Prosecutors

Government agency can’t assert attorney-client privilege in AG probe, top state court says

There are circumstances in which state agencies can assert an attorney-client privilege. But a grand jury investigation into their claimed wrongdoing by the state attorney general’s office isn’t among them, a top state court has ruled. That’s because the public is the client represented by state-paid lawyers counseling a troubled…

Feb 20, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Judge ordered to give prosecutors a list of dismissed domestic-violence cases since 2004

A Detroit-area judge has been ordered to stop taking pleas in domestic-assault cases without the consent of the prosecutor, a requirement under state law. The judge, Brian MacKenzie of Novi District Court, did not follow state law on at least eight occasions when he failed to get consent, according to…

Feb 19, 2014 6:52 PM CST

Less than 3 years after graduation, North Dakota lawyer is on second interim state’s attorney gig

A North Dakota lawyer who returned to her hometown of Williston to practice law has gotten a lot of experience in her 2½ years of practice. Taylor Olson recently served for six months as interim McKenzie County state’s attorney and now has the same role in Divide County, the Jamestown…

Feb 19, 2014 11:45 AM CST

DOJ: Prosecutor’s office downplayed gravity of sex crimes, told victim’s mom ‘boys will be boys’

The U.S. Justice Department sees likely gender bias in a failure by the Missoula, Mont., County Attorney’s office to prosecute nonstranger rapes. In a letter to Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, the Justice Department says its investigation found that his office declined to prosecute “nearly every case” involving nonstranger…

Feb 18, 2014 3:16 PM CST

Prosecutor is suspended from his job, allegedly for yelling at PD and forcing her from room

A prosecutor in Louisville, Ky., has been suspended from his job without pay for 30 days, allegedly because he yelled at a public defender and “compelled” her to leave a room. Robert Fleck, a DUI division chief with the Jefferson County Attorney’s office, was suspended until March 13 and ordered…

Feb 14, 2014 3:22 PM CST

Former district attorney gets 13 years in federal corruption case over his work as a prosecutor

Convicted last year on seven counts in a corruption case in which he was accused of running his Texas office as a racketeering enterprise, former Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in federal prison. Villalobos was one of a number of lawyers involved…

Feb 11, 2014 10:50 PM CST

Woody Allen made an ‘unprovoked, gratuitous’ attack on my character, ex-prosecutor claims

A former Connecticut prosecutor who decided not to prosecute Woody Allen in 1993 is expressing outrage over the filmmaker’s op-ed in the New York Times. The prosecutor, former Litchfield State’s Attorney Frank Maco, wasn’t mentioned by name in Allen’s article, but he is unhappy all the same. The Danbury News-Times…

Feb 11, 2014 5:16 PM CST

Chris Christie’s settlement deals as US Attorney reportedly helped spur change in DOJ rules

The U.S. Justice Department issued new rules in 2008 governing out-of-court settlement agreements by federal prosecutors, partly because of unease about deals negotiated by the office of then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, according to a published report. The Washington Post spoke with three former Justice Department officials who said the department…

Feb 11, 2014 3:43 PM CST

Judge reverses contempt citation for prosecutor who was late to court

A Virginia prosecutor who was held in contempt and fined $250 for being late to court in Norfolk won a reversal on Friday after appealing the conviction. Calling the case “unusual to say the least,” Circuit Judge Charles E. Poston reversed the Jan. 7 conviction of Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Catherine…

Feb 10, 2014 12:45 PM CST

2 men poised for release in NYC murder case, but dozens more wrongful conviction claims await new DA

Two New York City men are poised for release at a Thursday court hearing, after serving over 20 years for murders they did not commit, defense lawyers say. But dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of murder cases in which defendants also say they were wrongfully convicted remain in the pipeline waiting…

Feb 6, 2014 5:10 PM CST

Judge on trial for battery in dog-waste dispute will not face new charge, court rules

Updated: The prosecution is pulling no punches in the Los Angeles misdemeanor battery trial of a county superior court judge accused of pushing a woman to the ground on his driveway last summer during a verbal altercation over the disposal of dog waste. As Judge Craig Richman testified Tuesday, admitting…

Feb 5, 2014 9:14 PM CST

Law firm report: Ex-Mayor Daley didn’t influence initial failure to charge nephew in Chicago slaying

There was no attempt by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, his family and his officials to influence city police and Cook County prosecutors in a 2004 slaying case involving a Daley nephew that was not pursued for years, a special prosecutor says in a report released Tuesday. However, the lengthy…

Feb 4, 2014 7:15 PM CST

State crime lab chemist resigns amidst probe of missing drug evidence

A chemist in the Florida state crime lab resigned Monday, amidst an investigation into missing drug evidence. The state is looking into 2,600 cases handled by the chemist, whose identity has not been publicly confirmed, the Associated Press reports. “We will be conducting a thorough investigation to see if each…

Feb 4, 2014 5:15 PM CST

Defendant wins murder trial delay after notes from his ex-lawyer wound up in prosecution file

A murder defendant successfully sought a trial delay after pointing out in a handwritten petition to a North Carolina court that notes from a lawyer who had formerly represented him wound up in a prosecution file. Eric Cornell Wilson said in the filing that a different lawyer who subsequently represented…

Jan 31, 2014 6:10 PM CST

Were suspicious fires at law firm and prosecutor’s office related?

Authorities are investigating fires they say are suspicious that occurred within hours at a New Jersey law firm and prosecutor’s office late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Because it appears that there may be a connection between the blaze at the Vineland firm of Helmer, Conley & Kasselman and the flames…

Jan 29, 2014 11:40 PM CST