Prosecutors

UN Leader Cites Murders of 2 Honduran Lawyers in 3 Days, Says ‘Chronic Insecurity’ Harms Profession

The human rights chief of the United Nations on Wednesday called for Honduras to take urgent and aggressive action to deal with what she called “chronic insecurity” facing lawyers and journalists after the murders of two lawyers in a three-day period within the last week. The Honduran Bar Association says…

Sep 26, 2012 10:29 PM CDT

Man Charged with Murder Attempt on Prosecutor Who Intervened to Protect 2 Men Holding Hands

A 21-year-old Chicago man is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail in an attempted first-degree murder case concerning a victim of a public physical attack who happened to be a Cook County prosecutor. The unidentified prosecutor, who was en route to meet a friend to fish on the lakefront,…

Sep 25, 2012 5:20 PM CDT

SC City Attorney Accused of Illegally Dropping, Dismissing Cases

A South Carolina city attorney has been charged with misconduct in office for allegedly dropping or dismissing criminal cases in exchange for donations to the city police department’s drug fund. Charles V.B. Cushman, 59, the city attorney in Camden, S.C., turned himself in at the Kershaw County jail Thursday and…

Sep 21, 2012 5:55 PM CDT

US Attorney in Reno Is Refusing ATF Cases; Is Task Force Rift the Reason?

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Reno, Nev., is refusing to prosecute cases generated by the local Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Reno Gazette-Journal uncovered the rift in a months-long investigation. According to the newspaper, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami, who runs the Reno office, told ATF agents…

Sep 21, 2012 3:27 PM CDT

IG Report Blames DOJ Prosecutors, ATF Agents for ‘Fast and Furious,’ Seeks Discipline Probe of 14

In a scathing report made public Wednesday about the botched Operation Fast and Furious federal gun trafficking investigation, an inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice called for disciplinary reviews of 14 current and former employees. In the report (PDF), inspector general Michael Horowitz put primary blame on what…

Sep 19, 2012 8:45 PM CDT

NC Judge Is Cleared Of Misconduct Accusations Made by Now-Deposed Durham DA

A North Carolina judge has been cleared by the state’s Judicial Standards Commission of accusations of misconduct made by a former Durham district attorney. Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson released Tuesday a copy of the letter sent to him by the commission after its determination Friday that there was…

Sep 18, 2012 8:40 PM CDT

Debt Collectors Use DA Letterhead, with Permission, to Threaten Bad Check Writers

More than 300 district attorney’s offices across the United States are partnering with debt collectors that use prosecutors’ letterhead to warn bad check writers of possible jail time. Debt collection companies allowed to use DA letterhead may return the favor, the New York Times reports. “The companies try to collect…

Sep 17, 2012 1:56 PM CDT

Prosecutor Quits After Probe of Her Talks with Former Basketball Star Charged in Misdemeanor Case

A Washington state prosecutor who had been on paid administrative leave since May has reportedly resigned from her job as an assistant King County prosecutor. Leah Altaras, 33, had her home, office, car and cellphone searched after a maintenance worker said she was present in the suburban Seattle condominium of…

Sep 14, 2012 4:01 PM CDT

Irked About Discipline Complaint Over Federal Suit, Lawyer and Kin of Murdered Kids Contact Media

A Michigan lawyer is fighting back against a legal ethics complaint made by a county prosecutor’s office concerning what it contends is a frivolous federal district court lawsuit. Paul Hughes said at a Wednesday news conference that he is outraged to be subjected to an ethics complaint over the suit,…

Aug 29, 2012 7:07 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer’s Work at Routine Hearing Exposes Major Probation Drug-Test Issues; Shake-Up Results

A defense lawyer’s handling of what could have been a routine probation-revocation hearing resulted in a huge shake-up in Harris County, Texas, after witnesses responding to questions by Lisa Andrews reportedly revealed problem after problem with the probation office’s drug-testing program. After the multiday hearing, which continued until Monday of…

Aug 28, 2012 10:38 PM CDT

California Supremes Overturn Death Sentence Based on Withheld Evidence; Prosecutor Is Now a Judge

The California Supreme Court has ruled a death row inmate is entitled to a new penalty hearing because the prosecution withheld evidence in his 1987 trial that he may have been threatened by a Colombian drug cartel. The inmate, Miguel Angel Bacigalupo, will be sentenced to life in prison if…

Aug 28, 2012 3:13 PM CDT

Fla. Prosecutor Agrees to Step Down for Using Crime Databases to Spy on Political Opponent, Others

A Florida prosecutor has dropped his bid for re-election to avoid being prosecuted on charges that he used law enforcement databases to spy on political rivals and others. Robert “Skip” Jarvis, the elected state attorney for eight Central Florida counties, has agreed to leave office at the end of his…

Aug 24, 2012 8:15 PM CDT

Judge Who Accused Cop of Striking Him Sees Cover-up in Refusal to Prosecute

A New York judge who says a police officer struck him after apparently mistaking him for a heckler is blasting Queens District Attorney Richard Brown for refusing to prosecute. Judge Thomas Raffaele claims Brown is orchestrating a cover-up, the New York Law Journal reports. A press release explaining the refusal…

Aug 23, 2012 12:55 PM CDT

NYT Editorial Urges Supreme Court to Decide Reach of Law Designed to Curtail Prosecutor Abuse

A cert petition pending before the U.S. Supreme Court seeks review of a ruling that curbs the reach of the Hyde Amendment, a federal law designed to fight prosecutorial abuse. The law awards attorney fees to criminal defendants who show gross misconduct by federal prosecutors, the New York Times says…

Aug 22, 2012 2:41 PM CDT

State’s Attorney in Illinois Won’t Prosecute People Who Carry Weapons with ‘No Evil Intent’

Corrected: A state’s attorney in central Illinois has issued a press release criticizing the state’s gun laws and declaring he won’t prosecute people for some violations when they have “no evil intent.” The decision by McLean County State’s Attorney Ronald Dozier appears to mean he won’t prosecute people for carrying…

Aug 22, 2012 12:20 PM CDT