Criminal Law Blog & News

On Tuesday , April 11, 2012, the so-called former attorneys of George Zimmerman announced to the media, and thus the public at large, they were withdrawing from further representation of the man under investigation for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.

Although attorneys have the ability to withdraw from cases under certain circumstances and although there really wasn’t an actual case to withdraw from as of Tuesday, questions remain regarding the decision to publicly disclose certain matters which may have the potential to negatively impact the defense.

On this day, January 28, in the year 1981, Plasmatics band member Wendy O. Williams was arrested on an obscenity charge for allegedly simulating a sexual act with a sledge hammer.  During her physical arrest, Williams was injured and was also charged with battery on a law enforcement officer.

On this date, December 21, in the year 1978, serial killer John Wayne Gacy was arrested.  When questioned by law enforcement investigators about having found human remains found in the crawl space at his home, Gacy confessed that he had committed approximately 30 murders since 1972.

On this date, December 1, in the year 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.   Her refusal to surrender her seat to the white rider spurred a city-wide boycott of the public transportation system which became known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  Her willingness to be arrested and charged with a criminal offense made her an inspiration to other people who recognized the wrongfulness of using the criminal “justice” system to enforce racial segregation.

A 22-year-old New York man wearing a shirt saying “I’m A Drunk” was charged with DUI early today after he slammed into a law enforcement officer who was on drunk driving patrol, the New York Post and CBS New York are reporting.

On this day, November 17, in the year 1734, John Peter Zenger was arrested for seditious libel and held in jail for ten months before his case went to trial.  Alexander Hamilton represented him and despite heavy pressure from the colonial Governor's judges, was found not guilty. This case was important for setting a precedent of freedom of the press before America became an independent nation, even in criminal cases.

On this date, November 16, in the year 1957, law enforcement officers went to Edward Gein's Wisconsin farmhouse and found Bernice Worden's headless corpse hanging upside down in a shed.

On this day, October 24, 2002, in the year 2002, law enforcement officers arrested the snipers who had been terrorizing the Washington, D.C. area over the course of 23 long days.

On this day, October 19, in the year 1982, auto executive John DeLorean was arrested in a Los Angeles, California, airport motel with a briefcase containing pounds of cocaine.  According to law enforcement officials, DeLorean was trying to organize a huge drug deal in order to save his bankrupt automobile business, the DeLorean Motor Company.

On this day, September 30, in the year 1961, dozens of Colorado law enforcement officers from the Denver Police Department  were arrested, stripped of their badges and firearms and hauled to jail for running a massive police burglary ring.

On this date in crime history, August 31, 1985: Richard Munoz Ramirez, know as the "The Walk-in Killer" and the "Night Stalker", was captured and beaten by a mob in East Los Angeles, California.

On this day, August  29, 2003, eighteen year old Jeffrey Lee Parson was arrested for creating, a variant of "Blaster," a virus-like computer worm that spread on computers running the Microsoft operating systems during August 2003.