Career prosecutor appointed to oversee public defenders creates stir in New Mexico

The defense bar and some lawmakers are bristling at New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez’s selection of a career prosecutor to sit on the state’s new Public Defender Commission. The choice of Susan Riedel is a “slap in the face” to defendants who can’t afford private lawyers, said Barbara Mandel, president…

Jul 15, 2013 7:03 PM CDT

Judge texted during trial to help state, says ex-prosecutor

A former prosecutor who is now a Texas judge has admitted in a letter that she aided another judge who, it is claimed, sent texts during a 2012 trial in an effort to help the state with its case. Kaycee L. Jones, who is now a 411th Judicial District judge…

Jul 9, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Even if ex-NFL player Hernandez didn’t fire gun, prosecutors will deal with others, lawyer predicts

An “interesting choice of words” by a prosecutor during a Massachusetts court hearing last week suggests that authorities may believe someone other than Aaron Hernandez actually fired the five shots that killed Odin Lloyd. But whether or not the government thinks the former New England Patriots tight end was the…

Jul 3, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

7th Circuit revives acquitted lawyer’s malicious prosecution suit over witness bribery case

Acquitted almost immediately in a 2009 trial over a claimed witness bribe, attorney Michael J. “Mick” Alexander then filed a civil suit against his accusers under the Federal Tort Claims Act He contended that the Delaware County, Ind., prosecutor and two FBI agents had conspired to make a false accusation…

Jul 2, 2013 6:05 PM CDT

Woman charged along with husband in prosecutor slayings seeks a divorce

A woman indicted along with her husband in the slayings of two Texas prosecutors is seeking a divorce. Former Justice of the Peace Eric Lyle Williams and his wife, Kim Lene Williams, were indicted last week on charges of capital murder in the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike…

Jul 2, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Misconduct in two 1990s death-penalty cases gets ex-prosecutor suspended

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has suspended a former prosecutor for misconduct in gaining capital murder convictions of two men nearly 20 years ago; the court declined a recommendation by the state bar association that he be disbarred. Robert Bradley Miller, former assistant district attorney for Oklahoma County, was suspended from…

Jun 28, 2013 6:56 PM CDT

Ex-prosecutor gets 2-year suspension over 100s of calls and texts with judge in death-penalty case

A referee recommended that a former Florida assistant state attorney be suspended from practicing law for one year due to the more than 1,400 ex parte calls and text messages he admittedly exchanged with the judge presiding over a death-penalty case he was prosecuting and the Florida Bar agreed this…

Jun 25, 2013 1:00 PM CDT

Gang chief in Brooklyn DA’s office is fired after slur accusations surface

The lawyer who headed the gang bureau in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office is out of a job, reportedly because of her insulting language. Deanna Rodriguez was suspended for 90 days without pay during an investigation and then fired on Friday, report the New York Daily News, the Brooklyn Daily…

Jun 19, 2013 4:32 PM CDT

Prosecutor fired after posing as ex-girlfriend in Facebook chat with defendant’s alibi witnesses

An Ohio prosecutor has been fired after admittedly posing as an ex-girlfriend of a murder defendant and chatting on Facebook with the man’s female alibi witnesses in an effort to get them to change their story. Former assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor Aaron Brockler told the Plain Dealer he had done…

Jun 14, 2013 5:02 PM CDT

Federal judge calls herself ‘Hulk,’ clashes with prosecutors over info that could extend sentences

A former federal prosecutor now serving as a federal judge has clashed with federal prosecutors in Iowa over information she has sought in several cases that could be used to extend defendants’ sentences. Already under appeal is a sentence in a weapons case imposed on convicted drug dealer Bryan Holm…

Jun 5, 2013 8:00 PM CDT

US Attorney is called a ‘traitor’ at event to improve Muslim relations

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian of Knoxville, Tenn., was called a traitor and heckled frequently and loudly by audience members at an event Tuesday evening called to improve relations with the Muslim community. The event sponsored by the American Muslim Advisory Council, was countered by a large group of protesters, both…

Jun 5, 2013 7:09 PM CDT

Disbarred lawyer gets 30 years in attempted prosecutor hit, plus 8 in racketeering case plea

A disbarred Florida lawyer had a busy day in court on Monday. First James Tipler, 62, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after his conviction last month by an Okaloosa County jury on two counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder, according to WJHG and the Pensacola News Journal.…

Jun 4, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

DA’s ‘Flush the Johns’ sting puts lawyers, doctors and others on photo display

It’s commonplace for women and men who work as prostitutes to be criminally charged while those who pay them for sex are treated as witnesses. But it’s time to change that approach to the problem, a suburban New York district attorney said Monday as she announced that a monthlong sting…

Jun 3, 2013 10:00 PM CDT

Prosecutor’s ‘gangbanger’ remarks and emotional closing lead to reversal

A Connecticut appeals court decided to send a message to a prosecutor accused of appealing to jurors’ emotions when it reversed the conviction of a man accused of killing a bar owner in 1998 and ordered a new trial. The appeals court opinion (PDF) said Assistant State’s Attorney Terence Mariani…

Jun 3, 2013 11:34 AM CDT

Letters: Deconstructing the envelope

Jun 1, 2013 9:50 AM CDT