Prosecutors have said Clarisa Figueroa strangled 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez with a cable on April 23, 2019, after luring the teenager to her home with the promise of free clothing for her unborn child. Ochoa-Lopez was nine months pregnant.
Courts
It’s a moment in history — the first U.S. president facing criminal charges in an American courtroom. Yet only a handful of observers are able to see or even hear what is going on. New York state law regarding media coverage of court proceedings is one of the most restrictive in the country.
It’s the first criminal trial of any former U.S. commander-in-chief and the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to trial.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguements in a case that could have wide-ranging impacts on bribery cases like the one involving former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Illinois is the only state that grants residents the right to sue over businesses’ improper collection and mishandling of biometric data — whether they are an employee or a customer. Business groups have been clamoring for changes as upwards of 2,000 lawsuits have been filed under the law since roughly 2018.
“These robberies have created trauma for the victims and fear in our communities,” Superintendent Larry Snelling said. “We want everyone in this city to not only feel safe, but to actually be safe.”
The victim has said she was sexually abused over the course of multiple years at the hands of Brian Crowder, the former dean of students at the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice.
Justice Cynthia Kern’s ruling was the second time in as many days that the state’s mid-level appeals court refused to postpone the trial, set to begin next week, further narrowing any plausible path to the delay that Trump’s legal team has repeatedly sought.
Anthony Robinson, 31, is set to be released from custody Monday after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office agreed to vacate his conviction in the 2013 killing of Kelvin Jemison and dismissed all charges against him.
In a 6-0 decision, the court found the residency restriction “does not infringe upon a child sex offender’s fundamental rights” and that there was a “rational basis” for the state to restrict where a person convicted of such a crime can live.
Gary, Indiana, was among dozens of U.S. cities to sue major gun-makers and sellers in reaction to the out-of-control homicide rates and violent crime of the 1990s.
Sarah Diamond, 31, of Woodstock, pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of tampering with a consumer product and was sentenced this week during a hearing in Chicago.
The lawsuit is the latest effort to force the government to ban menthols, which are disproportionately used by Black smokers and young people. It comes amid growing concerns from advocates that the federal plan could be derailed by election-year politics.
In an unusual order, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had asked prosecutors and defense lawyers to formulate proposed jury instructions for most of the charges even though it remains unclear when the case might reach trial.
The killing of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins is drawing attention to a small state board responsible for deciding when prisoners can be released on parole.
Brian Hynes seeks damages after being sued in false claims case
The case involves Brian Hynes, a Chicago-based lawyer and one-time protégé of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who maintains a residence in Puerto Rico. Hynes has operated lobbying and business entities over the years that work with the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago.
