Prosecutors

Sex Crimes Prosecutor Grades ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Episodes on Accuracy

A federal sex crimes prosecutor—who also just had her first novel, Law of Attraction published—is systematically taking on the accuracy of this season’s Law & Order: SVU. Don’t get her wrong—it’s not that she doesn’t like these types of shows. “Law & Order was part of what inspired me to…

Oct 21, 2010 4:32 PM CDT

Federal Prosecutor Won’t Be Charged for Boxer-Clad Dip in a Pool

A federal prosecutor in Miami won’t be formally charged for taking a dip in his boxer shorts at a bar-side outdoor pool last month. Police arrested Sean Cronin after a mom complained that he exposed more than his skivvies as he exited the pool, requiring her to shield her daughter’s…

Oct 19, 2010 1:54 PM CDT

9 Years Later, Trial Begins in Death of Chandra Levy

Jury selection began today in the case of the slaying of Chandra Levy, who at the time of her disappearance on May 1, 2001, was a 24-year-old intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Her body was found in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., one year later. On trial…

Oct 18, 2010 7:58 PM CDT

Calif. Bar Reviewing Records of 130 Prosecutors for Discipline After Report

In response to a study released this month by the Northern California Innocence Project stating that California courts disciplined prosecutorial misconduct less than 1 percent of time, the State Bar of California is reviewing the records of 130 prosecutors named in that report. The study of more than 4,000 state…

Oct 18, 2010 5:42 PM CDT

Criminal Probe for ‘I Am the Prize’ Ex-DA Accused of Sexually Harassing at Work

After initially determining, based on one woman’s report and the accused prosecutor’s response, that alleged sexual harassment by a then-Wisconsin district attorney wasn’t criminal, authorities have reopened their investigation into the job-related conduct of former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz. The new probe apparently focuses on new information that…

Oct 15, 2010 5:57 PM CDT

Retired Judge to be Tried for Perjury, Admits Letting Witness Lie to Protect Paid Informant

A retired Michigan judge has been ordered to stand trial along with two Detroit-area police officers and Wayne County’s former chief drug prosecutor, who has also retired, for allegedly encouraging witness lies in a 2005 trial in a major cocaine case. Allegedly told by the prosecutor, Karen Plants, that false…

Oct 13, 2010 7:57 PM CDT

Prosecutor Reprimanded for Working for Three-Plus Years with an Inactive License

An Indiana prosecutor has been reprimanded for handling cases while he held an inactive license. The Indiana Supreme Court reprimanded Newton County Prosecutor Ed Barce in a 3-2 decision (PDF), the Journal & Courier reports. Dissenters argued that Barce should have been suspended for 30 days. Barce had an inactive…

Oct 6, 2010 12:56 PM CDT

After Judge & Prosecutor Clash, His Removal Is Sought On 455 of Her Cases

A 56-year-old Florida jurist can’t fully tell his side of the story, due to ethical rules about commenting on pending cases. But, as Broward Circuit Judge Carlos Rodriguez apparently sees it, he was just doing his job when he told a 27-year-old female prosecutor to take a seat at the…

Oct 5, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

Two Women Had Sought Restraining Orders Against DA Now Banned from His Office

A Colorado district attorney arrested last week on charges of unlawful sexual contact, official misconduct and indecent exposure had prior legal run-ins with two women who unsuccessfully sought restraining orders against him. The restraining orders sought against DA Myrl Serra were denied because of insufficient evidence that the prosecutor was…

Oct 5, 2010 12:26 PM CDT

Study: Calif. Courts Discipline Prosecutorial Misconduct Less Than 1% of the Time

The State of California—from its judges to the bar association—does not take prosecutorial misconduct seriously, and the result is that an increasing number of innocent people have been sent to prison, taxpayers are forced to pay millions and millions in litigation costs, and public confidence in the criminal justice system…

Oct 4, 2010 8:22 PM CDT

City Attorney Exonerated in Criminal Probe re $15K in Work Monthly Sent to His Own Law Firm

The top lawyer in Chattanooga, Tenn., has been exonerated in a criminal probe over his reported practice of contracting out some $15,000 in legal and secretarial work to his own law firm. Although there were technical violations of state law, said District Attorney General Russell Johnson, of Kingston, Tenn., in…

Oct 1, 2010 2:59 PM CDT

DA Accused of Late-Night Porn Viewing Learns Lesson About Hotel Cameras

A Wisconsin district attorney was surprised when deputies showed up last November to investigate accusations that he was viewing porn on a computer in a hotel business center. Wood County District Attorney John Henkelmann wasn’t charged in the incident, the Associated Press reports. He told AP he had been drinking,…

Oct 1, 2010 12:34 PM CDT

Colo. DA Barred from Office After Arrest on Sex, Indecent Exposure Charges

The district attorney for a large part of western Colorado has been banned from returning to his office after his arrest on charges of unlawful sexual contact, official misconduct and indecent exposure. Details of the case against Myrl Serra are murky because the arrest affidavit was sealed, according to the…

Oct 1, 2010 12:04 PM CDT

Asst. AG On Leave After Blog Tirades Against ‘Radical Homosexual’ Student Leader

Updated: A report in the Detroit News this morning said Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox had reversed course and decided to suspend a lawyer in his office who attacked a student leader as a “radical homosexual activist” in his blog. The newspaper has now published a revised story that says…

Oct 1, 2010 11:36 AM CDT

‘Scary Yelling’ Lawyer on Apprentice Show Quits Asst. Brooklyn DA Day Job

A woman who took a two-month leave of absence from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office to film episodes on The Apprentice with Donald Trump is quitting her $50,000-a-year day job. But Mahsa Saeidi-Azcuy says she is doing so because her new-found celebrity is making it difficult for her to prosecute…

Sep 30, 2010 9:15 PM CDT