New trial granted in murder case because drug probe of judge and investigator weren’t disclosed

In an unusual appeal that presumably could serve as a road map for other defendants, an Illinois judge has ruled that a convicted defendant should get a new trial in a first-degree murder case because his lawyers weren’t told the presiding judge and main investigator were the subjects of a…

Oct 3, 2013 3:33 PM CDT

Inmate’s claimed plot to kill prosecutors is admissible at his trial for prior murder, judge says

Explosive claims that an imprisoned defendant awaiting trial in a murder case plotted to kill two Baltimore prosecutors can be used in evidence in the original case, a Maryland judge has ruled. Although lawyers for Robert G. Moore, 45, and two co-defendants in the original murder conspiracy case objected, Judge…

Oct 2, 2013 5:12 PM CDT

‘Quite a mess’ in Manhattan US Atty’s office; Holder calls shutdown ‘unnecessary and harmful’

Federal criminal prosecutions are continuing after the government shutdown, but that doesn’t mean things are going smoothly. Prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan have been thrown into disarray, according to Lorin Reisner, the chief of the office’s criminal division. “From our perspective, it’s a mess,” Reisner said at…

Oct 2, 2013 12:00 PM CDT

Miami-Dade’s overburdened PD’s office may decline new clients, Florida court says

Oct 1, 2013 8:50 AM CDT

Lawyer disciplinary board seeks immediate suspension of county prosecutor’s license

Lawyer disciplinary authorities in West Virginia have moved to immediately suspend the license of Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney C. Michael Sparks, saying they have proof that he admitted involvement in a criminal conspiracy by a suspended judge to violate a man’s constitutional rights. The petition (PDF), filed Wednesday with the…

Sep 27, 2013 5:50 PM CDT

Prosecutor’s nude photos ended up on Twitter; she blames prominent lawyer, her ex, in complaint

The prosecuting attorney for a Virginia county claims nude photos of herself ended up on Twitter because her ex-boyfriend—a prominent Missouri lawyer—put them there. Denise Lunsford, the commonwealth’s attorney for Albemarle County, Va., is seeking an order of protection against the lawyer, David Cosgrove, a former top aide to Missouri…

Sep 26, 2013 12:12 PM CDT

Report: Prosecutor’s cold medicine joke causes anthrax scare at courthouse

A colleague reportedly tried to play a joke on a New York City prosecutor who had been complaining about respiratory symptoms by sending him cold medicine in the mail. But the pills were pulverized at some point during the mailing process, and the powdery white substance that arrived at the…

Sep 25, 2013 7:12 PM CDT

Judge facing repercussions over his long-ago work as DA resigns from bench

A Texas judge who is facing unusual repercussions over his work as a prosecutor decades ago resigned from the bench on Tuesday, effective immediately. State District Judge Ken Anderson, who formerly served as district attorney of Williamson County, faxed a letter Tuesday to Gov. Rick Perry that was dated a…

Sep 25, 2013 5:55 PM CDT

Grand jury subpoenas judge who held Dallas DA in contempt

A judge who accused the Dallas district attorney of contempt of court for refusing to testify in a hearing is now facing a grand jury subpoena. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins was acquitted of the contempt charge in August. Now the judge who cited him for contempt, Lena Levario,…

Sep 25, 2013 1:23 PM CDT

Suit seeks secret indictment in JonBenet Ramsey case

A newspaper reporter and a press advocacy group have filed suit seeking release of a secret grand jury indictment in the JonBenet Ramsey case. The suit was filed on Wednesday by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and by Charlie Brennan, a reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera,…

Sep 20, 2013 3:08 PM CDT

Acquittal follows judge’s refusal to allow ‘timid’ prosecutor to reduce charge

Vermont jurors took only 40 minutes last Friday to acquit a woman of aggravated assault, a charge that even the prosecutor didn’t agree with. Deputy Chittenden County State’s Attorney Paul Finnerty had sought to reduce the charge to simple assault, but Judge Michael Kupersmith had refused to allow it, the…

Sep 20, 2013 11:10 AM CDT

Judge to take plea in case linked to slain sheriff, US Attorney says; removal of prosecutor sought

A new federal charge has been filed against a West Virginia judge who is now accused of interfering in a federal investigation linked to the slaying of a local sheriff. Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury was charged Thursday with conspiring to deprive a drug dealer of his constitutional rights…

Sep 19, 2013 10:00 PM CDT

Judge cites ‘grotesque prosecutorial misconduct,’ reverses cop convictions in Danziger Bridge case

Citing “grotesque prosecutorial misconduct,” including anonymous comments posted on the Internet by lawyers in then-U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office and a Justice Department prosecutor, a federal judge has reversed the convictions of five former New Orleans police officers in a civil rights case over shooting deaths and injuries to unarmed…

Sep 17, 2013 8:55 PM CDT

Prosecutor’s ‘white world’ remarks lead appeals court to order new murder trial

An Illinois appeals court has granted a new trial to a murder defendant because of the prosecutor’s racial remarks. The court said the prosecutor had referred to “our white world” and made race “an egregious and consistent theme throughout the trial,” the Associated Press reports. The story identifies the prosecutor…

Sep 16, 2013 1:17 PM CDT

Did unpaid, newbie prosecutor imperil case by thanking juror Tom Hanks? Contact leads to plea deal

A domestic violence prosecution began to unravel after a lawyer in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office approached a juror in the stairwell to thank him for his service. The juror was actor Tom Hanks, report CNN, TMZ and the New York Daily News. The contact by the lawyer—who wasn’t…

Sep 13, 2013 12:02 PM CDT