Prosecutors

Is DA ‘Turning the Scalpel of Recusal Into a Chain Saw’?

About two months ago, a California state-court judge not only freed a convicted child molester but accused the assistant Santa Clara County district attorney on the case of testifying falsely about the evidence. After that, what had been a somewhat strained relationship at the San Jose courthouse between Judge Andrea…

Mar 22, 2010 9:08 PM CDT

County Atty Turns in Keys After License is Suspended Over ‘06 Relationship With Client

An elected county attorney in Iowa has reportedly turned in his office keys after the state’s top court today suspended his law license over a sexual relationship he had with a private client in 2006 while representing her in a child-custody case. Floyd County Attorney Jesse Marzen declined to comment…

Mar 19, 2010 11:56 PM CDT

Juvenile Judge Orders 4 Sex-Assault Victims to Take Polygraph Test

Baffling prosecutors and upsetting victims, an Ohio judge has ordered four teenage victims of sexual assaults to take polygraph tests—after their alleged attackers have already been found delinquent, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cuyahoga Juvenile Court Judge Alison Floyd has also called for the delinquent teens, who are accused of…

Mar 19, 2010 5:35 PM CDT

Fighting Extradition in Child-Sex Case, Polanski Claims More Long-Ago Judicial Misconduct

Fighting to keep famed film director Roman Polanski from being extradited from Switzerland to face sentencing in a decades-old California child-sex case from which he fled following conviction, his lawyers are now making new allegations of long-ago judicial misconduct. Among them: That the now-deceased judge in the case met in…

Mar 18, 2010 11:14 PM CDT

9th Cir. Panel Refuses En Banc Rehearing of Ruling Ex-AG Ashcroft Can Be Sued by Witness

Refusing an en banc rehearing of an earlier 2-1 ruling by an appellate panel, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has effectively held once more that former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft can be sued for civil damages by a man who says he was unconstitutionally jailed…

Mar 18, 2010 9:36 PM CDT

Did Juror Steal Fellow Juror’s Credit Card? Prosecutor Probes New Case During Recess

A prosecutor trying a credit card theft case in New York City wound up doing double duty after a juror accused another member of the panel of stealing his own credit card on March 8 and using it at stores near the Bronx courthouse over the next few days. During…

Mar 17, 2010 7:30 PM CDT

Phil Spector Appeals Murder Rap, Citing Error, Misconduct

Lawyers for Phil Spector, who was convicted and sentenced to 19 years to life for the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson, asked the California Second District Court of Appeal this week to reverse the verdict and order a new trial. The appeal focused on Judge Larry Paul Fidler’s decision…

Mar 12, 2010 8:29 PM CST

Judge Reprimanded for Blasting Prosecutors Who Won Cases Over Atty Wife

A North Carolina judge was reprimanded today for the second time in less than a year—this time over outbursts directed at prosecutors. The prosecutors who the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission say were the objects of Judge Timothy Smith’s ire had won convictions in separate trials against defendants represented by…

Mar 11, 2010 11:19 PM CST

Friends Face Jail on Weapons Charge After Off-Duty Cop Is Hit by Snowball

Is a snowball a weapon? The Bronx district attorney seems to think so. Four friends are facing a year in jail on charges of criminal possession of a weapon—as well as attempted assault, menacing and harassment—after an off-duty transit cop was hit by a snowball, the New York Daily News…

Mar 10, 2010 5:33 PM CST

Attorney Firings Get Just Four Pages in Rove Memoir

The U.S. Attorney firings controversy didn’t get much play in Courage and Consequences, former White House adviser Karl Rove’s 520-page memoir released today. Main Justice said four pages of the book were devoted to the scandal. It reports that Rove said the White House had a minor role in the…

Mar 9, 2010 9:22 PM CST

Project Aimed at Eliminating Prosecutor Race Bias Shows Promising Results

Milwaukee County’s district attorney said at a briefing Monday that under a project that has his staff looking for race bias while screening cases, he has fewer defendants going to prison without an impact on public safety. The briefing discussed the Vera Institute’s Prosecution and Racial Justice Program. Prosecutors in…

Mar 9, 2010 5:56 PM CST

Complaint Against Judge Puts Ex-Prosecutor Back on Hot Seat re Claimed Ex Parte Contacts

A prosecutor who was earlier exonerated in a legal ethics case concerning his possible personal relationship with a South Florida judge around the time he presented a death-penalty case in her court is now back on the hot seat. Following news this week that the Judicial Qualifications Commission has opened…

Mar 6, 2010 12:44 AM CST

FBI Probing Gov’t Attorney’s Office in Embattled Maricopa County, Ariz.

After litigation against judges and efforts to search their computers by the local government attorney in embattled Maricopa County, Ariz., the FBI has now expanded an earlier probe of the county sheriff’s office to include as well the office of County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Although the FBI would neither confirm…

Mar 5, 2010 11:12 PM CST

‘West Coast Ralph Nader’ Dies at 91, Kept Justice Frankfurter Note on Desk

After growing up during the Great Depression, William Bennett dropped out of law school to serve as a bomber pilot in World War II, flying 35 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe and returning with the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Bronze Star medals. By the time he graduated from University of…

Mar 5, 2010 8:17 PM CST

Prosecutor Wants R and PG-13 Movies Removed from Redbox

An Indiana prosecutor is on a campaign to get movies rated for mature audiences removed from video kiosks such as Redbox. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco of Evansville says it’s too easy for children to rent adult-oriented movies at the kiosks, which dispense movies with the swipe of a credit…

Mar 5, 2010 11:30 AM CST