Pedro Hernandez Ruling Expected On or Before This Date
2016-07-11 09:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Judge Max Wiley is expected to rule on some pretrial evidentiary matters today (or before) in this murder case. Hernandez is accused of murdering 6-year-old Etan Patz on May 25, 1979 in lower Manhattan. Jury selection should begin on Sept. 6 or 7.

Mark Sievers in Court at DCF Hearing for Daughters
2016-07-11 15:00 - 17:00
Mark Sievers and his attorney will be in court this afternoon. He recently lost parental rights to his grade school daughters. Custody was awarded to the girls’ maternal grandmother instead of Sievers’s mother. Apparently some issues arose regarding the maternal grandmother, Mary Ann Grove. The judge is expected to speak to the girls today to hear their complaints. The hearing involves the Department of Children and Families. His next appearance regarding the murder case is July 27, 2016.

Jody Herring Hearing
2016-07-12 08:30 - 12:00
Herring is charged with four counts of murder in Vermont. She killed a social worker apparently over a child custody matter. She also killed three family members. Today is a status conference in Barre, VT at which the judge may set a trial date.

Corey Batey Sentencing
2016-07-15 09:00 - 17:00
Former Vanderbilt University student and football player, Corey Batey faces 15 to 25 years in prison for rape and other charges related to a June 2013 assault of an unconscious fellow student. Three others were also charged. The cases were severed for trial.

Hearing in Charles Merritt
2016-07-19 09:00 - 17:00
The defense team for Charles Merritt says that AT&T did not comply with their requests to turn over phone records. In the most recent hearing on July 8, the defense argued that AT&T’s reasons for not providing the records were inadequate. The judge has asked a representative of AT&T to appear at today’s hearing presumably to answer more questions.

Bill Cosby Arraignment in Sexual Assault Case in PA
2016-07-20 09:00 - 17:00

Live Chat With Beth
2016-07-20 20:00 - 21:00, 2016-08-30 20:30 - 21:30

Hearing in James Bradley Murder Case
2016-07-21 09:00 - 17:00
Bradley is charged with murder in a case without a body or a crime scene or a confession. The state wants to use as evidence against him a previous murder he committed (for which he served 23 years) and another murder for which he has NOT been charged. This hearing will address the “prior bad acts” and should end in a decision.

Garrett Miller Trial/Baltimore Cop
2016-07-27 09:00 - 17:00
Garrett Miller’s trial, on charges related to Freddie Gray’s death in April 2015, is scheduled to begin today. He is the fourth officer to be tried since Officer Porter’s mistrial last December and the subsequent appeals. Porter fought the State’s efforts to compel his testimony against the remaining five officers while charges are still pending against him. He lost in Maryland’s highest court and has been forced to testify against the others.

Mark Sievers Court Appearance
2016-07-27 09:00 - 17:00
Mark Sievers is charged with capital murder for the death of his wife Teresa in June 2015. He is accused of hiring a childhood friend, Curtis Wayne Wright, to kill her. Wright allegedly hired his friend Jimmy Rodgers to assist. Wright is now cooperating with prosecutors. He pled guilty to second degree murder and is expected to receive a sentence of 25 years to life. Rodgers is also facing capital murder charges. It’s unclear, as I write this, the purpose of today’s hearing. It may just be a status conference.

Live Chat with Beth at 8:00 pm EST
2016-07-27 20:00 - 21:00

Decision in Angelika Graswald Hearing on Statements
2016-07-28 09:00 - 17:00
The judge is expected to issue a decision today on whether the statements made by Graswald to police on April 29-30, 2015 about the drowning death of her fiance Vincent Viafore in New York’s Hudson River can be used by the prosecution at trial. On July 27, 2016, the judge continued Grawald’s case to Sept. 1, 2016. That is her next court appearance.

Drew Peterson Sentencing
2016-07-29 09:00 - 17:00

Suge Knight Trial
2016-08-01 09:00 - 17:00
Rapper Suge Knight’s murder trial is scheduled to begin today. He’s charged with killing one man and attempting to kill another with his truck near the movie set of Straight Outta Compton on Jan. 29, 2015 in Los Angeles.

Nick Hillary Trial
2016-08-01 09:00 - 17:00
Nick Hillary is charged with second degree murder in the death of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips, the son of Hillary’ former girlfriend, in 2011. Hillary denies he killed the boy. There is no forensic evidence tying him to the murder. Hillary’s case has received national attention, particularly after the New York Times published a long article about it on March 5, 2016. The trial is continued to Sept. 6, 2016.

