Seaman was jury convicted of first degree murder before retired Oakland Circuit Judge John McDonald.  Seven-months after her trial, Judge McDonald reduced Seaman's conviction from first to second degree murder.

Both Seaman and the prosecutor appealed.  The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and reinstated Seaman's first degree murder conviction.  [The linked MCOA opinion contains a fascinating in-court colloquy about premeditation between the prosecutor and trial judge at the hearing on Seaman's motion for a new trial, beginning on page 5.]

The Court of Appeals found (by 2-1) that the trial court abused its discretion by acting as a "thirteenth juror" in reducing the conviction to second degree murder.  The intermediate appellate court also held that premeditation has no set time-frame but rather, can be established in the fleeting moment that it takes to have a "second look" at an imminent homicide.

Dissenting Judge Karen Fort Hood was troubled by the apparent "disconnect" between Seaman's self defense theory and testimony regarding "battered spouse syndrome".  Evidence relative to the latter theory was limited by the trial court.  Judge Fort Hood also commented on what she perceived as a confusion of jury instructions on the two concepts.  See the last two pages of the above link for her concise dissent.

The Michigan Supreme Court declined further review of Ms. Seaman's conviction; the Habeas petition still lingers with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan grinding through cases filed in 2009, before turning to those filed in 2010.

Carol Jacobsen, a University of Michigan Law Professor, is the executive director of the Women's Justice and Clemency Project.  They are seeking clemency for Seaman and 9 other convicted women, many of whom were tried prior to a change in the law allowing accused women to present evidence of domestic abuse.

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Posted in: clemency,criminal defense lawyer,Governor Rick Snyder,murder

Former Prosecutor Jailed for Withholding Exculpatory Evidence

Disgraced Former Judge
& Prosecutor Ken Anderson

We saw this in the 313 a few years back in the Judge Waterstone case; a prosecutor getting jail time for failing to disclose exculpatory evidence that could set an innocent accused individual free.  This post profiles a case, the worst we've ever seen here at the Law Blogger, that comes from Texas.

Here in Michigan, as in Texas and all other states, prosecuting attorneys have a duty to disclose evidence that is exculpatory -that is, favorable- to the accused.  Failure to disclose exculpatory evidence subjects the prosecutor to contempt of court for which a violator can be jailed.

Michael Morton was accused, tried and jury-convicted of killing his wife Christine back in 1987.  Ken Anderson was the prosecutor assigned to the case.  After convicting Morton, Anderson rode a "tough-on-crime" wave onto the county circuit court bench where he has been serving as a judge until resigning in disgrace just last September.

The source of his disgrace was that justice was finally served-up in Morton's re-opened murder case.  DNA blood evidence from another individual proved Morton did not murder his wife; the blood was from a local drifter who was later convicted of murdering another woman in Texas two years after Christine Morton's death.

In the process of re-opening Morton's case, it was learned that Anderson possessed two pieces of critical exculpatory evidence: Morton's 3-year old son saw the murderer and told his grandparents that it was not his dad but rather, a "monster"; neighbors' statements described seeing a drifter near the Morton residence in the days leading up to Christine's murder.

Unfortunately for Morton, he did a full quarter in the joint before being released in 2011.  The drifter was eventually convicted of Christine Morton's murder and now sits on Texas' Death Row awaiting execution.

As part of a global agreement settling all matters against him, the disgraced judge and former prosecutor was disbarred as a lawyer, and will do [only] 10-days in the county jail for contempt of court; he will not have a criminal conviction on his record.

The civil lawsuit against Anderson brought by the State Bar of Texas will be dismissed.  As part of the resolution, Anderson will not be charged with the more serious criminal charges of tampering with evidence [carrying a 10-year maximum prison term] due to statute of limitations constraints in bringing such a case.

If you were to ask us here at the Law Blogger, as between these two men, we believe Anderson got a far better deal.  He should be tasting prison food for at least a nickel; he got lucky and he knows it.

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Posted in: criminal defense lawyer,exculpatory evidence,Ken Anderson,Michael Morton,murder

Mormon Murder Case Submitted to Jury

After 4-months of proofs, the capital murder case against Jodi Arias has [finally] been submitted to the jury for deliberation and a verdict.  Although the murder of Travis Alexander occurred in 2008, the jury was not empaneled until January 2, 2013.

In an interesting preliminary decision, the presiding judge elected not to sequester the jury.  This means that, although they were provided with a daily admonishment not to discuss the case with anyone outside the courthouse, jurors were left to their own devices when faced with the saturation-media coverage of this trial.

