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Jailhouse Lawyer
Jailhouse lawyer is a colloquial term in North American English to refer to an inmate in a jail or other prison who, though usually never having practiced law nor having any formal legal training, informally assists other inmates in legal matters relating to their sentence (e.g. appeal of their sentence, pardons, stays of execution, etc.) or to their conditions in prison. Sometimes, they also assist other inmates in civil matters of a legal nature. The ability that inmates have to help other illiterate inmates file petition for post conviction relief was first recognized in ''Johnson v. Avery''. This same case also determined that unless states provide reasonable alternative, they must permit such action by jailhouse lawyers. The term can also refer to a prison inmate who is representing themselves in legal matters relating to their sentence. The important role that jailhouse lawyers play in the criminal justice system has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has held ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American English
North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pronunciations (accents), vocabulary, and grammar of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken varieties are often grouped together under a single category. Canadians are generally tolerant of both British and American spellings, with British spellings of certain words (e.g., ''colour'') being favored in more formal settings and in Canadian print media; for some other words the American spelling prevails over the British (e.g., ''tire'' rather than ''tyre''). Dialects of American English spoken by United Empire Loyalists who fled the American Revolution (1775–1783) have had a large influence on Canadian English from its early roots. Some terms in North American English are used almost exclusively in Canada and the United States (for example, the term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brett Kimberlin
Brett Kimberlin (born 1954) is an American political activist who was convicted in 1980 on drug charges and of perpetrating the 1978 Speedway bombings. Since his release from prison, Kimberlin has co-founded the non-profit Justice Through Music Project and the activist organization Velvet Revolution. He has also been involved in various legal disputes, including those associated with a claim that he supplied marijuana to Dan Quayle. Criminal convictions Shortly after graduating from high school, Kimberlin was convicted in 1973 of felony perjury for lying to a grand jury investigating drug trafficking. Kimberlin had been called before a grand jury investigating drug use at his high school and was convicted for testifying that he had not sold LSD. Kimberlin served only 21 days of a one-year sentence on this charge. By 1976, Kimberlin's drug business was grossing hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.Singer 1996, p. 57. He invested his drug money profit in such businesses as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro Se Legal Representation
''Pro se'' legal representation ( or ) comes from Latin ''pro se'', meaning "for oneself" or "on behalf of themselves" which, in modern law, means to argue on one's own behalf in a legal proceeding, as a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases, or a defendant in criminal cases, rather than have representation from counsel or an attorney. This status is sometimes known as ''in propria persona'' (abbreviated to "pro per"). In England and Wales the comparable status is that of "litigant in person". Prevalence According to the National Center for State Courts in the United States, as of 2006 ''pro se'' litigants had become more common in both state courts and federal courts. Estimates of the ''pro se'' rate of family law overall averaged 67% in California, 73% in Florida's large counties, and 70% in some Wisconsin counties. In San Diego, for example, the number of divorce filings involving at least one ''pro se'' litigant rose from 46% in 1992 to 77% in 2000, in Florida from 66% i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Lee Riches
Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted fraudster known for the many lawsuits he has filed in various United States district courts. Riches was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for wire fraud under the terms of a plea bargain. His release date was April 30, 2012. He was arrested for violating his federal probation in December 2012, when he left the Eastern District of the state of Pennsylvania without permission. He allegedly drove to Connecticut and impersonated the uncle of Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident. History Since January 8, 2006, he has filed over 2600 lawsuits in federal district courts across the country, some of which have received considerable press attention. Among the more famous defendants of his lawsuits are New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former President of the United States George W. Bush, former Attorney General of the United States Janet Reno, Martha Stewart, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Lawton
Lawrence Robert Lawton (born October 3, 1961) is an American ex-convict, author, paralegal, motivational speaker, and YouTuber. Lawton gained notoriety for committing a string of jewelry store robberies along the Atlantic Seaboard prior to his arrest in 1996. He spent 12 years in prison, and once released, began a career as a motivational speaker, life coach, and author. In 2007, he started the Reality Check Program to help educate at-risk youths on the consequences of breaking the law. He has acted as a spokesman for prisoners and prisoner issues, been a vocal advocate for prison reform, and made appearances in the media as an expert on robberies. Early life Lawton was born in North Hempstead, New York on October 3, 1961. His first encounter with organized crime was through his father, a metal worker who delivered bribes to the New York mafia. In grades one through six, Lawton served as an altar boy at St. Frances de Chantal's Church (Bronx), St. Francis de Chantal in T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clarence Gideon
