Criminal Procedure

Victim’s Sister Complains Traffic Tickets Tossed ‘Nonchalantly’

The family of a pedestrian killed in Chicago by two drivers is devastated that a 22-day delay has forced the dismissal of traffic tickets issued for failure to exercise due care. The tickets were dismissed because of Rule 504 of the Illinois Supreme Court, the Chicago Tribune reports. Intended to…

Sep 30, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Will Prosecutor and Judge’s Affair Affect a Second Murder Case?

Timothy David Nixon may not even be aware of the controversy surrounding the judge who presided over his trial and conviction for murder. Nixon was sentenced to 99 years in prison for killing his mother in Collin County, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reports. The presiding judge was Verla Sue…

Sep 29, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Detroit Shutters Crime Lab with ‘Absolutely Shocking’ Error Rate

A Michigan State Police audit released Thursday reportedly exposed extensive problems with the Detroit Police firearms lab and prompted officials there to shutter the entire crime lab. State police began their evaluation of the lab in June after firearms evidence in a case was found to be tainted. The problems,…

Sep 26, 2008 3:54 PM CDT

En Banc Appeals Court Homes in on Nacchio Witness Exclusion

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver assembled en banc Thursday to decide whether disgraced Qwest CEO Joseph P. Nacchio should get a new trial in the insider-trading case against him. Nacchio was convicted last year, but a three-panel appellate court ruled in March that he should get…

Sep 26, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Adult Filmmaker Loses Double Jeopardy Bid Based on Kozinski Mistrial Declaration

A federal judge has ruled the double jeopardy clause doesn’t bar a new obscenity trial for an adult filmmaker whose case ended in a mistrial because of a controversy surrounding Judge Alex Kozinski. U.S. District Judge George King of Los Angeles said Kozinski acted with “due deliberation” when he declared…

Sep 23, 2008 2:25 PM CDT

Racketeering Convictions Reinstated for Accused NYPD ‘Mob Assassins’

Finding that a trial judge had mistakenly applied the statute of limitations, a federal appeals court has reinstated the racketeering convictions of two retired New York City police detectives who allegedly simultaneously worked as “mob assassins” while they were on the force. In that role, they allegedly participated in at…

Sep 18, 2008 11:06 PM CDT

Ex-Lobbyist Accused of Improper DOJ Influence Loses Recusal Bid

A former lobbyist arrested last week in connection with his work for Jack Abramoff has lost a bid to get a federal judge to recuse herself because of her role as the principal judge hearing related influence-peddling cases. Kevin Ring was arrested last week on charges of conspiracy, fraud and…

Sep 18, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

2 Colorado Judges Censured for Prosecutorial Work Years Ago

Two former Colorado prosecutors who didn’t turn over potentially exculpatory information to the defense in a first-degree murder case have been censured for their role in sending a man who says he is innocent to prison for almost a decade. That man, Timothy Masters, was released earlier this year, after…

Sep 10, 2008 7:42 PM CDT

Depositions Ordered re Alleged Long-Ago Affair Between Judge & Prosecutor

Charles Dean Hood is scheduled to be executed Wednesday. But first his lawyers will be allowed to depose a former prosecutor and retired judge accused of having an affair during his Texas murder trial, a state court judge decided today. A deposition of former former Collin County District Attorney Tom…

Sep 8, 2008 10:57 PM CDT

Assistant AG Clashes With Boss in Hood Death Penalty Case

A Texas assistant attorney general representing a judge accused of having a romantic relationship with the prosecutor in a death penalty case has filed a grievance against her boss, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Assistant Attorney General Madeleine Connor filed the grievance with the State Bar of Texas on Sunday,…

Sep 8, 2008 11:57 AM CDT

Feds Can Review N.J. Lawyer’s Client Files, Judge Rules

A federal judge has OK’d a plan for the FBI to review computer records that a New Jersey lawyer says concern all of his clients for the past 15 years, finding that the procedure established for doing so is adequate to protect the rights of all concerned. The ruling by…

Sep 3, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

‘Forgotten’ Defendant Sits in Jail for Two Years

The federal prosecutor in St. Louis says she is concerned about the performance of a lawyer who represents a defendant sitting in jail for almost two years with apparently no action to secure his release on bond. U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway spoke to the St. Louis Post Dispatch about the…

Sep 2, 2008 2:25 PM CDT

Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of KPMG Indictments Due to Prosecutor Tactics

Updated: A federal appeals court has upheld a judge’s dismissal of indictments against 13 accounting firm employees because the government pressured their employer to cut off their legal fees. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that prosecutors had violated the employees’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel by…

Aug 28, 2008 5:59 PM CDT

50 Lawyers Pack Court to Support Solo Whose Office Was Searched

Lawyers in Texas upset about a judge-authorized search of a solo practitioner who is representing an alleged contract killer filed into a Collin County court last week in a show of support for lawyer Keith Gore. In February, with the OK of 401st District Judge Mark Rusch, Texas Rangers and…

Aug 12, 2008 11:59 AM CDT

Coverage Roundup: Prosecutors Drove Cost of Ga. Death Penalty Case

A retired Georgia judge who stepped down from the 2005 Atlanta courthouse killings case told an ABA panel today that prosecutors are partially to blame for high costs and delays associated with the ongoing capital trial. Retired Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller said that prosecutors could have scaled down their…

Aug 9, 2008 5:52 PM CDT