We here at the Law Blogger have posted on the topic of social media and the jury pool, and the problems presented by jurors that seek information about their case outside the courtroom.  In such high-profile cases, the jurors realize they are a part of our lurid true-crime history. 

These folks thus become high-profile jurors.  Many hire attorneys or agents after the trial to discuss lucrative media appearances; even book deals. 

Being in the profession of defending the accused, we wonder over here at the Law Blogger how many of the jurors assigned to this case have succumbed to the temptation of tuning into the media coverage of their case.  How many jurors have Googled some of the witnesses, particularly the experts, that testified in this case?

If any such forays come to light [and let's not forget that every Internet user's keystroke is recorded] this defendant will have at least one good appellate issue.  In our opinion, Judge Sherry Stephens should have sequestered this jury or at least obtained their known IP addresses, and she should have concluded the trial in February, not May.

Such cases give our media-rich culture the opportunity to marinate in the art of lawyering.  Some camps favor the prosecutor; others relish the art of defending the accused.

One thing is for sure -these high profile murder trials cement our collective national fixation with sex, religion and violence.  Not that each of us are latent dysfunctional bi-polar borderline personality stalkers.  Yet, as a nation, we just love the spectacle of the public trial; especially a capital murder trial.  Such trials have taken the place of a public execution in the town square.

Even with an inevitable jury conviction of some degree of homicide, unfortunately Ms. Arias will be with us for decades.  We here at this blog can already see the appeals beginning to form...

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Posted in: bi-polar,borderline personality disorder,capital murder,criminal defense lawyer,Jodi Arias,Judge Sherry Stephens,juror,jury trial,Mormon,murder,social media,stalker,Travas Alexander

Mormon Murder Provides Unique Cross-Examination Opportunity

Jeeze, the American media sure loves a good capital murder trial; especially one with the whiff of religion mixed with the spectre of the death penalty.  Plenty of grist for their insatiable mills.

Not since Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer's fascinating account of the 1984 murders of a Mormon housewife and her 15-month daughter in Utah at the hands of her brothers-in-law, has the Mormon faith been enmeshed with a lurid murder like the trial grinding-onward in Phoenix, Arizona.

Yes, that would be the capital murder trial of the Casey-Anthonyesque "former model", Jodi Arias; accused of shooting, then slicing the throat of her Mormon boyfriend, Travis Alexander.  As a criminal defense lawyer traveling to circuit and district courts across Michigan, I've had plenty of time to listen-in on this sensational trial over the past two-months.

While quite rare to have any defendant take the witness stand in her own defense, it is exceedingly rare for a defendant accused of murder to take the witness stand in a jury trial.  Rarer still is to have the ongoing cross-examination of that defendant available in real-time for more than two weeks.

Cross-examination is the art of controlling a witness in order to convey a story, or a message, to a captive audience of 12 jurors; each of whom have somewhere else to be.  It is a skill that few lawyers can pull-off very well.  Like golf, you cannot just pick it up on the occasional weekend.  While there are boatloads of lawyers out there, only a handful have viable cross-examination skills.

The Jodi Arias trial is so lurid, with such high shock-value, it is a cross-examiner's dream.  A county prosecutor good enough to be assigned to a high-profile case is going to be a proficient cross-examiner.  Just listening to Juan Martinez cross-examining Ms. Arias, as a criminal defense lawyer, is like being in a trial clinic.

But 18-days on the witness stand?  Most judges have local court rules allowing them to control the decorum and procedure in their courtrooms, especially during a jury trial.  This power includes limiting time on the witness stand.  Most court watchers agree that this trial has turned into spectacle and has sailed over-the-top.

On the other hand, once you allow a genie like this out of the bottle, how then can you limit its scope when it takes on a life of its own.  If the Arias defense team tosses her a hundred softballs on a myriad of subjects in her direct examination [i.e. dates, times, family history, abuse history, sexual habits; each in excruciating detail], then what is a prosecutor to do but dutifully explore each and every door that has been thrown open.

Add to this the national media attention to the case, and viola; the politician within the judge in charge of such a circus is not going to prematurely turn the nation's eyes away, especially when that judge is center stage for the ever-ready lens of the voracious national media.

Nor can we forget to account for the potential value to the defendant, win or lose, of grabbing America by the shorties for as long as she can hold-on, in order to maximize her capital in the notoriety bank; the added-value could come in handy further down her tough road ahead.  From a long-term strategy perspective, this makes sense if you are Ms. Arias; and from what I've heard, she's got her head in the game.

We here at the Law Blogger defend the accused in jury trials all the time; admittedly, not high-profile murder cases.  We know some good judges here in Oakland County that could fit five or six murder trials into the yawning span of the Arias trial.  In the end, this spectacle amounts to a huge waste of legal talent and judicial resources.