Clarence Earl Gideon (August 30, 1910 – January 18, 1972) was a poor drifter accused in a Florida state court of felony breaking and entering. While in prison, he appealed his case to the US Supreme Court, resulting in the landmark 1963 decision ''Gideon v. Wainwright'' holding that a criminal defendant who cannot afford to hire a lawyer must be provided one at no cost. At Gideon's first trial in August 1961, he was denied legal counsel and was forced to represent himself, and was convicted. After the Supreme Court ruled in ''Gideon'' that the state had to provide defense counsel in criminal cases at no cost to the indigent, Florida retried Gideon. At his second trial, which took place in August 1963, with a court-appointed lawyer representing him and bringing out for the jury the weaknesses in the prosecution's case, Gideon was acquitted. Early life Clarence Earl Gideon was born in Hannibal, Missouri. His father, Charles Roscoe Gideon, died when he was three. His mother, Virgi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angola Three
The Angola Three are three African-American former prison inmates (Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace) who were held for decades in solitary confinement while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison). The latter two were indicted in April 1972 for the killing of a prison corrections officer; they were convicted in January 1974.John Schwartz, "Herman Wallace, Freed After 41 Years in Solitary, Dies at 71" ''The New York Times'', October 4, 2013; accessed March 12, 2019 Wallace and Woodfox served more than 40 years each in solitary, the "longest period of solitary confinement in American prison history". [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur William Taylor
Arthur William Taylor (born 1956) is a high-profile former prison inmate who served time in Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, Auckland, New Zealand. In 2016 he had spent 38 years in prison and had a total of 152 convictions. As a prison inmate, he achieved a public profile as a "prison lawyer" due to initiating court action on behalf of himself and prisoners' rights. In 2017, he initiated successful legal action on behalf of former prisoner David Tamihere. On 24 January 2019, Taylor's appearance before a parole board resulted in parole being granted, and he was released on 11 February 2019. He had said not long before release that he wanted to gain a law degree and continue his social work. Background & criminal history Taylor's parents were farmers in the Hokianga district before moving to Masterton where they ran a small business. Taylor says they were a loving family but that he found schoolwork boring and so often used to skip class. He had never appeared in court but, at age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Rosenberg
Jerome "Jerry" Rosenberg (May 23, 1937 – June 1, 2009) was a New York State convict, mobster and jail house lawyer. He was incarcerated for 46 years, longer than any other prisoner in New York State history. Rosenberg was sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1962 double homicide of two New York City police officers. His sentence was commuted to life in prison in June 1965, after capital punishment was abolished (save for premeditated murder of law enforcement) in New York. Rosenberg went on to become the first New York State inmate to earn a law degree and in turn gave legal advice to several inmates, including the leaders of the Attica Prison riot. A book was written about Rosenberg and his time in prison which was adapted into a 1988, made-for-TV movie, '' Doing Life'', starring Tony Danza. Robbery and murder In 1962, Rosenberg took part in the robbery of Borough Park Tobacco Company in Brooklyn. The robbery was unsuccessful and resulted in the death of two police ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crazy Love (2007 Film)
''Crazy Love'' is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens. The screenplay by Klores explores the troubled relationship between New York City attorney Burt Pugach and his ten-years-younger girlfriend Linda Riss, who was blinded and permanently scarred when career criminals hired by Pugach threw lye in her face. Production notes The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was shown at the Seattle International Film Festival before going into limited release in the US. It later was shown at the Reykjavik International Film Festival, the Raindance Film Festival in the UK, and the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival. Critical reception Manohla Dargis of ''The New York Times'' called the film "somewhat sickening, mildly gonzo" and added, "''Crazy Love'' takes a mildly hyperventilated approach to its subject; there’s a hint of tabloid sensationalism, a splash of kitsch sentimentalism. It moves fast, if predictably so, with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burt Pugach
Burton N. Pugach (April 20, 1927 – December 24, 2020) was a New York City-based lawyer who spent 14 years in prison for hiring men to throw lye in the face of his former girlfriend (and future wife) Linda Eleanor Riss (February 23, 1937 – January 22, 2013). Biography In 1959, Pugach began a courtship of Linda Riss, a 21-year-old woman from the East Bronx. Upon discovering that Pugach had a wife and daughter, Riss broke off their relationship. Pugach then threatened to kill or hurt Riss if she left him, saying "If I can't have you, no one else will have you, and when I get through with you no one else will want you." Riss reported the threat to the New York Police Department to no avail. Upon hearing of her engagement to Larry Schwartz, Pugach hired three assailants to attack Riss. The assailants threw lye in Riss's face, leaving her blind in one eye, nearly blind in the other, and permanently scarred. Pugach was convicted of the crime and spent 14 years in prison, during whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
