Prosecutors

Likely Promotion for Federal Prosecutor

A respected career prosecutor is expected to be nominated as the new U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. The Bush administration appears poised to name Thomas O’Brien, now the chief of the U.S. attorney’s criminal division in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports. The move comes as the Justice Department…

Jun 1, 2007 7:28 PM CDT

Monk: I Helped Church Shield Priest Who Killed Parishioner

A 74-year-old retired priest who allegedly killed a parishioner decades ago reportedly is walking around as a free man today at least in part because the Catholic Church may have shielded him from a murder charge. Asked by a reporter recently whether he had murdered Irene Garza, 25, in 1960,…

May 31, 2007 7:32 PM CDT

Law Prof: AG Testimony an Ethics Issue?

Just as a number of commentators were saying that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales seemed to be recovering from the controversy over his management of the Justice Department, a new issue has arisen. Based on the testimony last week of his former senior counsel, Monica Goodling, before the Senate Judiciary…

May 31, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

Justice Dept Expands Atty Hiring Probe

An ongoing investigation of the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys, allegedly as part of a political purge, has been expanded. In a letter today to the Senate Judiciary Committee, two Justice Department officials said the investigation has now been widened to include essentially any attorney hiring improperly influenced by political…

May 30, 2007 10:08 PM CDT

ME Disputes Suicide Theory in Spector Trial

A Los Angeles medical examiner said bruises on the wrist of actress Lana Clarkson and the position of her purse on her shoulder indicate her death was not a suicide. Record producer Phil Spector is on trial for allegedly murdering Clarkson at his mansion. His lawyers contend she shot herself…

May 30, 2007 5:35 PM CDT

UK Extradites U.S. Citizen on Terror Charges

The extradition of a terror suspect from Britain to the United States is a first, prosecutors say. Syed Hashmi arrived in New York over the weekend, the New York Times reports. He pleaded not guilty to conspiring to send money and military equipment to sympathizers of al-Qaida. Hashmi is an…

May 30, 2007 3:52 PM CDT

Undisclosed Court Papers Trouble Critics

The federal clerk’s office for the Southern District of Florida did not post key documents to its Web site in a case involving Miami attorney Louis Robles. First Amendment advocates are troubled by the omission, which apparently violated rules of the U.S. Judicial Conference, according to the Daily Business Review.…

May 30, 2007 2:05 PM CDT

Post: Libby Sentence Salvo Suggests Successful Cover-up

Remember I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby? Convicted in February of perjury and obstruction of justice, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court next week for impeding the investigation of the White House’ role in publicizing the identity of Valerie Plame,…

May 29, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Gonzales Takes Licking, Keeps Ticking

Is the worst of it over for Alberto Gonzales? Yes, the embattled U.S. Attorney General is like the battery-powered Energizer bunny, able to take a licking and keep on ticking, says the Wall Street Journal’s law blawg, which notes that other observers are seeing the situation the same way. For…

May 29, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

Convicted Ex-Qwest CEO Seeks Legal Fees

The former CEO of Qwest Communications contends the company should continue to pay legal fees related to insider trading charges. Joseph Nacchio, convicted of insider trading last month, claims the agreement covering his 2002 resignation provided for payment of the fees, according to Associated Press. The company had paid fees…

May 29, 2007 12:16 PM CDT

Goodling: Politics Influenced DOJ Hiring

Testifying under a grant of immunity, the Justice Department’s former liaison to the White House explained how she did Google and Nexis searches on DOJ job applicants to learn their political leanings.

May 24, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

1 in 3 Prosecutors on Justice Firing Line

At last count, the tally is 30, as far as the total number of U.S. attorneys reportedly considered for possible dismissal by the Justice Department during 2005 and 2006. And that amounts to almost exactly one-third of the country’s 93 U.S. Attorneys, says the Washington Post today. Nine of the…

May 18, 2007 10:13 PM CDT

Post: 1 in 4 U.S. Attys in Justice Dept’s Sights

Senior officials at the U.S. Justice Department reportedly considered firing at least 25 percent of the country’s top prosecutors during a two-year period starting in early 2005. That is far more than has previously been publicly acknowledged, despite repeated testimony by the U.S. Attorney General and other senior Justice officials…

May 17, 2007 7:51 PM CDT

Former and Future AGs Clashed on Wiretaps

A former Justice Department official testified today that he rushed to the bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in an effort to thwart approval of the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

May 15, 2007 9:28 PM CDT

McNulty to Resign, Over U.S. Attorney Firings?

Despite bipartisan calls for his resignation in recent weeks, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales seems to be standing firm. But his number-one aide has announced plans to resign. In a private meeting today with U.S. attorneys in San Antonio, Paul J. McNulty, the second-in-command at the Justice Department, said he…

May 15, 2007 12:14 AM CDT