Prosecutors

Judge cuts sentence after defense lawyer claims ‘shady shenanigans’ by federal prosecutor

A federal judge in Kansas City, Kansas, has slashed a defendant’s sentence from 20 to nine years in prison, citing a federal prosecutor’s failure to “conduct herself as a prosecutor must.”

May 26, 2021 12:07 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge rules against courtroom prayer program; public comment sought on student loans

Judge rules against courtroom prayer program A federal judge in Texas has ruled against a Texas justice of the peace in a suit claiming that he violated the establishment clause by soliciting chaplains to deliver courtroom prayers at the opening of court proceedings. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt of the…

May 24, 2021 3:21 PM CDT

After prosecutor declines to bring rape charge, accuser uses unusual law to convene her own grand jury

A Kansas woman is taking matters into her own hands after she was unable to persuade a prosecutor to bring a rape charge against the man she accused of strangling and slapping her during sex.

May 20, 2021 9:51 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Controversial remarks by ‘QAnon shaman’ lawyer; progressive district attorney wins primary

Lawyer for ‘QAnon shaman’ says rioters are ‘short-bus people’ Albert Watkins, the lawyer for the accused U.S. Capitol Hill rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman,” told Talking Points Memo that a lot of the rioting defendants are “short-bus people.” Watkins said the defendants are people with “brain damage, they’re f-…

May 19, 2021 4:19 PM CDT

Ex-prosecutor gives up law license after he’s accused of withholding evidence that led to wrongful convictions

Former Dallas County, Texas, prosecutor Richard E. “Rick” Jackson agreed to give up his law license last month to avoid discipline for allegedly withholding evidence that led to the wrongful convictions of two homeless men.

May 18, 2021 11:43 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Trans worker fails to make discrimination case against employer; former DA’s husband gets community service

Transgender employee failed to show discrimination in case against T-Mobile, appeals court says The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans has dismissed claims brought by Elijah Anthony Olivarez, a transgender employee of T-Mobile USA who alleged that he was fired for taking a long leave of absence…

May 14, 2021 2:40 PM CDT

Over 40 California prosecutors petition to repeal new rules increasing good-conduct credits for inmates

About two-thirds of California's top county prosecutors are challenging new rules that could make tens of thousands of people incarcerated in the state eligible for early release.

May 14, 2021 10:20 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: NRA bankruptcy petition tossed; prosecutors say man imprisoned for over 40 years is innocent

Judge tosses NRA bankruptcy petition U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin D. “Cooter” Hale of Dallas has dismissed a Chapter 11 petition filed by the National Rifle Association in its bid to leave New York and reincorporate in Texas. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to dissolve the NRA for…

May 11, 2021 4:32 PM CDT

District attorney resigns as part of plea deal in pressured-sex case

A district attorney in Pennsylvania has resigned as a condition of his guilty plea for allegedly pressuring clients while he was in private practice to engage in prostitution for legal services.

May 10, 2021 2:48 PM CDT

Federal judge tossed from case for ‘immovable’ views, suggestion that US lawyers are lazy and arrogant

A controversial federal judge in Houston has been booted from a case once again by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans. The federal appeals court said U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes had a “fixed and inflexible view of the case.”

May 10, 2021 10:25 AM CDT

St. Louis circuit attorney faces ethics complaint related to probe of former governor

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is facing ethics charges stemming from her 2018 investigation of then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

May 7, 2021 9:20 AM CDT

District attorney is removed from office under rarely used state law

A North Carolina district attorney was removed from office Tuesday in a process that began with an affidavit filed by a grassroots group of victims’ families.

Apr 30, 2021 2:01 PM CDT

Former New York AG Eric Schneiderman is suspended for abusing women

Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be suspended from law for one-year for physically abusing two women during long-term relationships and a third woman, a lawyer, during a romantic encounter. Schneiderman agreed to the suspension, according an April 27 opinion imposing discipline by the New York Supreme Court,…

Apr 28, 2021 2:35 PM CDT

Chief deputy DA in Vegas writes column criticizing Disney wokeness and spurs Twitter backlash

The chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, Nevada, has been labeled a “Disney Karen” after he wrote a newspaper commentary criticizing Disney World for political correctness. In a guest column for the Orlando Sentinel, Jonathan VanBoskerck said he loved Disney World, but he is strongly rethinking his commitment to…

Apr 28, 2021 11:45 AM CDT

Former prosecutor’s behavior was ‘troubling’ but not criminal, investigation finds

An investigation into a former Suffolk County, Massachusetts, prosecutor has found that his behavior with female interns was “troubling” and violated the expectations of his office but didn’t break the law.

Apr 16, 2021 9:30 AM CDT