Samuel Ford v. U.S: SCOTUS applies Burrage to vacate a life sentence

In its 2/24/14 list of orders, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily disposed of three criminal cases. One of them was Samuel Ford v. United States. Ford was convicted of selling heroin which caused the death of a man named Joseph Scolaro. Since Ford had a prior felony drug conviction, the mandatory minimum sentence under 841(b)(1)(C) was life in prison. Without further briefing or argument, the Supreme Court granted cert, applied the rule announced in Burrage v. U.S. and vacated the conviction.

You can read my post about the case on the Portland Press Herald site.

Jeffrey Cookson v. Maine: Head in the Sand, DNA Evidence in the Trash

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court decided Jeffrey Cookson v. State of Maine on 2/18/14. Their decision will prevent DNA testing of evidence which might show that the wrong man is in prison while a killer remains at large. The court gives a unique interpretation of Maine's chain of custody law and while it prevents testing for Cookson, it might help other defendants who challenge the prosecution's evidence at trial.

Walter Scott Fox, Fixture in Portland Sailing, Guilty of $14m Fraud

Scott Fox pleads to $14m bank fraud

Walter Scott Fox III, better known as Scott Fox, was a fixture in the Portland sailing community for at least the last 20 years. The 56 year old was a longtime member of the Portland Yacht Club, owner of expensive racing sailboats, and a great advocate of junior racing.

He owned The Boathouse, a boating supply store in Falmouth's Handyboat complex where he appeared to do a good business of outfitting junior sailors with racing dinghies and associated gear. Scott Fox looked to be a successful businessman and a role model for the many youth that he helped support. As it turns out, his whole life was built on a fraudulent loan scheme that ran from 1995 to 2012 and netted Fox about $14,000,000.