News

Three and a half years after announc­ing its inves­ti­ga­tion into the fed­er­al death penal­ty pro­to­col, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on…

President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk's push to radically overhaul the federal government is now reaching the U.S. court system with a demand that the judiciary justify why the administration should not cancel leases for space it uses at 160 locations nationally (…

On January 12, 2005, the United States Supreme Court a landmark ruling in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005), fundamentally reshaping the federal sentencing framework.   

In Booker, the Court declared that the mandatory federal Sentencing Guidelines…

State trial court makes a series of rulings, including striking defense witnesses for not being disclosed 20 days before trial even though the defense was still receiving new discovery from the prosecution as trial began. The rulings ultimately prevent the defendant foster father from…

A federal court has temporarily blocked federal prison officials from transferring a transgender woman to a men’s facility and denying her access to gender-affirming…

During COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) implemented a policy to allow phone calls to be free to adults in custody. Each month those in custody could make up to 500 minutes of calls at no cost. However, with the end of the pandemic declared over a year ago and the BOP under…

A military appeals court has ruled against the Defense Secretary’s effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants…

Zimbabwe has abolished the death penalty, a widely expected move in a country that last carried out the punishment nearly two decades ago (access full article…

In tribute to the life, character, and public service of James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr., the thirty-ninth President of the United States, and consistent with the President’s declaration of a National Day of Mourning in an…

The Defender Services Office announces that there will be an increase to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel attorney hourly rates.

CJA Panel Attorney Hourly Rate Increase

The panel attorney hourly rates is increased from $172 to $175 for non-capital work and from $220 to $223 for…