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Posted in: capital murder,Casey Anthony,criminal defense lawyer,cross-examination,death penalty,Jodi Arias,Jon Krakauer,Juan Martinez,Mormon,murder,Oakland County,Travis Alexander

Murder has no Statute of Limitations

Veteran defense lawyer Michael McCarthy (L)
and veteran prosecutor John Skrzynski

Prosecutors cannot take their time once they make the decision to prosecute a case.  Generally, the law does not reward any party that sleeps on their rights and duties.

Normally, the prosecutor has a certain period of time, known as the "statute of limitations", within which to charge a crime.  An exception to this rule is murder; there is no statute of limitations on a murder charge.

The Oakland County Prosecutor recently brought two cases that alleged murders that took place in 1978 and 1968, respectively.  The 1968 case charged Nolan Ray George, a suspected serial killer, with the first degree murder of Gwendolyn Perry.  Likewise, the 1978 case charged Wilburn Cooper with first degree murder.  

Cooper's jury convicted him in two hours flat.  As for Mr. George, his defense lawyer, veteran attorney Michael McCarthy attempted to keep out evidence of so-called "prior bad acts"; two prior murders.  Oakland Circuit Judge Michael Warren ruled the other murders admissible; George also was jury convicted in short order.

Forty years, thirty years, or ten; if the prosecutor can marshal evidence to prove the elements of an open murder charge beyond a reasonable doubt, murderers should pay the price for their heinous crimes.  The competing interest, of course, is that any evidentiary trail grows ice cold over the decades; a defense is very difficult to mount with the passage of an ocean of time. 

Mr. McCarthy was probably asked why on earth he would represent a serial killer a dozen times if he was asked once.

The criminal justice system requires seasoned defense lawyers to force the government to prove its case; each and every time.  Only in this fashion do we maintain our individual liberties and avoid becoming a police state.

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Posted in: attorney,defense lawyer,John Skrzynski,Michael McCarthy,murder,Oakland County Prosecutor,serial killer,statute of limitations

Oakland County's Ax-Murdering Teacher-Housewife Receives Habeas Relief

Sorry about that headline.  But this case was all-over your evening news back in 2004, when kindergarten teacher Nancy Ann Seaman axed her long-time husband to death on Mother's Day.

Earlier this month, a federal judge granted Seaman's petition for Habeas Corpus.  Habeas relief is considered when a convicted inmate, having exhausted her state court appeals, sues the warden of her prison in federal court on the theory she is being illegally detained by the State of Michigan in light of constitutional errors in a state court criminal proceeding.

Ms. Seaman was jury convicted of first degree murder before soon-retiring Oakland Circuit Judge John McDonald.  Seven-months after her trial, Judge McDonald reduced Seaman's conviction from first to second degree murder.

Both Seaman and the prosecutor appealed.  The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and reinstated Seaman's first degree murder conviction.  [The linked MCOA opinion contains a fascinating in-court colloquy about premeditation between the prosecutor and trial judge at the hearing on Seaman's motion for a new trial, beginning on page 5.]

The Court of Appeals found (by 2-1) that the trial court abused its discretion by acting as a "thirteenth juror" in reducing the conviction to second degree murder.  The intermediate appellate court also held that premeditation has no set time-frame but rather, can be established in the fleeting moment that it takes to have a "second look" at an imminent homicide.

Dissenting Judge Karen Fort Hood was troubled by the apparent "disconnect" between Seaman's self defense theory and testimony regarding "battered spouse syndrome".  Evidence relative to the latter theory was limited by the trial court.  Judge Fort Hood also commented on what she perceived as a confusion of jury instructions on the two concepts.  See the last two pages of the above link for her concise dissent.

The Michigan Supreme Court declined further review of Ms. Seaman's conviction.

With her state appellate options exhausted, Seaman turned to federal court via Habeas Corpus.  In her initially successful petition, she asserted that she was denied her right to effective trial counsel, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, when Attorney Lawrence Kaluzny did not challenge a ruling by the trial court that limited the testimony of Seaman's expert on "battered spouse syndrome".  [BTW: In Oakland County, you just cannot hire better trial counsel than Larry Kaluzny.]  The federal judge has ordered a new trial for Seaman.

We here at the LawBlogger, however, need you to stay tuned on this one as Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is appealing the federal district court judge's order to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Posted in: Attorney General Mike Cox,battered spouse syndrome,defense attorney,habeas corpus,homicide,Judge John McDonald,Lawrence Kaluzny,murder,Nancy Ann Seaman,Oakland County Prosecutor