Prosecutors

Prosecutor Opposes Defendant’s Saintly Name-Change Request

A Georgia prosecutor is opposing a defendant’s request to change his name to Saint Jody Almighty Bedrock. The defendant, Shelby Marwan Hegg, is accused of aggravated battery, but he says the name change idea is legit: It’s based on his religious reawakening, according to the Associated Press and the Macon…

Sep 21, 2010 3:08 PM CDT

DA Who Texted Abuse Victim Takes Leave; Gov Seeks His Removal, Citing Claimed Autopsy Date Request

Updated: A Wisconsin prosecutor who admittedly sent 30 texts to a victim in a domestic violence case seeking a sexual relationship but says that shouldn’t prevent him from keeping his job allegedly told her, just before the chain of comments began, that he might reduce the felony charge against the…

Sep 20, 2010 6:39 PM CDT

DA Sexts Domestic Abuse Victim, Informs Her ‘I am the Prize’

A Wisconsin district attorney who sexted a domestic abuse victim has resigned as chair of the Wisconsin Crime Victims Rights Board, but he is refusing to step down from his prosecutor post. Calumet County District Attorney Kenneth Kratz sent 30 texts to the woman, the Associated Press reports, including this…

Sep 16, 2010 12:14 PM CDT

County Sues 70 Alleged Gang Members, Seeking to Give Police New Powers

Taking a page out a playbook being used in California and by a neighboring suburban Chicago county, officials in Kane County have filed a civil suit against 70 alleged gang members in Elgin. If it is successful, in addition to potentially winning monetary damages, the suit will prevent the defendants…

Sep 15, 2010 5:52 PM CDT

After Inmate Files Some 3,800 Lawsuits, Prosecutors Seek to Stop the Onslaught

A federal inmate who once dubbed himself the “lawsuit Zeus” is so litigious that prosecutors are trying to put an end to the frivolous filings. Jonathan Lee Riches has filed more than 3,800 lawsuits, targeting defendants ranging from the planet Pluto to former president George W. Bush, the Associated Press…

Sep 15, 2010 3:53 PM CDT

DA Helps Chase and Corner Purse Snatcher

A district attorney and congressional candidate from Massachusetts gave chase Sunday morning when a man grabbed a purse from a woman sitting at a counter at the restaurant where he was eating. DA William Keating was eating breakfast with his wife at the Country Fare Restaurant in Falmouth when the…

Sep 13, 2010 1:53 PM CDT

$160K Pay for New Associates Is Still the BigLaw Norm in Many Cities, Survey Finds

The gap between private sector and public interest salaries for lawyers is “stark and alarming,” despite pay cuts at some large firms, according to a legal career organization. The median first-year base salary for law firm associates is $115,000, while the median pay for entry-level public interest lawyers ranges from…

Sep 9, 2010 12:49 PM CDT

9th Circuit Nixes Suit re CIA Transfer of Terrorism Suspects Abroad, Cites State Secrets Privilege

By a 6-5 vote, a sharply divided federal appeals court issued an opinion (PDF) today that has put the brakes on a lawsuit concerning a controversial CIA program in which terrorism suspects reportedly were transferred overseas, where at least some were allegedly tortured. Upholding the Obama administration’s assertion of the…

Sep 8, 2010 9:49 PM CDT

Unprecedented DOJ Suit Seeks Documents From Sheriff Joe Arpaio for Civil Rights Probe

A controversial Arizona sheriff who seemingly scores points with many of his constituents by acting as something of a law unto himself was sued today by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to cooperate with an ongoing civil rights investigation. The suit was virtually a foregone conclusion, notes the…

Sep 2, 2010 6:20 PM CDT

Ex-NYC Mayor Giuliani’s Daughter to Get 1 Day Community Service in Shoplifting Case

The daughter of prosecutor and former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani will have a shoplifting charge dismissed and her case closed and sealed if she completes a day of community service at the city’s sanitation department and doesn’t get arrested again in the next six months. Caroline Giuliani’s case…

Aug 31, 2010 5:48 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Wore Wire to Build Case Against Claimed Client: ‘I Had to Do It’

Was attorney Terry Haddock acting as Shannon Williams’ lawyer during six months of jail visits in 2009? Or was Haddock, at least as Williams saw it, exploiting his attorney status to help his claimed client run a marijuana ring? That appears to be the central issue in a federal court…

Aug 20, 2010 8:35 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor’s Monthly Student Loan Bill Was Unlawfully Cut From $1,030 to $400, Says IG Report

A former New York prosecutor benefited from special treatment by a state agency, which unlawfully arranged during the past three or four years to cut his monthly student loan bill from $1,030 to $400, an inspector general’s report says. Then, when Michael McDermott still didn’t ante up the $400, workers…

Aug 19, 2010 6:02 PM CDT

Washington Post Editorial Writers Side with Blagojevich Lawyers

The Washington Post is in agreement with lawyers for Rod Blagojevich on at least one point. In an editorial published today, the Post says the former Illinois governor should not be retried. According to the Post, Blagojevich’s conviction on just one count was “an extraordinary rebuke” to U.S. Attorney Patrick…

Aug 19, 2010 12:26 PM CDT

DA Will Reinvestigate Sex-Abuse Case Chronicled in Documentary

Prosecutors in Nassau County are responding to a critical federal appeals court opinion blasting the prosecution of a 1980s sex-abuse case chronicled in the documentary Capturing the Friedmans. District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Tuesday that her office will reinvestigate the prosecution of Jesse Friedman with a panel of law enforcement,…

Aug 18, 2010 1:49 PM CDT

2nd Circuit Blasts Judge, Prosecutors in Sex Abuse Case Chronicled in Documentary

A federal appeals court has upheld the sexual abuse conviction of a New York man whose case was chronicled in a documentary, even as the panel blasted the trial judge and prosecutors who got swept up in the “moral panic” over child abuse. The New York-based appeals court suggested the…

Aug 17, 2010 3:54 PM CDT