The 2012 Golden Globe nominations include several nominees in the crime and legal genres:

MOVIES:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Best Actress (Rooney Mara)
We Need to Talk About Kevin - Best Actress (Tilda Swinton)
J. Edgar - Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
The Guard- Best Actor (Brendan Gleeson)
Drive - Best Supporting Actor (Albert Brooks)

TV:
American Horror Story - Best Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Lange)
The Killing- Best Actress (Mireille Enos)
Boardwalk Empire - Best Drama Series, Best Actor (Steve Buscemi), Best Supporting Actress (Kelly MacDonald)
Homeland - Best Drama Series, Best Actress (Claire Danes), Best Actor (Damian Lewis)
The Good Wife - Best Actress (Julianna Margulies)
Breaking Bad - Best Actor (Bryan Cranston)
Appropriate Adult - Best Actress Mini-Series (Emily Watson)

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The U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 members of an Amish sect for shaving the hair and beards of non-sect Amish people.  A grand jury indicted the Amish sect's leader, Samuel Mullet Sr., along with 11 other followers.

The defendants were charged with violations of the federal hate crime law (the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act), which carries a potential life sentence.  The defendants were also charged with obstruction of justice.

The alleged crimes were the result of religious disputes with other Ohio Amish.  The defendants are accused of planning and carrying out assaults "on their perceived religious enemies." 

According to authorities, "The assaults all entailed using scissors and battery-powered clippers to forcibly cut or shave the beard hair of the male victims and the head hair of the female victims.  During each assault, the defendants restrained and held down the victims."

After the assaults, some of the defendants are accused of concealing or attempting to conceal evidence including a camera, photographs "and an over-the-counter medication that was allegedly placed in the drink of one of the assault victims."

The way that Amish men wear their beards and Amish women wear their hair are symbols of their faith.  That's why someone cutting their hair and beards can be considered a hate crime.

"Every American has the right to worship in the manner of his or her choosing without fear of violent interference," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.

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Michael Morton, 57, was exonerated after spending 25 years in a Texas prison for killing his wife.  His attorneys are now seeking a "court of inquiry" to examine whether the prosecutor committed misconduct by withholding exculpatory evidence.

If approved, a judge would be selected to preside over the inquiry.  A district or county attorney would assist examining witnesses and evidence.

Prosecutorial misconduct (specifically, prosecutors withholding evidence) is a common factor in cases where the defendant is later exonerated.

Read about a similar story by entering my free book giveaway- Chasing Justice:  My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit" by Kerry Max Cook.

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I added an article about where to draw the line between simply thinking about or planning a crime, and doing enough to be convicted of an attempt.  What is an attempted crime?  Learn about what constitutes an attempt, as well as other criminal law concepts, in the Resources section.

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I'm giving away an autographed hardcover copy of Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit" by Kerry Max Cook.

The book has received excellent reviews:

"Chasing Justice is captivating. . . .  It is going to break through political barriers and be a catalyst for reform."  (Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking)

"Chasing Justice is an immensely compelling story that is hard to believe.  If it were fiction, no one would believe it.  But it's not, and Kerry Cook's account of his nightmare is fascinating."  (John Grisham, best-selling author)

"Deserves a wide readership alongside John Grisham's The Innocent Man."  (Publishers Weekly)

"Cook's story is so gripping that only a heart of steel won't break after reading it."  (People Magazine)

Sign up to win Chasing Justice by January 15, 2012!

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Most people are familiar with a trial jury.  A trial jury is usually made up of 12 people who listen to a trial and decide the defendant's guilt or innocence.  In law, a trial jury is called a "petit jury," to distinguish it from a grand jury. 

A grand jury has many differences and similarities with a trial jury.  The grand jury is generally much larger, often comprised of at least 23 people.  Like a petit jury, a grand jury is made up of regular citizens who respond to a jury summons. 

The  grand jury usually meets once a week for many months or even a year.  This schedule is different from a petit jury, which usually meets every court day until a trial is over.

The grand jury is an investigative body that can issue subpoenas for witnesses or documents.  The evidence is generally presented by prosecutors.  The grand jury reviews the evidence and determines whether a person should be charged with a crime, or indicted.  

A person being investigated, called "a target" of a grand jury, is not allowed to have an attorney present evidence to the grand jury.  Neither the target nor the target's attorney may be present in the grand jury proceedings unless subpoenaed (or ordered to testify).  

