Criminal Defense

Okay, I Thought People Were Using “Affluenza” as a Joke

That is, like "the Twinkie Defense"—a label people were using, not something specifically argued. But "affluenza" does seem to have come out of the mouth of a person who was being serious at the time. Specifically, an expert witness who…




UPDATE: Hiccup Girl Convicted of Murder

Jennifer Mee originally became semi-famous in 2007 when she had hiccups that lasted for months and sometimes hit a frequency of 50 hiccups per minute. (They eventually stopped by themselves.) She became more semi-famous three years later when she was…


Defendant Claims His Underwear Is 50 Years Old

Faced with evidence that he and his family lived in luxury on a politician's salary, Bo Xilai insisted in court that he is a simple man, according to reports yesterday. Bo, who was formerly head of the Communist Party in…


Good Reason to Kill #36: Dubstep; and #37: King of Pop

From an Aug. 23 press release by the SF Public Defender's Office: San Francisco, CA — A 52-year-old man accused of smashing a champagne bottle over his 30-year-old coworker’s head after the younger man changed the music from classic Michael Jackson to…


The Dude Who Went to Pizza Court

Hear Nebraska is a nonprofit group that says it "strives to make the state [Nebraska] a globally recognized cultural destination," and while that's probably more of a long-term goal there is some great stuff on its website right now. This…