Court Security

Inmate indicted in claimed murder-for-hire plot against federal judge

Phillip Monroe Ballard still hasn’t been tried on the federal charges he faces for allegedly holding himself out as a lawyer and advising others that they don’t have to pay income tax. But on the front burner, it appears, is the murder-solicitation prosecution the Texas inmate is facing for allegedly…

May 15, 2013 10:40 PM CDT

Cuffed client decks lawyer with ‘baseball bat fashion’ punch during death-penalty hearing

A handcuffed client decked his defense lawyer Monday in a Blair County, Pa., courtroom, in front of the judge who was hearing his post-conviction argument that he should not be sentenced to the death penalty. Andre Staton, 50, slammed the blow in a “baseball bat fashion” squarely in the forehead…

May 14, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Man found dead in courthouse parking lot may have committed suicide during jury selection

An unidentified man in his late 60s was found dead Monday morning in a parking lot near a Texas courthouse. Authorities and witnesses said it appears that the man was a defendant in a criminal case at the Bexar County Courthouse who walked out during a break in jury selection…

May 13, 2013 9:28 PM CDT

Immigration ‘lawyer’ conned clients and courts for years, 35-count indictment alleges

Although Michael Schorr is not a lawyer, he practiced in immigration courts in New York and New Jersey for four years by simply borrowing other attorneys’ bar registration numbers or using a fake number, authorities allege. Arrested Friday and held without bail, he is accused of stealing tens of thousands…

May 7, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

Daughter of Delaware courthouse shooter seeks custody of slain mom’s 3 kids

The daughter of a man who shot two women to death at a Delaware courthouse earlier this year is seeking custody of the three daughters of one of the slain women. In Delaware, relatives usually receive preference when courts are considering the permanent guardianship of children in foster care, the…

May 7, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

Accidental gun discharge injures security officer at federal courthouse

A security officer suffered a non-life-threatening arm injury in accidental gun discharge Monday at a federal courthouse on New York’s Long Island, WABC reports. The unidentified officer was injured between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., in an area of the Central Islip courthouse that is not open to the public,…

May 6, 2013 8:32 PM CDT

Man convicted in courthouse slaying shouts that his daughter, not the victim, should be dead

Convicted Tuesday of capital murder over the death of a 79-year-old woman who was a bystander during Texas courthouse shooting spree last year directed at one or more witnesses in a sexual assault case, defendant Bartholomew Granger erupted Wednesday in court at the outset of the sentencing phase. He angrily…

May 1, 2013 6:21 PM CDT

Sex-assault defendant is convicted of capital murder in mid-trial shooting spree

A Texas jury deliberated for less than two hours Tuesday before convicting Bartholomew Granger, 42, of capital murder in the slaying of a 79-year-old woman outside the Jefferson County courthouse last year. The defendant showed no emotion as the verdict was announced, but the victim’s daughter smiled, the Beaumont Enterprise…

Apr 30, 2013 8:45 PM CDT

Judge boots both bickering attorneys from civil case, sends copy of order to disciplinary body

For months, attorneys Joel Brodsky and Michael Meschino just couldn’t seem to get along as they litigated a civil matter over a failed business deal. So on Wednesday a Chicago judge booted them both off the case, finding that their “deplorable behavior”—which continued despite warnings and the use of courthouse…

Apr 25, 2013 8:30 PM CDT

‘Scared to death’ of snakes, clerk is not happy to discover them in courthouse filing system

No matter how tight the security system is at a courthouse, it can be tough to keep out a snake. That’s something Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn and her employees know from personal experience—they have found five snakes in their office in the basement of the Hinds County, Miss., courthouse during…

Apr 25, 2013 6:52 PM CDT

Stamp on letter led cops to tattooed man who said he was judge’s son and took cash for case help

Although he has several tattoos on his face, Mark David Leal nonetheless convinced several individuals that he was the son of one of two prominent Texas women: Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed or District Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner. Then, according to court documents, he convinced these individuals to give him…

Apr 24, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Son of dead shooter in Del. courthouse slayings gets six months for probation violation

The son of a man who killed two women at a Delaware courthouse earlier this year as they arrived for a child-support hearing was sentenced Tuesday to two months in federal prison for violating his probation in a child-kidnapping and fraud case. David Matusiewicz was also present at the Delaware…

Apr 23, 2013 11:06 PM CDT

Courthouse slaying trial has judge and defendant’s ex-lawyer as first witnesses

A judge was the first witness on Monday as the government began its presentation in the capital murder case of a man accused of shooting a woman to death at a Texas courthouse last year. Bartholomew Granger is accused of fatally shooting a bystander, Minnie Ray Sebolt, 79, in March…

Apr 22, 2013 10:27 PM CDT

Ex-prosecutor recalls screaming fit by ricin suspect; family cites history of mental illness

A lawyer for the man accused of sending letters containing suspected ricin to President Obama, a judge and a U.S. senator says her client maintains his innocence. The suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis, said little during a court hearing on Thursday and did not enter a plea, the Associated Press reports.…

Apr 19, 2013 12:59 PM CDT

Fired justice of peace charged with capital murder in deaths of Texas prosecutors, bail set at $23M

A fired former justice of the peace in Kaufman County, Texas, has been charged with capital murder in the recent slayings of county prosecutor Mark Hasse, county district attorney Mike McLelland and McLelland’s wife, Cynthia. Eric Lyle Williams was arrested Thursday and is being held in lieu of $23 million…

Apr 18, 2013 8:32 PM CDT