Oct

5

The Long Arm of the Law

Posted by: Chris Donovan | October 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

I want to begin by thanking Dean O’Hear and Marquette University Law School for the opportunity to be October 2009’s “Alum Blogger of the Month.”
Roman Polanksi, a famous director of movies such as Chinatown and The Pianist, was recently arrested in Switzerland 32 years after he fled the United States after pleading guilty to a [...]

Jul

3

Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Another Questionable Statement by a Prosecutor

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | July 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment

On several occasions recently, the Seventh Circuit has been critical of statements made by prosecutors to jurors.  (See, for instance, my posts here, here, and here.)  Another questionable comment by a prosecutor was the subject of this week’s decision in United States v. Myers (No. 07-3658) (Manion, J.).
Myers was tried on arson charges.  During closing arguments, defense counsel [...]

May

18

Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Watch the “R” Word, Prosecutors!

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | May 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Two months ago, I posted here about the Seventh Circuit’s sharp rebuke of a prosecutor in United States v. Farinella, in which the defendant was charged with selling mislabeled bottles of salad dressing.  The court’s concerns focused, in part, on the prosecutor’s repeated suggestions to the jury that the salad dressing was spoiled, despite the [...]

Mar

23

Seventh Circuit Week in Review: Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection and Improper Closing Arguments

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | March 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

The Seventh Circuit had three new opinions in criminal cases last week.  The most interesting was United States v. McMath (No. 08-2316), which featured the Seventh Circuit’s most extended discussion to date of Snyder v. Louisana, 128 S. Ct. 1203 (2008).  In my view, the Supreme Court’s decision in Snyder represented a real break-through in the [...]

Mar

15

Seventh Circuit Week in Review, Part I: Of Brothels and Woodsheds

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | March 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment

The Seventh Circuit had a busy week, with eight new opinions in criminal cases.  In this post, I’ll discuss three that deal primarily with substantive criminal law issues.  A subsequent post will cover the sentencing and procedure cases.
Two of the opinions in this post deal with the difficult and important question of whether it is money laundering [...]