Prosecutors

Pa. Plans Law to Protect Prosecutors’ Cell Phone Records

Legislators in Pennsylvania are scurrying to close a loophole in state law that recently allowed a cell phone provider to give prosecutors’ personal records to a defense lawyer in a criminal case, even though Sprint Nextel apparently has promised not to do so again. “Sprint Nextel handed over the records…

Jul 25, 2008 9:14 PM CDT

False Claim of an Affair With US Atty. Forced 250 Prosecutors Off Case

A court hearing yesterday revealed why 250 federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Santa Ana removed themselves from the corruption prosecution of former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona. The unusual action was the result of allegations that Carona had an affair with U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang, report the Daily…

Jul 25, 2008 11:45 AM CDT

LAPD’s False Info to Suspect Led to Murder of 16-Year-Old ‘Witness’

A young woman was murdered in 2003 apparently because of a Los Angeles Police Department ruse to extract information from a suspect that backfired. Seeking to find out more from suspect Jose Ledesma, 19, about the murder of another young man, two LAPD detectives told Ledesma that 16-year-old Martha Puebla…

Jul 18, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

We Didn’t Torture, Ex-AG John Ashcroft Tells House Panel

In a House Judiciary Committee hearing today, former Attorney General John Ashcroft disavowed the reasoning behind controversial legal memos created by Department of Justice attorneys that critics say justified torture of terrorism suspects. But, in the ninth hearing on the tactics the U.S. used, after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist…

Jul 17, 2008 9:53 PM CDT

Prosecuting Official for Funds Misuse Led to Texas DA’s Downfall

Elected six times as district attorney of Rockwell County, in Texas, Ray Sumrow didn’t expect his career move to be a prison cell. But that is where he is now spending his time after 22 years in office, serving a 15-year term for stealing public money. The architect of his…

Jul 17, 2008 8:03 PM CDT

DAs Seek Change in Law that Allowed Disclosure of Prosecutor Phone Records

The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association is seeking a change in a state law that allowed a defense lawyer to obtain prosecutors’ cell phone records. The law permits lawyers in criminal cases to subpoena cell phone and e-mail records without notifying the target, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Prosecutors fear criminals could…

Jul 17, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Prosecutor’s Relationship With Cop Gets Her Suspended

A veteran prosecutor in suburban Chicago has been suspended without pay for a month, starting yesterday, after her boss learned of her alleged undisclosed relationship with a police officer who has testified in her cases. John Barsanti, who serves as Kane County state’s attorney, says he learned two weeks ago…

Jul 16, 2008 6:14 PM CDT

U.S. Attorney Martin Investigated by Ethics Watchdog for 2 Prosecutions

The U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating allegations of misconduct made by a company unsuccessfully prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, the American Lawyer reports. The company, Axion Corp., was prosecuted for giving technical drawings for a Blackhawk helicopter part to manufacturers in China. After the trial…

Jul 15, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

A Lawyer Who Loves His Job: Prosecutor Gerard Leone

More a career prosecutor than a politician, Gerard T. Leone Jr., the Middlesex district attorney in Massachusetts, keeps a low profile even as his office takes on big cases. Its 250 lawyers handle some 40,000 cases annually. Their role, he says, is to serve as advocates for those who can’t…

Jul 11, 2008 6:58 PM CDT

12 Indicted in Ongoing Pa. Capital Political Corruption Probe

In a major political corruption case that is still being investigated, the Pennsylvania attorney general has announced charges against 12 Democratic insiders in the state’s capital of Harrisburg, including a former House Democratic leader and a current lawmaker, and indicates that more are in the pipeline. “The scandal littered with…

Jul 11, 2008 6:13 PM CDT

DNA Clears Family in Murder of JonBenet Ramsey, DA Says

After more than a decade of whispers and suspicion, DNA tests have reportedly cleared the family of JonBenet Ramsey of involvement in the 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen’s murder in 1996. “Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy said the tests point to an ‘unexplained third party’ and that prosecutors don’t consider…

Jul 9, 2008 8:36 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Threatens to Hold Gitmo Lawyers’ Feet to Fire

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., who is hearing appeals from 200 terrorism detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba told lawyers for both sides yesterday that the cases must be handled as quickly as possible. But that won’t be as easy as the detainees, U.S.…

Jul 9, 2008 5:22 PM CDT

Nude-Walking Prosecutor Wins Civil Service Hearing Over Firing

A judge has ruled that an Ohio prosecutor fired for walking around naked after hours in a government building where he worked is entitled to civil service protections. The former prosecutor, Scott Blauvelt, was fired after security cameras videotaped his nude nighttime strolls on two occasions, the Oxford Press reports.…

Jul 9, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Judge OKs Prosecutor’s Purple Heart Pin at DUI Trial

A judge in Washington state overruled a defense lawyer’s objection to a prosecutor’s Purple Heart lapel pin at a DUI trial last week, saying that the prosecutor, who is an Iraq war veteran, was “already dressed” and would not be required to remove it. Defense attorney Garth Dano, of Moses…

Jul 7, 2008 11:10 PM CDT

Houston Congresswoman Calls for Hearings on Local Justice System

A congresswoman from Houston is calling for hearings into the local justice system after a grand jury’s decision not to indict a 62-year-old retiree who shot and killed two illegal immigrants who were apparently breaking into a neighbor’s home. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said at a news conference that…

Jul 7, 2008 11:57 AM CDT