Move over, Spiderman. There's a new superhero in the crime-fighting game.

Shadow Hare may not strike fear into the hearts of Cincinnati criminals as effectively as Batman in Gotham City -- at 5'7" and lacking such helpful abilities as flight or web-spinning, Shadow Hare doesn't seem like much of a threat to criminals older than 12 -- but he's armed with a taser, pepper spray, handcuffs and good intentions.

And it turns out he's not alone in the superhero business. Shadow Hare teams with Wall Creeper in Colorado, Master Legend in Florida, and Aclyptico in Pennsylvania to fight crime as the Allegiance of Heroes. (Apparently all the good superhero names have been used up, Green Lantern having taken the last of them.)

Just one question, guys. Where were you during the Bush Administration, when the nation really needed crime-fighting heroes?

Three groups have now filed amicus briefs in the Supreme Court supporting former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio's cert petition for review of his insider trading conviction.

Here is the brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (pdf). The issues alone tell you why Nacchio's conviction has ramifications for all defendants:

• The Tenth Circuit’s Decision Effectively Eliminates Rule 16 And Forces Criminal Defendants To Comply With The Civil Expert Discovery Rules

• The Tenth Circuit’s Decision Is Inconsistent With Criminal Defendants’ Constitutional Rights And The Integrity Of The Criminal Judicial Process

• The Tenth Circuit’s Decision Makes It Less Likely That Juries Will Have Access To Essential Expert Opinion Testimony In Complex Criminal Cases

The other groups are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Legal Foundation.

So much for turning a new leaf on medical marijuana prosecutions.

The U.S. Attorney's office in California will seek a five year jail term for medical pot dispensor Charles Lynch.

Mr. Lynch, who ran a small dispensary in the surfing hamlet of Morro Bay, has become a symbol for the medical marijuana movement since his shop was raided in 2007. A registered business owner, Mr. Lynch has the support of the city’s mayor, city attorney, and the local chamber of commerce.

Medical marijuana advocates see the case as a test of the Obama administration’s policy of non-interference on state marijuana laws. California is one of 13 states that allow the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Sentencing was continued today until June. Attorney General Eric Holder's appointee, H. Marshall Jarrett, is "guiding" the U.S. Attorney in seeking the jail term. Here is the pleading with Jarrett's letter attached. The Judge is George H. Wu, "a Bush appointed jurist who is hearing his first federal case." More here.

Here is the complaint (pdf) filed against Abduwali Abukhadir Muse, the accused teen-aged Somali pirate. The primary charge is Piracy Under the Law of Nations which carries mandatory life...no parole.

The Government now says he was the ringleader of the pirate attack. Did Captain Phillips tell them that? How else would they prove that when the others are dead? [Added: Answer is it came from interviews with the Captain and other crew members.]

He cried in court today. He is being represented by the Federal Defenders office in New York. The Court ruled him to be an adult today even though his father says he's 15 years old. [More...]

Dr. Christian Hageseth, a Colorado psychiatrist, was sentenced to 9 months in prison today for practicing medicine in California without a license. He prescribed Prozac to a college student in California over the internet after reviewing his online application.

His case is one of the first criminal prosecutions of a practitioner of "telemedicine," the furnishing of medical advice by phone or the Internet, for failing to have a license in the patient's state.

Two months after filling the prescription, the student killed himself. While there were trace amounts of Prozac in his system, it was later determined the prozac did not cause or contribute to his suicide. [More...]

Howard Kieffer, the post-conviction consultant who misrepresented himself as an attorney and defended clients in numerous federal courts was convicted at his first trial yesterday in North Dakota. He faces up to 25 years in jail. The Indictment is here (pdf).

It's hard to find a balanced article on Howard, whom many of us around the country have encountered at legal seminars or through his Bureau of Prisons Listserv, but this recent article in the ABA Journal, Catch Me If You Can is one.

I don't recall ever meeting Howard in person, but he's commented on TalkLeft, sent some e-mails over the years and I thought his BOP List-Serv was helpful.

The Judge has continued Howard's bond pending sentencing with a requirement of home detention. He still has criminal charges pending in other jurisdictions.

Former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio reported to the federal prison camp at Schuylkill, PA today to begin serving his six year sentence.

Yesterday, the Tenth Circuit denied his latest request for bail pending the outcome of his Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The renewed emergency application for release is denied, and we deny the request to stay the surrender date ordered by the district court," the order by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel states.

He is still making one more attempt through an appeal to Justice Stephen Breyer. (Update: Justice Breyer has denied his request.)

Update: Phil Spector has been convicted of second degree murder . The Judge refused bail pending sentencing. He faces at least 15 years in prison. More here -- and on the rise and fall of Phil Spector here. You can watch the jury verdict here.

As the Guardian puts it, at 68, Spector is likely to die in prison.

Our prior coverage of the trial is here. [More...]

Roberto Carlos is an undocumented immigrant who, after an argument with his boyfriend, decided he wanted to be deported to Mexico. His first thought, after a police officer responded to the argument, was to punch the officer.

He ... decided not to after the police told him it would not be in his best interest to do so.

Good decision. Carlos then shifted to plan B.

That was when he took off his clothes and ran down the street. He was charged with indecent exposure and was being held for immigration officials.

Need we mention that Carlos had been drinking?

A former U.S. sailor has been sentenced to 10 years, the maximum sentence possible, for spying for al-Qaeda, informing them of secret U.S. ship movements:

The former sailor, Hassan Abu-Jihaad, was convicted in 2008 of disclosing secrets on ship movements to potentially enable an attack similar to one carried out against the destroyer USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.

Several months ago in California, two 28 year olds who operated a medical marijuana dispensary were each sentenced to twenty years in prison, the mandatory minimum.

Does anyone not see something wrong with this picture?

A federal judge in Chicago has rejected the Gang Tax. Prosecutors sought a 45 year sentence for Fernando King, also known as "the Supreme Inca", saying it would send a zero tolerance message to street gangs. King was the #2 leader of the Latin King street gang.

While acknowledging that Fernando King, 38, was the leader of a gang responsible for narcotics trafficking and murder, U.S. District Judge David Coar said King could be sentenced only for the crimes for which he was convicted and not the broader destruction caused by the gang.

"He was a leader of (the gang) and for that morally he is accountable," said Coar. "Legally, he is accountable for what he was convicted of - two drug counts."

It sounds like the Government was engaging in a bit of grandstanding with the Judge: [More...]

Update: Judge has canceled deliberations for remainder of the week due to a juror's illness.

After a few court holidays and a juror's illness, the Phil Spector jury is back to deliberating his fate. This time around, they have the choice of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, which carries up to four years in prison.

LA Weekly reporter Steven Mikulan has been writing really good articles on the case. His latest, Accidental Suicide? New Involuntary-Manslaughter Option in Phil Spector Murder Retrial, goes through the closing arguments in detail.

One of the two prosecutors is orginally from Vietnam. In her closing, she said: [More...]