Grand Jury Declines to Indict Cassidy Hutchinson Over Her Jan. 6 Testimony
A Washington grand jury returned a no bill on the Justice Department's bid to charge the former Trump aide with lying to the Jan. 6 committee in 2022.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
The cases, the courts and the stories behind the headlines.
Courts
Trials, verdicts, appeals and the legal fights in the headlines, explained by working defense lawyers.
Appeals Court Tosses DOJ Bid on 20,000 California Ballots, and Judge Carter Tells Prosecutors to "Go Out and Indict"
The Ninth Circuit dismissed the emergency appeal 2 to 1. Judge David Carter signaled skepticism and plans a special master to examine the list.
Alexander Brothers Sentenced to 30 Years Each in Federal Sex Trafficking Case
Judge Valerie Caproni called their conduct monstrous and gave Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander 30 years each, between the life and 15 year terms sought.
"Information vs. Indictment: The Charging Fight at the Center of the New Comey Case"
Prosecutors filed an information, not a grand jury indictment, on the last day of a 10-year deadline. Here is why that choice could decide the case.
Judge Bars More Tree Cutting at East Potomac Golf Course as Trump Vows Appeal
Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction in the East Potomac Park case, writing that the Justice Department urged her not to believe the president.
Judge Strikes Unsigned New Charges Against Two Ex-FBI Officials in the Hunter Biden Testimony Case
An unsigned, unsworn complaint added an obstruction count against ex-FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. A magistrate judge threw it out.
Laura Owens Gets 30 Days in Jail and Seven Years' Probation for Faking a Pregnancy by Clayton Echard
Laura Owens pleaded guilty to four felonies over a fake twin pregnancy used against former Bachelor star Clayton Echard, who asked for prison time.
Supreme Court Refuses to Revive Rule Letting Immigration Judges Pause Deportation Cases
The justices denied Baltimore, New Haven and Columbus's bid to block a Texas and Justice Department deal that killed the 2024 administrative closure rule.
In the Sandra Birchmore Trial, Federal Prosecutors Attack the State's Investigation
Former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell says Sandra Birchmore took her own life. Federal prosecutors say she was strangled, and they are telling jurors the first investigation got it wrong.
Jury Convicts Miguel Olivares in the 2012 Killing of UNC Student Faith Hedgepeth
Fourteen years after a 19-year-old sophomore was beaten to death in Chapel Hill, a Durham jury rejected the defense's tunnel vision argument and returned guilty verdicts on every count.
Jury Rejects Insanity Defense, Convicts Rodney Hinton Jr. in Deputy's Death
Hours after watching body camera video of police killing his son, Rodney Hinton Jr. drove into a retired deputy. A Cincinnati jury found him guilty of murder but not aggravated murder.
Trump Asks the Supreme Court to Revive His Clinton Lawsuit and Undo the Sanctions
Two courts threw the case out and ordered Trump and his lawyer to pay nearly $1 million. His petition asks whether a sitting president gets more time to sue.
Alabama Governor Spares Toforest Johnson From Execution Over Evidence Doubts
Kay Ivey commuted Toforest Johnson's death sentence to life without parole in the 1995 killing of a Birmingham area deputy. She said it is not a finding of innocence, and his lawyers vow to keep fighting.
What Happens After a Hung Jury
A deadlocked jury does not mean an acquittal, and it does not end the case. Here is how mistrials, retrials and double jeopardy actually work.
Buffalo Supermarket Gunman Already Has Life. Now a Jury Will Weigh Death
Payton Gendron is serving life without parole for killing 10 Black shoppers in Buffalo. Federal prosecutors want a death sentence, and jury selection is moving slowly by design.
Supreme Court Refuses to Revive the Plea Deals in the September 11 Case
The deals would have spared Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and two others the death penalty. The justices declined to review a ruling that let the Pentagon walk away from them, leaving the capital case alive.
Statutes of Limitations, Why Some Crimes Expire and Murder Does Not
Most federal crimes must be charged within five years. Murder can be charged decades later. Here is how criminal deadlines work, why they exist and how DNA has rewritten the rules.
Amber Guyger Walks Out of Prison on Parole Seven Years After Killing Botham Jean
The former Dallas officer who shot Botham Jean in his own apartment served seven years of a 10-year murder sentence. His family fought the parole, and lost.
