Criminal Law

The infamous Chris Brown – or “Chris Beat Her Down” as he’s been called in a number of blogs – made an appearance at the Criminal Courts in Los Angeles yesterday after attending 17 out of his required 52 domestic violence classes and performing 32  out of 108 required days of community service in Virginia.

LA Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg went over all of the papers sent from authorities in Virginia and since Brown complied with what she originally ordered him to do, the singer was granted an order that permits him to travel out of town between May 18 and June 27 for his concert performances, only if he gets permission from her in advance.

Brown has to show up back in court on May 11 for the next progress hearing.

For those of you who don’t know – Brown plead guilty on June 22, 2009 to attacking and assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna after a pre-Grammy Awards ceremony in LA. The singer was sentenced on August 25 to five years probation and 180 days of community labor, which is currently fulfilling.

We all hope he learned his lesson.

So many artists have made songs up about the infamous couple Bonnie and Clyde like as Beyonce & Jay Z.  These has even been films on this couple.  But what really happened?  An Austin criminal attorney would find some of these old school high profile criminal cases interesting.  Take a trip into the past and learn about criminal cases that took place in Texas like the notorious love affair of Bonnie and Clyde and the Texas Cadet Murder Case.

Beyonce (Bonnie) & Jay Z(Clyde)

Notorious Bonnie and Clyde
Did you know that one of the most notorious criminal couples met in Texas?  Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow met in 1930.  The star-crossed criminals, ages 19 and 21 respectively, went on a three year crime spree until their death at the hands of FBI agents in 1934.  Between the both of them, Bonnie and Clyde murdered at least 13 people, and were involved in numerous robberies, burglaries, car thefts, and kidnapping.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

The Texas Cadet Murder Case
Two bright Texas students, Diane Zamora and David Graham, were arrested for the murder of 16 year old sophomore Adrianne Jones of Manfield High School in Tarrant County.

In 1995, Zamora was jealous of a sexual encounter she thought Graham had with Jones.  She ordered Graham to kill Jones.  Although the body was found soon after the murder, the couple’s involvement was not discovered until Zamora boasted to fellow students at the Naval Academy in Annapolis that she was responsible for someone’s death.  The students reported the murder to their superiors and that started the ball rolling and the couple was arrested shortly thereafter.  At the time, Graham was a cadet at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and both had very promising futures.  Both Zamora and Graham were charged with capital murder and in need of a criminal defense lawyer.

Yesterday Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan said that her and her family plan to help her brother fight a state medical examiner’s finding that her father’s death was a homicide.

Her father, 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan, died on January 24 after what police said was a physical struggle with his 45-year-old son Mark, who was charged with assault.

Two days ago, District Attorney Gerry Leone said that a medical autopsy determined the cause of death for Kerrigan’s father was “cardiac dysrhythmia” — an interruption or lack of a normal heartbeat that can lead to cardiac arrest. This, however, occurred after a physical dispute with reported neck compression that damaged his windpipe.

Supporting accused Mark, the Kerrigans family issued a statement disagreeing with the autopsy findings and stayed that Daniel had a pre-existing heart condition before the altercation.

Mark is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation after pleading “not guilty” to a charge of assault and battery on an elderly person.

In a letter released yesterday, Nancy said her father was her “safety net,” and “the ultimate role model” for her two brothers — “the guy they continue to try to emulate.”

The burglarizing “Bling Ring” – which included five teenagers and a 27-year-old from the Los Angeles area – allegedly targeted a number of celebrities’ homes in 2008 and 2009 and stole millions of dollars worth of property from them.

Some of the targets? Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox and Orlando Bloom, to name a few.

The six “Bling Ring” members – Nick Prugo, Rachel Lee, Courtney Ames, Alexis Neiers, Diana Tamayo and Roy Lopez are headed back to the courtroom and some of them are willingly speaking out.

Prugo, the 19-year-old who was arrested last September is one of them.

“There was a definite thrill to it,” he told People magazine. “I don’t think any of us realized how severe it was until we actually got caught. It didn’t seem as bad as it was.”

The group’s leader, 19-year-old Rachel Lee, plead “not guilty” to a number of theft charges in an LA courtroom on Wednesday. The charges included receiving stolen property.

The rest of the accused group have entered not-guilty pleas to charges related to the alleged crime spree.

The Story

Back in December, singer Amy Winehouse was criminally charged in connection with an assault at the Milton Keynes Theatre in London.

According to police, the singer attacked a staff member at a Christmas show of Cinderella after staff members attempted to usher her from the audience into a private box. Winehouse allegedly kicked and punched staffer Richard Pound and was charged with a “public order offense” and common assault.

The 26-year-old voluntarily turned herself in to authorities and was scheduled to appear in court yesterday.

The Follow-Up

Winehouse stood before London’s Keynes Magistrates Court yesterday and plead guilty to the December assault charges. The judge ordered her to pay Richard Pound 185 pounds – or $300 – in compensation and costs.

The judge also declared that if the singer did not commit any more offenses for two years she will avoid any further punishment under conditional discharge.

Winehouse blamed her disorderly behavior on drinking too much that night (surprise, surprise) and Paul Morris, Winehouse’s defense lawyer, explained to the judge how much the singer has changed her ways and improved her lifestyle since the incident.

Judge Crabtree replied, “You [Amy] clearly have taken effort from this report to address your alcohol problems and any other problems you may have, so you get credit for that. [But] if you commit another offense you’ll be hit hard and you’ll be hit twice.”

Hopefully this will keep the chaotic singer out of trouble for a while…

Yeah right!