Prosecutors

Boy, 12, Charged With Capital Murder in Texas Baby’s Death

An unidentified Texas boy, age 12, has been charged with capital murder in the death of a baby. Although he is too young to be tried as an adult, he could get up to 40 years if he is convicted as a juvenile, reports the Houston Chronicle in a brief…

Apr 21, 2009 11:38 PM CDT

Pillow Fight Organizer in Vt. is Charged With Disorderly Conduct

Some 50 individuals briefly pummeled each other with pillows in a staged—and videotaped—event in Burlington, Vt., on Friday. But only 21-year-old Darin Cassler has been criminally charged over the incident, apparently because he allegedly blew a whistle that signaled those involved in the fluffy and apparently good-natured free-for-all to start…

Apr 21, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

Another Teen ‘Sexting’ Peril: Charges (Now Dismissed) Against School Official

When Ting-Yi Oei heard rumors that students at his high school were sending revealing photos to each other on their cell phones, the Loudoun County, Va., assistant principal felt it was his job to investigate this obviously undesirable behavior. In consultation with the school principal and security specialist, he interviewed…

Apr 21, 2009 5:04 PM CDT

High Court to Consider Prosecutor Immunity for Using False Testimony

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear a case involving prosecutor immunity from lawsuits for procuring false evidence in a criminal investigation and then using it at trial. The case, Pottawattamie County v. Harrington, represents “a significant new test case on prosecutors’ immunity,” SCOTUSblog reports. The case was brought…

Apr 20, 2009 3:17 PM CDT

High-Profile Vegas Lawyer Accused of Shoplifting Necklace at Sundance Shop

A high-profile Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer has been accused of stealing a necklace from a gift shop at the Sundance Resort in Utah. Gary Guymon has been charged with misdemeanor theft for the March 24 incident, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports. A surveillance video appears to show a…

Apr 20, 2009 1:31 PM CDT

US Releases 4 More ‘Torture’ Memos, Promises Defense to CIA Workers

The U.S. Department of Justice today released four more Office of Legal Counsel memos providing legal advice to the CIA from 2002 to 2005, as Attorney General Eric Holder promised a free defense and potential indemnification to any CIA employee facing investigation for conduct approved by these memos. “The President…

Apr 16, 2009 7:54 PM CDT

Judge Unseals Testimony of Hoffa Witness

A federal judge has agreed to unseal the grand jury testimony of a key witness in the indictment of former Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa for obstruction of justice. U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell of Nashville agreed to unseal testimony about jury tampering by Walter Sheridan, a top aide to…

Apr 15, 2009 6:07 PM CDT

Mortgage Fraud Is Rarely Prosecuted

Although bank robbers steal less, they’re a lot more likely to be prosecuted criminally than those who commit mortgage fraud and deed thefts. Lacking staff and resources to pursue such complex real estate cases, prosecutors in New York have tended to treat them as civil matters even as they proliferated…

Apr 15, 2009 5:51 PM CDT

DOJ Revs Up Prosecutor Training, Ponders Discovery Policy

Following blistering criticism by a federal judge who last week appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the government’s handling of a high-profile criminal corruption case against former Sen. Ted Stevens, U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder is cleaning house at the Department of Justice. Holder is setting up a training program…

Apr 15, 2009 4:53 PM CDT

Calif. DA Dismisses Misdemeanor and Drug Charges in Exchange for DNA

A district attorney in Orange County, Calif., is agreeing to dismiss some misdemeanor and drug charges against defendants if they provide a DNA sample. Courtroom observers have dubbed the program “spit and acquit,” the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is using the program to…

Apr 15, 2009 1:52 PM CDT

New ‘Hague’ for Pirates Might Be Kenya

The high-profile rescue this week by the U.S. Navy of an American cargo ship captain reportedly being held hostage by pirates from Somalia has put a hitherto little-known legal issue in the spotlight. Pirates on the high seas are so rarely tried for the crime that no one is sure…

Apr 15, 2009 12:07 AM CDT

Inexperience and Staffing Problems Plagued Stevens Prosecutors

The Justice Department section that prosecuted former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, only to see the charges dismissed, was inexperienced and overwhelmed, observers say. Defense lawyers and government officials told the Washington Post that the problems were not likely because of political motivations. Rather, the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section “miscalculated by…

Apr 13, 2009 3:49 PM CDT

John Yoo’s Constitutional Arguments are Worth a Hearing, Law Dean Says

It has become almost a truism, to a significant portion of the legal community, that former U.S. Department of Justice attorney John Yoo was way off target when he authored legal memos supporting interrogation methods some consider tantamount to torture. But the dean of the law school at which Yoo…

Apr 11, 2009 12:36 AM CDT

Federal Judge Sanctions US $600K for Secretly Taping Defense Lawyer

In a blistering 50-page opinion (PDF) today criticizing the “win-at-any-cost behavior” of federal prosecutors who secretly taped a defense lawyer, a federal judge in Florida has awarded more than $600,000 in sanctions against the government. The money, which the United States must pay to a South Florida physician it accused…

Apr 9, 2009 5:24 PM CDT

Alaska Seeks Hatch Act Probe in Stevens Case, Supports Possible Tort Claim

Opening a new chapter in the ongoing debacle over the federal government’s stunningly unsuccessful prosecution of then-Sen. Ted Stevens for corruption, the legislature of his home state of Alaska today overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for further investigation of potential election law violations and demanding that the federal government give…

Apr 9, 2009 12:24 AM CDT