What Happens at an Arraignment, the Hearing Where a Defendant Enters a Plea
An arraignment can be over in minutes, but it is where formal charges are read and a plea goes on the record. Here is what the rules require and what two recent federal cases show.
How Does Extradition Work Between States and Between Different Countries?
The Tate brothers are fighting a British request from a Miami jail. Here is how the Constitution, treaties and the State Department decide who gets sent back to face charges.
Justices Look Unlikely to Change How Judges Use Sentencing Guidelines Commentary
A 17 round magazine put the Sentencing Commission's commentary on trial. At argument, most justices seemed wary of discarding a rule that has guided federal sentencing since 1993.
Your Miranda Rights Explained, From Miranda v. Arizona to Today
Sixty years after the Supreme Court decided Miranda v. Arizona, the warnings are part of American life. What they require, where the limits are, and how a 2026 ruling in the Etan Patz case fits in.
How Is DNA Evidence Used in Court, and How Has It Freed the Wrongly Convicted?
DNA has cleared more than 600 people since 1989, including an Illinois man who spent 32 years in prison. Here is how the evidence works, and where its limits are.
How Plea Deals Work, and Why Most Criminal Cases Never Reach a Trial
About 90 percent of federal defendants plead guilty, and only about 2 percent go to trial. Here is how a plea bargain is struck, what a judge must ask, and what John Bolton's deal shows.
No Criminal Charges in the Cornell Fraternity Case. The Civil Suit Is a Different Fight.
Prosecutors declined to file charges. A civil lawsuit is moving forward, and it plays by different rules.
What Does Reasonable Doubt Mean, and How Are Jurors Told to Apply It?
It is the highest burden of proof in American law, yet the Supreme Court has never required one definition. Here is what jurors actually hear in the jury room.
What a Grand Jury Does, and Why It Meets Behind Closed Doors
A grand jury does not decide guilt. It decides whether there is enough evidence to charge someone, and it does that work in secret. Two cases from the past year show why that matters.
Supreme Court Turns Away the Michigan Students' Let's Go Brandon Sweatshirt Case
Two middle school brothers were told to take off their Let's Go Brandon sweatshirts. The justices let stand a ruling that the school could treat the slogan as vulgar, even though it is political.
How Does the Insanity Defense Work, and How Often Does It Actually Succeed?
It is raised in about 1 percent of felony cases and wins in roughly a quarter of those. Here is how M'Naghten and other tests decide who is held responsible.
How Bail Works, and What Happens at the Hearing That Decides Who Stays in Jail
Bail is more than a dollar figure. In federal court a judge weighs danger, flight risk and the evidence, and the answer can keep a defendant locked up until trial.
Lindsay Clancy Trial Ends in an 11-1 Hung Jury
Eleven jurors favored a finding of lack of criminal responsibility. One held out for first-degree murder. What happens now?
What the Rob Reiner Case Reveals About Addiction, Mental Illness and the Law
A Brentwood murder put a spotlight on how families, treatment programs and courts handle dual diagnosis. Two defense attorneys explain where the system breaks.
Keefe D Found Guilty in the Murder of Tupac Shakur
Thirty years after the shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, Duane Davis faces life in prison. The panel explains how the state won with circumstantial evidence.
Postpartum Psychosis Goes on Trial in the Lindsay Clancy Case
Before the jury deadlocked, the legal panel laid out the evidence on both sides, from 13 medications to the question of planning.
Inside the State and Federal Split in the Luigi Mangione Case
A dismissed federal murder count, stalking charges and a New York double jeopardy rule could shape how the case ends.
What the Miami Arrest Means for Andrew and Tristan Tate
U.S. Marshals took the brothers into custody on a sealed UK indictment. Two defense attorneys explain why extradition is hard to stop.
Inside the Preliminary Hearing in the Charlie Kirk Case
Video, text messages, engraved bullets and a roommate testifying under immunity. The legal panel explains what prosecutors showed and why conspiracy theories are struggling.
Why Alex Murdaugh’s Murder Conviction Was Reversed
A clerk of court’s contact with a juror undid one of the most watched trials in years. What happens now?