Live Chat with Beth at 9:00 p.m. ET
2016-08-11 21:00 - 22:00

Robert Durst Arraignment on Murder Charges in LA
2016-08-18 08:00 - 17:00
By agreement signed on October 15, 2015 but not filed until February 3, 2016, the Los Angeles District Attorney agreed that Durst will be arraigned on the murder charges no later than this date. Durst is accused of shooting his long-time friend Susan Berman in December 2000.

Steven Avery's Appellate Brief to be Filed
2016-08-29 09:00 - 17:00
Steven Avery, sentenced to life for the 2005 murder of Theresa Halbach, is appealing his conviction again. After the Netflix series Making a Murderer raised questions about the merits of Avery’s conviction, Illinois attorney Kathleen Zellner agreed to represent him. The highly-anticipated brief to be filed today could contain some interesting allegations. Zellner is known for her representation of the wrongfully convicted. She has succeeded in obtaining 18 exonerations.

Angelika Graswald to Appear in Court
2016-09-01 09:00 - 17:00
A decision on Graswald’s motion to suppress her statements to police was originally scheduled for July 28. On July 27, the court adjourned the matter to today. Presumably, there will be a decision today on whether the prosecution can use her incriminating statements about Viafore’s drowning death.

Nick Hillary Trial
2016-09-06 09:00 - 17:00
Nick Hillary is charged with second degree murder in the death of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips, the son of Hillary’ former girlfriend, in 2011. Hillary denies he killed the boy. There is no forensic evidence tying him to the murder. Hillary’s case has received national attention, particularly after the New York Times published a long article about it on March 5, 2016.

Pedro Hernandez Trial
2016-09-12 09:00 - 17:00
Jury selection is scheduled to begin today or tomorrow in the retrial of this decades-old murder case. Hernandez was arrested in 2012 for the May 25, 1979 murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz. He was tried in 2015 but the jury deadlocked 11-1 for conviction. Hernandez confessed to the murder but has recanted the confession. He faces 25 years to life, if convicted, of second-degree murder.

Justin Ross Harris Trial to Begin in New Venue
2016-09-12 09:00 - 17:00
Justin Ross Harris, the Cobb County, GA father accused of murder for leaving his 22-month-old son in a hot car all day, is scheduled for trial in Brunswick, GA. This is a change of venue from the Atlanta area following an attempt to seat a jury last March. Jury selection is scheduled to begin today.

Angelika Graswald to Appear in Court
2016-09-30 09:00 - 17:00
A decision on Graswald’s motion to suppress her statements to police was originally scheduled for July 28. On July 27, the court adjourned the matter to September 1, then to September 30. Presumably, there will be a decision today on whether the prosecution can use her incriminating statements about Viafore’s drowning death. The judge also hopes to set a trial date today.

Justin Ross Harris Trial
2016-10-03 09:00 - 17:00
Final jury selection will occur today. Opening statements are also likely, followed by the first witnesses. Ross Harris is accused of murder for leaving his toddler son in a hot car to die. The married man was distracted by texting underage girls at the time.

Pedro Hernandez--Opening Statements in Retrial
2016-10-19 10:00 - 17:00

Charles Merritt Case Management Conference
2016-10-21 08:00 - 17:00
Attorneys for Charles Merritt who is charged with four counts of capital murder, have asked for a trial date at least seven months away. The attorneys are about to begin a lengthy corruption trial; Merritt’s trial, they say, must follow it.

Brittany Pilkington Status Conference
2016-10-21 09:00 - 17:00
Pilkington faces three counts of murder for killing her infant children over a two-year period in Logan County, Ohio. She is accused of murdering a 3-month-old in July 2014, a 4-year-old in April 2015 and a 3-month-old in August 2015. She originally faced a March 16, 2016 trial but it has been moved to 2017. In August, 2016, her husband who is 20 years her senior pled guilty to felony sexual battery charges for sex acts with Brittany when she was underage. Husband and wife are now in the same jail (at least as of Sept. 2016). Brittany confessed to the crimes and said she killed the boys because their father favored boys over girls. The couple has a daughter.

Kathleen Kane Sentencing
2016-10-24 10:00 - 17:00
Former Pennsylvania Attorney General will be sentenced today. She was convicted of several counts (including felonies) on August 15, 2016. The convictions are for perjury, obstruction and related counts for leaking grand jury information to the media in order to embarrass an opponent, and then lying about it. She is the first woman and the first Democrat elected to that office. Kane was stripped of her law license before trial but stayed in office until August 17, 2016. She served about two years of her first term.

Michael Slager Trial
2016-10-31 09:00 - 17:00
Jury selection begins today in the trial of former Charleston, SC police officer Michael Slager who is accused of murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott. A bystander recorded the shooting; it’s clear that Scott was running away after a routine traffic stop. At the time Slager said Scott had grabbed his Taser though that claim is not certain.
