(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)“It’s normal to feel pressure for any trial, for any client. ... It’s more just an internal sense of, like, ‘We can do it, it’s possible.’”Historically, the odds have been stacked against federal public defenders. Department of Homeland Security officers instruct protesters to move back at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles so a van could leave the facility on Jan. 30. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)The jury came back with an acquittal after a little over an hour of deliberations. Lopez, Abel and Nickell sat expressionless as the clerk read it aloud.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 06, 2026 21:30 UTC