Prosecutors

Fired US Atty Ryan Takes Pay Cut to Work For San Fran’s Mayor

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has hired former U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan to lead the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Ryan was among at least eight U.S. attorneys fired last year by the Bush Administration. This is his second post, after taking a job in April with the 200-lawyer Allen…

Jan 4, 2008 11:10 PM CST

Acting US Atty Named in Minnesota

The Justice Department has named veteran prosecutor Frank Magill to take over as interim U.S. attorney in Minnesota. He replaces the embattled Rachel Paulose, a move the Associated Press characterized as “replacing youth with experience.” Paulose, who when she was appointed was 32 and among the youngest U.S. attorneys ever,…

Jan 4, 2008 7:19 PM CST

Interrogation Tape Prosecutor Seen as Tough, Nonpartisan

The assistant U.S. attorney tapped to lead the criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes is described as a nonpartisan career prosecutor who has pursued government officials and Mafia chiefs. Friends of John Durham, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, were unable to recall…

Jan 3, 2008 5:36 PM CST

DA Who Wrote Amorous E-Mail Won’t Run for Re-Election

The most powerful prosecutor in Texas has decided he won’t run for re-election in what appeared to be a last-minute deal with political leaders, the New York Times reports. District Attorney Charles Rosenthal of Harris County withdrew his name yesterday after the disclosure last week of intimate e-mail exchanges with…

Jan 3, 2008 3:10 PM CST

‘Law & Order’ Promotes the Real McCoy

While the dramatized version Manhattan’s famed prosecutor’s office is set to get its fourth district attorney in 18 seasons, the city’s real district attorney has stayed put. Robert M. Morgenthau was first elected to the post in 1974 and, according to the New York Times’ City Room blog, easily won…

Jan 2, 2008 9:46 PM CST

Veteran Prosecutor Takes On City’s Worst Juvy Offenders

A veteran prosecutor in Tennessee known nationally for her victims’ rights advocacy is shifting her energy to prosecuting Nashville’s worst juvenile offenders. For 51-year-old Kathy Morante, the new direction in her prosecutorial career has been a challenge, the Tennessean reports. “It’s already been very frustrating,” Morante tells the paper. “There’s…

Jan 2, 2008 7:50 PM CST

Newsmakers of the Year 2007 and 2008

Editor’s Note: When this article was posted online on December 12, 2007, it was titled “Lawyers of the Year 2007 and 2008.” The article defined that term as the year’s biggest legal newsmaker, identifying former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as the major newsmaker of 2007. The Journal regrets that…

Jan 1, 2008 3:49 PM CST

Former Federal Prosecutor Accused of Raiding Law Firm Account

A former federal prosecutor has been indicted in Massachusetts on charges that he stole at least $150,000 from a bank account for his former law firm. Philip Giordano, 49, will be arraigned Jan. 15 in Suffolk Superior Court on “multiple charges of larceny and making false entries in a corporate…

Dec 20, 2007 7:03 PM CST

Ex-U.S. Attorney Returns to the Job in San Francisco

The U.S. Senate has approved the nomination of Joseph Russoniello to become Northern California’s new U.S. attorney, according to Cal Law’s blog Legal Pad. The blog says Russoniello hadn’t yet heard the news when a reporter called for comment yesterday evening. He was attending a holiday party at a yacht…

Dec 20, 2007 3:43 PM CST

Mukasey Limits White House Contacts in Pending Probes

New guidelines issued by Attorney General Michael Mukasey limit contact between Justice Department and White House officials in pending civil and criminal investigations. The guidelines say the Justice Department will advise the White House about such pending matters “only where it is important for the performance of the president’s duties…

Dec 20, 2007 11:34 AM CST

Manslaughter Case Against Company Over ‘Big Dig’ Accident Continues

In an unusual and much-watched manslaughter case against one of the companies working on the controversial “Big Dig” tunnel project in Boston, a Massachusetts judge refused yesterday to dismiss the criminal charge. Defendant Powers Fasteners Inc., which is the only contractor charged in the manslaughter case, had contended that the…

Dec 19, 2007 6:31 PM CST

New Suit in Duke Lacrosse Rape Case

The fallout continues over a botched investigation and prosecution of an escort service dancer’s allegations—eventually determined to be false—that she was gang-raped in March 2006 by former members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team. Three former team members who were never charged in the case have filed a 400-page…

Dec 19, 2007 5:15 PM CST

Ex-Judge Has Law License Suspended for Affair With Prosecutor

A former Colorado judge has had his law license suspended for three years after an affair with a prosecutor. Grafton Minot Biddle of Douglas County was accused of having an affair with deputy district attorney Laurie Hurst. Despite the liaison, she had appeared in his courtroom for two trials and…

Dec 19, 2007 1:51 PM CST

Congress, DOJ Clash re CIA Videotapes Probe

Congress and the Department of Justice apparently may be headed for a showdown over the issue of whose investigation takes precedence concerning videotapes of al-Qaida interrogations destroyed by the CIA. Members of the House Intelligence Committee reacted angrily yesterday to a Justice Department request that the committee postpone their investigation…

Dec 15, 2007 9:47 AM CST

Corp. Crime Crackdown: Many Serve Minimal Sentences

Despite a renewed emphasis on corporate compliance in recent years and a high-profile crackdown on executives who don’t play by the rules, such prosecutions may be sending a mixed message to those tempted by white-collar crime. That’s because nearly half of the defendants convicted in such cases during the past…

Dec 13, 2007 7:00 PM CST