Prosecutors

Urging Others to Be Wary of ATM Skimming, US Attorney Says She Was a Victim Herself

Law enforcement agencies are working to try to cut down on prolific internet fraud, including the so-called computerized and photographic skimming of bank customers’ account information as they use their cards at automated teller machines and key in personal identification numbers. One sign that authorities aren’t yet on top of…

Sep 20, 2011 9:06 PM CDT

US Attorney’s Office Will Check New York’s Most Popular Restaurants for ADA Compliance

The office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara will be reviewing more than 50 New York restaurants, but the critique won’t be culinary in nature. Bharara’s office will review the restaurants voted most popular in the 2011 Zagat guide for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, report Bloomberg News…

Sep 20, 2011 3:51 PM CDT

Pro Se Defense Attorney to Be Shocked If He Leaves Authorized Courtroom Area During RICO Trial

Four U.S. marshals will be in the courtroom as attorney Paul Bergrin goes on trial in federal court in Newark, N.J., next month. He faces a racketeering case in which he is accused of operating his law firm as a criminal enterprise and conspiring with another New Jersey lawyer to…

Sep 19, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor in NJ and Veteran Md. Defense Lawyer Take Plea in Tax Cases; Both to Be Disbarred

A New Jersey criminal defense lawyer who formerly worked as a Hudson County prosecutor had taken a plea in a tax evasion case and agreed to give up his law license. Francis S. Cutruzzula, 48, admitted to a federal judge in Newark today that he hadn’t filed a tax return…

Sep 14, 2011 11:35 PM CDT

Ill at Home in La., Man Nonetheless Jailed for Utah Crime is Exonerated Today, Will Get $124K

Temporarily paralyzed after a stroke in 2003, Harry Miller couldn’t climb stairs and struggled to walk short distances as he recuperated at home in Louisiana. But that didn’t prevent him from being convicted, based on eyewitness testimony, of a convenience store robbery in Utah that took place days after he…

Sep 12, 2011 8:51 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Faces Ethics Case, as Lawyer, re Alleged Chats with Murder Prosecutor While Still On Bench

A prosecutor who reportedly may have chatted extensively with a Florida judge during a time when he was trying a capital murder case in her court has been facing renewed legal ethics scrutiny since June. But then-Broward Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner avoided the same problem by resigning from the bench…

Sep 9, 2011 10:45 PM CDT

Embattled Nebraska Prosecutor Defends Himself After Workers Question His Comments, Work Ethic

An embattled prosecutor in York County, Neb., is defending himself after workers alleged he made inappropriate comments and indicated he did not want to prosecute cases involving the prosecution of child pornography. York County Attorney Bill Sutter told the York News-Times that he had not seen the allegations until he…

Sep 9, 2011 2:43 PM CDT

Judge Boots Both Prosecutor and Defense Lawyer in Criminal Case

As a retrial looms in the case of a former sheriff’s deputy facing child-abuse charges in Virginia, a hearing yesterday took an unexpected and unusual turn. Judge Joseph Ellis removed both the prosecutor and defense lawyer in the Caroline County Circuit Court case, saying that their personal animosity for each…

Sep 8, 2011 10:00 AM CDT

Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior Spur Effort to Recall County Attorney in Nebraska

Commissioners in Nebraska’s York County are trying to initiate a recall of County Attorney Bill Sutter after the prosecutor reportedly refused a request to resign. The commissioners acted after hearing complaints from Deputy County Attorney Candace Dick and two other office employees, report the York News-Times and the Associated Press.…

Sep 7, 2011 4:03 PM CDT

Case of Freed Grenades Suspect Played Role in Ouster of US Attorney, ATF Director

The U.S. Justice Department and Congress are probing missteps in a case that played a role in the ouster of U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke of Phoenix and Kenneth Melson, the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the…

Sep 6, 2011 2:56 PM CDT

Bronx Prosecutor’s Blown Deadline Means Case Dismissal

A 20-year veteran prosecutor may face disciplinary action after missed deadlines forced charges to be dropped against a parolee accused of trying to kill a New York City police officer. Prosecutor Christine Scaccia, director of gang prosecutions at the Bronx district attorney’s office, dragged her feet and blew through several…

Sep 2, 2011 8:29 PM CDT

San Diego-Area Lawyer Convicted of Vandalizing Foreclosed Home

Corrected: Michael T. Pines was found guilty Thursday of breaking into the foreclosed home of a client. Pines could face up to three years in jail for four misdemeanor counts, including attempted second-degree burglary, after he and the former homeowner broke one of the home’s windows, the Associated Press reports.…

Sep 2, 2011 7:37 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: NOLA Lawyer Remembers Katrina; On Not Seeking ‘Fun’ with Law Enforcement

‘Katrina Was one of the Best Experiences I Ever Had’ New Orleans solo Ernest Svenson, who was practicing in the city when Hurricane Katrina hit six years ago (and who tweeted Hurricane Gustav in 2008) wrote at Ernie the Attorney that “Katrina was one of the best experiences I ever…

Sep 2, 2011 1:43 PM CDT

Govt’s Discussion of Plea with Represented Murder Defendant Results in Case Dismissal, Reprimands

Errors by the prosecution in pursuing a possible plea deal directly with a represented murder defendant resulted in the dismissal of the Apache County, Ariz., case, reports the National Organization of Bar Counsel in its “Case of the Month” column. Plus, the county’s two top prosecutors were reprimanded, both for…

Aug 31, 2011 8:50 PM CDT

US Atty for Ariz. Resigns, Minn. US Atty Promoted in Shake-Up re Botched ATF Gun-Running Probe

The top federal prosecutor in Arizona has resigned, effective immediately, and two other officials who oversaw a botched federal investigation of gun-running operation have been reassigned. In the probe, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly stood by as hundreds of weapons were illegally purchased for…

Aug 31, 2011 7:16 PM CDT