O.J. Simpson's former attorney, Yale Galanter, threw O.J. under the bus today, testifying O.J. told him he knew others were bringing guns to the hotel room where O.J. planned to retrieve his possessions. He even said O.J. told him he asked the others to bring the guns (called "heat.")

He also testified he told O.J. not to engage in the plan.

"He told me he finally had a lead on some personal pictures and memorabilia that was stolen from him years earlier," Galanter testified. "I said, 'O.J., you've got to call the police.'"

Things aren't looking good for O.J., even though other lawyers involved in the case have supported O.J.'s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel: [More...]

O.J. Simpson is on the witness stand in Las Vegas. You can watch live here. He's very composed.

Right now he is going through the events at the hotel room. He sounds very credible to me.

Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell agreed today to two life sentences and waive his appeal rights in exchange for the state taking the death penalty off the table.

Gosnell was convicted of first degree murder on Monday in the deaths of three babies who were born live and then killed by severing their spinal chords with scissors. As part of the deal, Gosnell, 72, will serve two life sentences without the possibility of parole or the opportunity to appeal.

Sentencing is set for tomorrow. [More...]

There are new expert reports from the State in the George Zimmerman case on who was screaming in the 911 call to police made by Witness 11. You can read them here. Shorter version:

I scream,
You scream,
We all scream for ice cream

In the first report, despite the cries on the 911 call being deemed "minimum-to-marginal material for identification purposes", the authors picked 6 "screams" to analyze. It concludes Martin likely made the first two screams and Zimmerman the last two screams. [More...]

O.J. Simpson is in court today, seeking a new trial in his Nevada robbery and kidnapping case. The grounds: ineffective assistance of counsel. His lawyer, Yale Galanter, denies the allegations.

Galanter is also being sued in federal court by his local co-counsel in the case, Gabriel Grasso. Grasso alleges he had an oral agreement with Galanter to be paid $250,000 in legal fees for his participation in the defense. Grasso says he expended over 1,000 hours and expended thousands in costs. He says Galanter received $500,000 for defending OJ and never paid him anything other than a partial cost reimbursement of $15,000. In pleadings obtained from PACER, Galanter argues there was no written fee agreement with Grasso and under Nevada ethical rules, it would be improper to share fees with another lawyer without the written permission of the client. [More....]

Tamerlan Tsarnaev is buried in Richmond, Virginia. Get over it. The protests are nothing more than rank bigotry.

“He’s a Muslim. We don’t need that here,” Margaret Stevens, a 68-year-old-retiree, said.

Lawyers for George Zimmerman today filed a motion asking the jury in his upcoming trial over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin be anonymous. The motion is here.

It's pretty unusual for a defendant (as opposed to the prosecution) to ask for an anonymous jury (sometimes called an innominate jury.) Will the state object? In at least one case, that of an outlaw motorcycle gang, the state defended a judge's discretion to order an innominate jury. (An innominate jury is one in which all information about the jurors is disclosed to the parties, with the exception of the jurors' names, addresses, and exact place of work. Some courts use the term "innominate," instead of "anonymous" because anonymous connotes a "clandestine, forbidden, and obscure" jury panel.)

Among the factors that may warrant an anonymous/innominate jury in Florida is where "extensive publicity that could enhance the possibility that jurors’ names would become public and expose them to intimidation and harassment." [More...]

Update 5/10/13: Here is where he is buried.

Here is the statement from the City of Worcester, MA. informing the public that Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been laid to rest.

Worcester, MA (May 9, 2013) - As a result of our public appeal for help, a courageous and compassionate individual came forward to provide the assistance needed to properly bury the deceased. His body is no longer in the City of Worcester and is now entombed.

The Police Chief would like to thank all of the officers who worked the security detail at the funeral home and acknowledge their professionalism and dedication.

[More...]

Katherine Russell, widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has added New York criminal lawyer Josh Dratel to her legal team.

Excellent choice. He's experienced in terrorism cases and is co-author of the Torture Papers: the Road to Abu Ghraib and The Enemy Combatant Papers: American Justice, the Courts, and the War on Terror.

Others he has represented:

• Australian Guantanamo detainee David Hicks
• Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, who was acquitted in federal court in Idaho in 2004;
• Wadih El-Hage, a defendant in U.S. v. Usama bin Laden, which involved the August 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania;
• Mohamed Suleiman al-Nalfi, also charged in the Embassy Bombings case.
• Mohamed El-Mezain, a defendant in the federal Holy Land Foundation case
• Attorney Lynne Stewart (in the appeal of her terrorism conviction)

And more leaks from anonymous law enforcement sources about what Dzokhar Tsarnaev told the FBI: Today's leak is that he said Ms. Russell wasn't involved in the bombing.

The Government and Enron defendant Jeffrey Skilling have filed an agreement with the Court for Skilling's sentence to be reduced from 24 years (292 months)to somewhere between 14 and 17 years (168 to 210 months.) He will get credit for the time he served since December 13, 2006. (He may also get another six weeks credit for time spent on home confinement before he reported to prison, but that will be up to the Bureau of Prisons.)

I've uploaded the 7 page agreement here. [More...]

ABC reports the parents of Tamerlan Tsarnaev are now considering cremation since Russia is unlikely to accept his body:

[T]he family of Tamarlen Tsarnaev is now considering cremating the body and trying to transport the ashes back to Russia, then burying them. Although cremation is against Islamic law, the parents see it as the only way of burying their son's remains, according to Heda Saratova, a local human rights activist and spokeswoman for the family.

But Russia might not accept the ashes. There are companies in Boston that will do burials at sea -- both of bodies and cremated remains. I wonder if they have called New England Burials at Sea.

Worcester Police Chief Gary J. Gemme held a press conference this morning outside the funeral home that is holding Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body.

Police Chief Gary J. Gemme pleaded today for anyone with authority to provide a burial site for suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Gemme said Russia is not an option and there are no viable other prospects. Federal and state officials have not been responsive.

The city is spending $10,000. a day for security around the funeral home.

Whose fault is it that Worchester has to spend $10k a day guarding the funeral home? It's not the funeral director's fault. It's not Tamerlan Tsarnaev's fault. The need for security is due to the protesters. No sympathy here.