Colombian Lawyer Gets Max, Up to 9 Years, in Unlicensed Las Vegas Plastic Surgery Death

A Colombian prosecutor and her husband apologized and pleaded for leniency from a Nevada judge today, saying they hadn’t intended to harm a woman who died from an allergic reaction to anesthesia in an unlicensed plastic surgery procedure they reportedly performed in a Las Vegas tile store during a vacation.…

Oct 21, 2011 1:16 AM CDT

Citing Withheld Evidence, Judge Tosses Rape Case Against Sex Crimes Prosecutor

A California judge has a dismissed rape indictment against a Contra Costa County sex crimes prosecutor because grand jurors were not told of exculpatory evidence that raised issues about the accuser’s credibility. Judge Thomas Hastings threw out the case against Michael Gressett on Wednesday, report the San Francisco Chronicle and…

Oct 20, 2011 3:33 PM CDT

Lindsay Lohan Allegedly a No-Show for Coroner’s Office Community Service; Prosecutors Seek Jail Time

Sentenced earlier this year to perform community service for violation of her probation in a drunk-driving case and a misdemeanor necklace theft conviction, actress Lindsay Lohan again is pushing legal boundaries. She was a no-show at the Los Angeles coroner’s office and rarely appeared at a local women’s shelter, missing…

Oct 19, 2011 12:42 AM CDT

With Gloria Allred at Her Side, Lawyer Denounces AG’s Response to Dominatrix Story

Lawyer Alisha Smith says she has quit her job at the New York Attorney General’s office after her employer didn’t give her a chance to respond to a New York Post story claiming she had moonlighted as a dominatrix. Alisha Smith appeared at a press conference Monday with her lawyer,…

Oct 18, 2011 11:35 AM CDT

Drug Dealers Made Up Story of Witness Murder Conspiracy, Pro Se Defense Lawyer Tells Federal Jury

A well-known New Jersey criminal defense attorney accused of conspiring to murder a witness, both to help a client beat the rap and to protect his own alleged drug operation, told a jury in Newark today that the accusations against him are lies. Drug dealers, willing to do anything to…

Oct 17, 2011 7:27 PM CDT

The Burden of Reasonable Doubt: When a Standard Designed to Protect Defendants Actually Hurts Them

Oct 1, 2011 8:20 AM CDT

Prosecutors May Use Testimony of Dead Witness at Murder Trial, Judge Rules

Prosecutors may use the transcribed testimony of a dead witness in the upcoming murder conspiracy trial of a Tulsa man, a judge has ruled. The dead man, Allen Shields, was a former co-defendant in the case who had testified against the four remaining defendants at a preliminary hearing last October…

Sep 29, 2011 9:02 PM CDT

Virginia AG Not Only Seeks to Exonerate Paroled Rapist But Hires Him to Work in AG’s Office

Convinced that a convicted rapist exonerated by DNA evidence in two cases, after serving 27 years, is also innocent in two other cases, Virginia’s top law enforcement official has personally apologized and is trying to persuade a state appeals court to clear Thomas Haynesworth’s record completely. And Attorney General Ken…

Sep 28, 2011 10:17 PM CDT

10 Years After Seattle Prosecutor’s Unsolved Slaying, AG and FBI Plan Ad Campaign Seeking New Leads

A reward of up to $1 million offered soon after a federal prosecutor was murdered in his Seattle home almost a decade ago hasn’t solved the case. So, as the 10th anniversary of the unsolved slaying of 49-year-old Thomas Wales nears, Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce a multimedia…

Sep 28, 2011 7:59 PM CDT

Crank or Serial Killer? So far, Only Self-Admitted Suspect Knows for Sure

Convicted in the 1978 murder of a U.S. Marine, 72-year-old Edward Harold Bell is already serving a 70-year sentence. But it appears that the admitted sex offender and self-described serial killer may also have murdered a number of adolescent girls in various parts of Texas years ago, the Houston Chronicle…

Sep 26, 2011 9:14 PM CDT

Although Crown Counsel Regrets Closing Crime Rhyme, Verse Used as Hammer Put Defendant in Slammer

Presenting his closing argument in rhymed couplets must have seemed like a good idea at the time to John Ramsay. But the Canadian prosecutor apologized today for doing so, saying that he didn’t mean to detract from the solemnity and dignity of the drunk driving case he was trying in…

Sep 22, 2011 11:46 PM CDT

Alleged Suicide Try Led to Arson Case Against Construction Lawyer Still Targeted in Fed’l HOA Probe

Indicted last month in a felony arson and insurance fraud case, an embattled Nevada construction defects attorney plans to fight the latest charges against her on constitutional grounds, concerning the manner in which the investigation was handled, her lawyer told a state court judge during a hearing today. Nancy Quon,…

Sep 22, 2011 6:21 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Sues, Says USERRA Required Baltimore to Rehire Him After Reserve Training

A former prosecutor has sued the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, contending that its failure to rehired him after he completed military training for the U.S. Army Reserve violated the U.S. Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Capt. Andrew Gross, 28, also named the city of Baltimore as a defendant in…

Sep 21, 2011 4:46 PM CDT

Judge Troubled by Wildly Different Sentencing Proposals for Convicted Greenberg Lobbyist

Prosecutors and defense lawyers offered dramatically different assessments of the sentencing range for former Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Kevin Ring, convicted of bribery in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Prosecutors had recommended a sentencing guidelines range of 17 to 22 years in prison, while defense lawyers said the range should be 21…

Sep 21, 2011 4:43 PM CDT

DOJ to Mull Possible Criminal Probe of Former SEC General Counsel’s Role in Madoff Liquidation

Already facing a clawback suit, along with siblings, concerning an investment account with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff that was part of his mother’s estate, a former general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission is now potentially the subject of a federal criminal probe. In a report (PDF) dated…

Sep 20, 2011 10:34 PM CDT