A target, if called to testify, or any other witness before the grand jury, may "plead the Fifth," or invoke their right to remain silent.  A person may not later be punished for remaining silent because it is a constitutional right.  Grand jury proceedings are kept secret until someone is charged.  It is therefore possible a target may not know he or she is being investigated.

Ostensibly, the grand jury's purpose is to prevent overzealous prosecutors from charging people with crimes without sufficient evidence.  However, in reality, grand juries usually follow the prosecutor's lead and do whatever the prosecutor suggests.

All federal criminal charges are made through a grand jury.  Many states use grand juries as well.  States are not required to use a grand jury.  States may use other means of "checking" the prosecutor's exercise of charging discretion.  For example, in California, prosecutors can use a grand jury, but they usually use a preliminary hearing instead. 

In a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor presents evidence before a judge, who must decide whether there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed the charged crimes.  A defendant may cross-examine witnesses and present evidence at a preliminary hearing, which is different than a grand jury.

The role of the grand jury is written into the U.S. Consitution.  The Fifth Amendment states in part, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury."

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If you have a Kindle, or a smart phone with an Amazon Kindle app, you have to check out their daily deals.  They often feature mysteries, thrillers, and true crime books, both old and new.  At $.99 to $1.99, the prices can't be beat!

Check out their website for new books every day.  Better yet, join their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, and you'll be notified of the new deal every day!

Happy reading!

Joe Bailey Jr., the director of an award-winning documentary, "Incendiary," told CNN that legal knowledge gave him confidence in the choices they made when making the film. 

Bailey's film, "Incendiary," explores the legal, scientific, and political impact of a Texas arson murder case.  Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 after being convicted of murder in the house fire deaths of his three young children.  The film questions the scientific accuracy of arson investigations and the legal ramifications of a death sentence.

Bailey describes the film as "equal parts murder mystery, forensic investigation and political drama.  What we found so fascinating about the case and the story was the way that law and science and politics collide in this story in a really kind of life and death struggle."

Bailey had a law degree, which he found helpful in exploring the case.  Despite his law degree, Bailey consulted with his wife, who is an attorney, as well as law professors, to help him understand and portray his subject in depth. 

"I feel that a lot of people who are making films about legal things occasionally get things wrong, and it's really frustrating," Bailey told CNN.  "But more often they'll gloss over the process and the legal meat of a subject because they're afraid of it."

That's the essence of why I consult with writers and filmmakers.  I remove the doubt and fear out of criminal law topics, and help you get it right.  You don't have to be a lawyer to create authentic and knowledgeable crime and legal projects.  But it helps to have a knowledgeable, experienced criminal lawyer in your corner. 

Contact me for a free initial consultation.  Or sign up to receive my FREE Writer's Guide:  Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery and Legal Drama.

I recently finished reading "Brown's Requiem" by James Ellroy.  Ellroy is the author of "L.A. Confidential."  "Brown's Requiem" was his first novel.

The title refers to the protagonist, Harlan Brown, a disgraced LAPD officer turned private detective.  Brown was spiritually awakened by and continues to thrive on classical music, hence the title's reference to requiem.

The story was a little dense.  If I had taken more than a week between readings, I probably would not have remembered who certain characters were or how they related to the story. 

Generally, the book was about a private investigator who is hired by a golf caddy to investigate his long-lost sister and her benefactor.  The caddy is a hateful scumbag, and Brown's investigation quickly turns against his client. 

This is one of those stories where the city in which it takes place becomes another character.  Ellroy was clearly in love with the Los Angeles of 1980, and he makes the city's seedy side come to life.  He takes special care in exploring the city's golf courses, which are completely unhknown to non-golfing angelenos.

This book doesn't get into the courtroom at all, so I don't have much to say about its realism.  But overall, it was a decent mystery that left me a little empty at the end.

Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State Football Coach arrested last month for molesting eight young boys, was rearrested today.  He was charged with more counts involving two victims who came to light after his initial arrest.

It is common in cases of child molestation that victims do not report their abuse until other similar allegations surface. 

The facts alleged by these new victims appear to be similar to those alleged by the first eight victims.  The victims were all young boys who met Sandusky through his charity, The Second Mile.  Sandusky gave the boys gifts and took them to football games.  He began physically touching the boys, which eventually became sexual assaults. 

These kinds of similiarities tend to reinforce the truth of each of the allegations.  If specific enough, they can be classified as the defendant's modus operandi, or M.O.