Prosecutors

Kansas Agog Over AG Sex Scandal

An admitted extramarital affair is the least of it. A longtime employee in the Johnson County, Kan., district attorney’s office says she was sexually harassed by the new state attorney general as part of a two-year affair that involved courthouse trysts and alleged interference with cases being prosecuted by her…

Dec 12, 2007 11:57 PM CST

Lawyer: CIA Has Photos of Outsourced Torture of Gitmo Suspect

A lawyer for a Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspect allegedly tortured in Morocco when his interrogation was outsourced by the U.S. says the CIA was present and has photographs of the physical abuse of his client. Binyam Mohamed, a 27-year-old Ethiopian was sliced in the chest and penis by interrogators during…

Dec 11, 2007 6:43 PM CST

Widow of City Attorney to File Suit Blaming DA for Suicide

The widow of former Denver city attorney Larry Manzanares plans to sue the district attorney who investigated her husband, saying the investigation and a press conference contributed to his suicide. Peggy Montaño has filed a letter of intent to sue District Attorney Scott Storey, the Denver Post reports. Storey filed…

Dec 10, 2007 2:28 PM CST

N.Y. Times: CIA Destroyed al-Qaida Suspect Interrogation Tapes

Updated: Apparently seeking to avoid Congressional scrutiny and lessen the risk of legal repercussions against agents involved, the CIA reportedly destroyed in 2005 at least two videotapes that showed al-Qaida suspects in CIA custody being harshly interrogated. The CIA also was concerned that the recordings of the 2002 interrogations, if…

Dec 6, 2007 11:15 PM CST

Discovery Spat in Mich. Murder Case

Often it’s the defense that complains about the prosecution withholding evidence in pretrial discovery in a criminal case. But prosecutors are seeking an emergency order from the Michigan Court of Appeals to stop a murder trial scheduled to start Monday because the defense allegedly didn’t produce critical evidence. Allison Bates,…

Dec 6, 2007 9:26 PM CST

Motor Voter Law a Fast Track to Crime

Proudly proceeding on a fast track toward legal residency and eventual U.S. citizenship, Beth Keathley was so excited about having had a chance to vote in her first American election that she mentioned the milestone to her immigration officer. The next thing she knew, she had been charged with a…

Dec 3, 2007 9:45 PM CST

Judge Axes Verdict Due to Racist Remarks

A federal judge in Utah has thrown out a guilty verdict in an assault case against an American Indian defendant because of jurors’ racist remarks during deliberations. Rather than focusing on the allegations against defendant Kerry Dean Benally, who was accused of assaulting a federal officer investigating a report that…

Dec 3, 2007 8:37 PM CST

U.S. to Judge: We Can Kidnap Suspects

Extradition is only one way for the U.S. government to get suspected criminals in foreign countries back to American soil for trial. Another legitimate option is to kidnap them, a lawyer representing the United States reportedly told an appellate judge in a United Kingdom case, causing an uproar there once…

Dec 3, 2007 5:15 PM CST

Plea Deal for Jena 6 Teen?

A 17-year-old who has been imprisoned for much of this year in a controversial Louisiana case that has sparked massive civil rights protests may be close to a plea deal. Mychal Bell, who was originally charged with attempted murder in an alleged attack with five other black students about a…

Dec 3, 2007 4:15 PM CST

La. Judge Opens Entire Jena 6 Trial

Responding to a lawsuit filed by multiple media organizations, a Louisiana judge decided today to open to the public all trial proceedings in the case of Mychal Bell. The Jena 6 teen is to be tried beginning Dec. 6 in juvenile court for his role in an alleged group attack…

Nov 21, 2007 9:40 PM CST

BP Victims Blast ‘Shockingly Lenient’ Plea

Updated: More than a dozen victims of a 2005 Texas refinery explosion have blasted a planned criminal plea deal with BP and successfully sought the recusal of the federal judge in the case. The deal announced last month calls for BP to plead guilty to an environmental crime and pay…

Nov 21, 2007 4:37 PM CST

Deal Would Give Plaintiffs About $3M in DA Race Bias Case

Dozens of employees who won a suit against New Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan for firing them because they were white would receive about $3 million under a deal financed by the city and the state of Louisiana. The troubled DA’s office was facing threats from lawyers for the fired…

Nov 21, 2007 2:30 PM CST

New Look at Case of Teen’s Suicide Over Web Bullying

Authorities in Missouri initially said no laws appeared to have been broken by at least one adult allegedly responsible for an Internet hoax that reportedly bullied a 13-year-old girl into committing suicide a year ago. But now prosecutors are looking into the situation further following a public outcry after recent…

Nov 21, 2007 12:09 AM CST

Rape Defendants: 3 Boys, 8, 9 and 9

In a case that is sure to be controversial, three boys in from a working-class Acworth, Ga., neighborhood have been charged in the alleged kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl who reportedly is one of their regular playmates. “The victim said they were playing outdoors and the girl was…

Nov 20, 2007 12:19 AM CST

FBI Hate Crimes Stats Soar; Noose Use Not Counted

Hate crimes rose significantly in 2006, up nearly 8 percent in that one year alone, according to the FBI. “Police across the nation reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targeting victims or property as a result of bias against a race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin or physical…

Nov 20, 2007 12:01 AM CST