A follow-up investigation by the Wall St. Journal on the discredited reports that Bernie Madoff was beaten in prison last fall, disputes the denial by the Bureau of Prisons and, based on accounts by former and current inmates at the prison, reports he was attacked by another inmate over money, and sustained a broken nose and fractured ribs.

Lawyers for Roman Polanski filed a new appeal in the California Appeals Court today. It cites previously undisclosed sealed transcripts of improper communications between the Judge and prosecutors.

The 68-page petition asks the California Court of Appeals for the Second District, in Los Angeles, to act on an emergency basis. It argues, among other things, that the court should free Mr. Polanski by imposing a sentence for time served, or at least make the sealed testimony alleging wrongdoing available to Swiss authorities.

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Phil Spector's lawyers have filed their opening brief in the appeal of his murder conviction.

[T]hey focused on a judge's decision to allow testimony from five women who claimed Spector menaced them with firearms in the decades leading up to Lana Clarkson's shooting.

Those accounts, which portrayed Spector as a violent misogynist, became "the heart of the state's case, the sine qua non of its efforts to gain a conviction" and amounted to impermissible character testimony, the lawyers wrote.

For one thing, while the judge instructed the jury the testimony could not be taken as propensity to commit a crime, [More...]

Could this man be doing 8 years in prisonin Minnesota for a fatal accident because of a Toyota faulty gas pedal? (hat tip to Scribe.)

The convicted man is a recent Hmong immigrant. He insisted he did everything he could to avoid the accident and hit the brakes.

Lee, a recent Hmong immigrant with only about a year of driving experience, was driving his pregnant wife, 4-year-old daughter, father and brother home from church the afternoon of June 10, 2006, when their Camry zoomed up an Interstate 94 exit ramp in St. Paul. Police said it was traveling between 70 and 90 mph when it rear-ended an Oldsmobile stopped at a red light.

Good for the prosecutor who said he's willing to take another look at the case.

Journalist Andrew Krieg writes at HuffPo that the feds bullied Bernie Kerik into his plea and the four year sentence imposed by the judge.

My view is that the judge failed to protect Kerik's ability to mount a defense. We're all losers for this lack of fairness because all freedoms depend on justice in the courts. And for those (who often pop up in the comment sections of left-leaning blogs) who express satisfaction at Kerik's sufferings because he's a now-disgraced Republican, let's remember that Big Brother-style government is the issue here. It's not a good idea to applaud air bombing of neighbors.

He likens it to Don Siegelman's case and announces he's helping form "the Justice Integrity Project". The goal: [More...]

Police now say one federal employee died in today's plane attack on the building housing the IRS in Austin. (Background here .)

David Neiwert at Crooks and Liars discusses whether the plane attack on the Austin building housing IRS employees was terrorism. More on that here.

I don't see what difference it makes what you call it. The pilot's dead. It's not like they are going to try him in a criminal court for use of a weapon of mass destruction. Had he lived, that likely would have been a preferred charge.

There's already cries for increased protection of federal buildings. Seems like today's attack will cost us a pretty penny.

NPR has the purported suicide note of Joseph Stack, believed to be the pilot who crashed a plane into the Austin, TX office building housing the IRS.

Update: Hundreds of tweets and articles and the first to report on whether Kerik goes to jail immediately or not is Tony Aiello. Kerik was granted a voluntary surrender to the designated prison, he will report May 17.

Update: The Judge sentenced Bernie to four years in prison, more than the Government requested. In other words, he rejected the plea agreement, which called for 27 to 33 months. AP report on reasons the judge went above the guidelines:

Kerik was "the chief law enforcement law enforcement officer for the biggest and grandest city this nation has," Robinson said. The crimes were committed "in the process of attempting to become a cabinet level position in the government of the United States."

Bump and Update: Bernie Kerik's sentencing is set for 10 am ET. I'm following on Twitter and elsewhere and will update with live reports from those on the scene. Federal proceedings are not televised but media is present.

Original Post with details below:

Crystal Magnum, the false accuser in the Duke LaCrosse case, has been charged with attempted murder, arson, and more:

Durham police arrested Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum, 33, late Wednesday after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, set his clothes on fire in a bathtub and threatened to stab him.

Authorities charged her with attempted first-degree murder, five counts of arson, assault and battery, communicating threats, three counts of misdemeanor child abuse, injury to personal property, identity theft and resisting a public officer.

The identity theft relates to her giving a false name and age to police when arrested.

Former NY Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik is scheduled to be sentenced in a few weeks on his guilty plea to various tax offenses and false statement charges. Both sides filed lengthy sentencing statements yesterday.

Both parties have agreed to a guideline sentence in the range of 27 to 33 months. The Government is clearly hoping for the max of 33 months. Bernie is asking for 27 months.

Having read through the Government's 61 page sentencing memo and Bernie's (234 pages, including many letters), I have to wonder why the Government is making such a big fuss over 6 months. By pleading guilty, he saved the Government an enormous expense of time and resources that would have been required for a trial that would have lasted many months.

The case is largely based on the same conduct to which he pleaded guilty in the Bronx, and received no jail time. [More..]

Dr. Conrad Murray has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. The press release from the LA District Attorney's office reads:

Dr. Murray "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson ... in the commission of an unlawful act, not a felony; and in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death, in an unlawful manner, and without due caution and circumspection."

It's a media circus in L.A. Michael Jackson's parents, and siblings Jermaine and La Toya are at the courthouse for he brief court appearance, set for 1:30 pm. PT. Dr. Murray will voluntarily surrender and be released immediately on bond. Hopefully no perp walk. [More...]

Actor Charlie Sheen will appear in court in Aspen at 2:30 pm MT. The court docket states the matter is set for a bond appearance. Multiple media reports and a press release by Pitkin County indicate charges will be filed against him, most likely felony menacing and misdemeanor assault. His wife, Brooke Mueller, has also been ordered to appear so that the Judge can address the Sheens' request to modify the mandatory protective order preventing them from having contact.

TMZ reports a plea bargain may be in the works, but it won't happen tomorrow. My thoughts on what the plea bargain would entail are here.

In Los Angeles, Dr. Conrad Murray, the Houston physician present with Michael Jackson when he died, will appear in court at 1:30 pm PT. The DA's office is expected to file a charge of involuntary manslaughter against him. [More...]