Prosecutors

Twitter Posts Put Some Individuals Arrested During Occupy Wall Street Protest on the Defensive

Arrested last October on the Brooklyn Bridge along with hundreds of other Occupy Wall Street protesters, Jeff Rae expected to fight the charges against him. But now the 31-year-old Washington, D.C., resident decided to take a plea after prosecutors subpoenaed his Twitter account, the Wall Street Journal reported. Although the…

Mar 23, 2012 4:48 PM CDT

At First Suspended, Retired Detroit Prosecutor Is Disbarred on Reconsideration for Allowing Perjury

After initially only having her law license lifted for two years, a controversial former chief drug prosecutor in the Detroit area has been disbarred. Reconsidering the penalty for retired Wayne County assistant prosecutor Karen Plants, the Attorney Discipline Board said a harsher penalty was mandated by her “lack of reflection”…

Mar 22, 2012 10:54 PM CDT

Cleared in Claimed Rape, Prosecutor Plans to Sue re What He Calls a Politically Motivated Case

Cleared in a rape case concerning a junior colleague and reinstated to his $150,000-a-year job, a 55-year-old California sex crimes prosecutor today announced his intention to sue the county and city of Martinez over what he called a politically motivated case. Michael Gressett said he had had kinky sex with…

Mar 21, 2012 10:12 PM CDT

Defense Attorney, Unlike Prosecutor, Was Publicly Arrested and Jailed in False Testimony Case

When a top drug prosecutor in Detroit was accused of engineering testimony in a cocaine case, she stayed on the job for months, with pay. The criminal justice system did eventually catch up with her, years after questions were raised, but at that point she took an early retirement and…

Mar 21, 2012 4:57 PM CDT

DA’s Office Can’t Ethically Hire Receptionist Laid Off By His Former Law Firm, Panel Says

A Louisiana district attorney can’t hire a receptionist laid off at his former private law firm, because doing so could provide an economic benefit to the firm by reducing its unemployment costs, a state ethics panel has determined. Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick Jr. asked the Louisiana Board of…

Mar 20, 2012 10:51 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer Arrested in Open Court in Perjury Conspiracy Probe; Murder Case Is Delayed

Updated: A Michigan criminal defense lawyer was arrested in open court Monday and taken to a Wayne County Circuit Court holding area, as a hearing in his client’s capital murder trial was about to begin before Judge Timothy Kenny. Only minutes into today’s session, a Wayne County prosecutor told the…

Mar 19, 2012 7:07 PM CDT

Report Blasts Feds for ‘Systematic Concealment’ of Exculpatory Evidence in Alaskan Senator’s Case

In a more than 500-page report filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C., a court-appointed lawyer tasked with investigating the failed federal prosecution of the late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska not only sharply criticized the government’s handling of the case, citing a lack of supervision and inadequate…

Mar 16, 2012 4:35 PM CDT

Federal Prosecutor Resigns After He Is Kicked Off Some Cases for Anonymous Online Comments

Updated: A federal prosecutor in New Orleans has resigned after acknowledging he made anonymous online comments about the owner of a landfill that is the subject of a federal probe. The prosecutor, Sal Perricone, admitted making hundreds of posts at NOLA.com using the name Henry L. Mencken1951, according to the…

Mar 16, 2012 12:16 PM CDT

Ohio Assistant Attorney General Among the Injured in Stabbing Spree; Suspect Is Shot by Police

An Ohio assistant attorney general was among four persons stabbed in Columbus on Wednesday by a knife-wielding man in an office building. The unidentified suspect was shot by police outside the building, report the Columbus Dispatch and the Associated Press. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police…

Mar 15, 2012 11:41 AM CDT

Prosecutor Resigns in Wake of Federal Judge’s Reversal of Capital Murder Case Conviction

Criticized last week by a federal judge for his conduct in a capital murder case, a Virginia prosecutor announced today that he would resign, effective tomorrow. “It is not an easy decision,” says the letter provided by Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close to the Star-Exponent. “My inclination is to…

Mar 12, 2012 10:22 PM CDT

DC Court of Appeals Disbars Lawyer for ‘Egregious’ Murder-Case Misconduct While a Federal Prosecutor

Updated: Former assistant U.S. attorney G. Paul Howes was disbarred today by the Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals. It is the first time in at least 10 years that a lawyer anywhere in the country has been disbarred by judges over conduct as a federal prosecutor, USA Today reports. Howes…

Mar 8, 2012 7:34 PM CST

Failure to Check Alcohol-Test Devices Could Put Up to 1,000 Calif. Drunk-Driving Convictions at Risk

When police in San Francisco’s traffic division stop a motorist on suspicion of drunken driving, one of the first steps they take during a field sobriety test is to check the individual’s blood alcohol level on a portable device to determine whether it exceeds 0.08 limit. The devices are supposed…

Mar 6, 2012 9:12 PM CST

NC Judge Orders DA Cline Removed from Office for Bringing County Justice System ‘Into Disrepute’

A North Carolina judge today ordered the Durham County district attorney removed from office due at least in large part to her inflammatory criticism of a top criminal judge. The dismissal of Tracey Cline from her $119,305-a-year job is only the second time in state history that a DA was…

Mar 2, 2012 7:11 PM CST

California Newspaper Calls for Resignation of ‘Inspirational’ DA

A California newspaper is raising ethics concerns about a former drug addict who became district attorney in the state’s northwest corner under a “death to meth” platform. The Sacramento Bee called for the resignation of District Attorney Jon Alexander in an editorial published on Wednesday. “Alexander’s lapses in judgment while…

Mar 1, 2012 3:01 PM CST

4th Circuit Footnote Scolds Prosecutors for ‘Disrespectful’ and ‘Uncivil’ Language in Pleadings

A federal appeals court has warned prosecutors about the potential consequences of using “disrespectful or uncivil language” toward others in their appellate briefs. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion last week, said that advocates, including government lawyers, “do themselves a disservice” when their briefs…

Feb 29, 2012 10:57 PM CST