Town of Norwich resident James Brower pleaded guilty Friday to the first-degree felony charge of hindering prosecution in the July 30, 2017, death of 11-year-old Morris resident Jacelyn O’Connor, according to Chenango County court officials. “I appreciate the patience of the court and the professionalism of the district attorney’s office,” Clifton Carden, Brower’s defense attorney, told The Daily Star on Monday. “We support Mr. Brower’s decision, even though the timing went against our recommendations.” The case wasn’t scheduled to go to trial until June, according to court officials. Read Full Article

Syracuse, NY — Somehow, a homeless man in his 50s was so badly beaten last autumn that fragments of brick or stone lodged in his brain. But an Onondaga County jury took only a few hours today to find Ross McKinney, 35, not guilty of the brutal assault. The victim, who lived in a homeless encampment off Bear Street near Interstate 81, reported the injury reluctantly, a defense lawyer said. The man didn’t like cops but needed emergency help: his brain, visible through his cracked skull, was exposed to the November weather. Read Full Article

Syracuse, NY – Lawyer David Hammond arrived in Syracuse a year ago as a self-described “random dude on the street trying to find work.” There’s a tiny plaque outside a 12^th floor office downtown bearing his name, beneath the Carden Dotzler lawyers’ banner. He has a website and Facebook page, but gets more business chasing down judges in hopes of getting assigned to represent people who are too poor to pay for their own lawyer. “When I first showed up, I didn’t know anyone,” Hammond said. “All I knew was that I had to find judges to assign me cases.” Read Full Article

Before David Hammond came to Syracuse a little less than a year ago to start his own practice, he was assigned by the army to take on Chelsea Manning’s appeal. Manning was serving a 35 year prison sentence for leaking classified information before President Barack Obama granted her clemency just before leaving office. Hammond spent the better part of two years working closely with Manning on her appeal while she was behind bars. “It’s not every day that someone is court-martialed for the largest leak of classified information in U.S. history,” Hammond said. Read Full Article

On a gray morning this spring, Chelsea Manning climbed into the back seat of a black S.U.V. and directed her security guard to drive her to the nearest Starbucks. A storm was settling over Manhattan, and Manning was prepared for the weather, in chunky black Doc Martens with an umbrella and a form-fitting black dress. Her legs were bare, her eyes gray-blue. She wore little makeup: a spot of eyeliner, a smudge of pink lip gloss. Read Full Article