Criminal Law

Locked in a visitation dispute with his former girlfriend over their young daughter, J.P. Weichel wanted to vent, court records say. Weichel, 40, allegedly posted comments about the woman on the Craigslist "rants and raves" forum, accusing her of child abuse and welfare fraud and making crude comments about her sex life. The woman said the postings were defamatory.

In keeping with Shakespeare's observation that "he that filches from me my good name ... makes me poor indeed," someone suing for libel ordinarily seeks financial compensation from the person or publication that injured his or her reputation. But archaic laws in several states also allow libel to be prosecuted as a criminal offense, and a Colorado man accused of defaming his ex-girlfriend online now faces the possibility of 18 months in prison. The prosecution of J.P.

The physical evidence that implicated former pro boxer Iwao Hakamada in the stabbing deaths of a family of four on a summer night in 1966 was hardly conclusive. The clothes prosecutors said he had worn during the killing did not fit him. The murder weapon Hakamada allegedly used was, according to his lawyers, too small to make the wounds. And, they said, the door police claimed Hakamada used to enter and leave the victims' house was locked.

Criminal defense lawyers said Thursday that it was unusual and even "extraordinary" for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to have released Paris Hilton to home confinement because of a medical condition. "There are people in custody who have cancer and AIDS and severe heart problems, and they remain in custody," said criminal defense lawyer Darren Kavinoky, whose practice is based in Woodland Hills.

The overburdened court system in Riverside County will get a special strike team of judges over the next four months to help clear its mounting backlog of cases. California Chief Justice Ronald M. George announced Friday that he planned to use his constitutional authority -- stemming from his duty to "equalize the work of the courts" -- to assign a team of as many as 12 active and retired judges to hear hundreds of backlogged criminal cases in Riverside County.

Kenneth Foster Jr. did not kill Michael LaHood Jr. But he's set to die in Texas today, just as if he had. Under a state law that allows accomplices to be executed, Foster was sentenced to death for driving the getaway car in a botched robbery that led to a shooting. Foster maintains that he had no idea a murder was about to take place, an account backed by the three other participants in the crime -- including the man who actually killed LaHood and was executed last year.

Sen. Larry E. Craig said he had retained a lawyer to examine his case, suggesting that he may attempt to withdraw his guilty plea. That may be possible in some circumstances, legal experts say, but he would risk having more serious charges reinstated and the public exposure of other details of the restroom incident that has imperiled his congressional career. Ordinarily, Minnesota law allows defendants to withdraw plea agreements in limited situations where there has been "manifest injustice."

WHAT IF THE Supreme Court overrules Roe vs. Wade by allowing South Dakota's new abortion statute to pass constitutional review? Abortion, which has been governed in our time by constitutional law, again would be a matter of criminal law. The chief question would be: Who goes to prison?

Matt Farrell, a video producer, needed an attorney after he had been charged with growing marijuana. He hired Allison Margolin, "L.A.'s dopest attorney," on a friend's recommendation. Farrell's first impression was "she was hot." His second was doubt. She looked too young to be a lawyer. Then he saw the Ivy League degrees on her wall.

The public defenders at the Norwalk courthouse begin the day with pancakes and strawberries. Attorney Michelle Paffile won a not guilty verdict in a trial, and by tradition she must bring treats for the 14 other public defenders and the staff assigned to this suburban courthouse in southeast Los Angeles County. This was an especially sweet victory for the young attorney, and she's gone all out on this recent Wednesday with mounds of cakes and berries and whipped cream.