Prosecutors

Judge claims lawyer threatened to release her intimate photos for case leverage; he alleges extortion

Two Florida lawsuits filed last Thursday trade allegations of a threat to release a judge’s “intimate” photos and a $10 million “extortionate” demand for prelawsuit settlement. The suits involve two South Florida law firms that have previously “butted heads,” the Daily Business Review reports. The suit filed on behalf of…

Apr 16, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Trump administration seeks to expand criminal background checks for federal job seekers

The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would require federal job applicants to divulge whether they’ve been through criminal diversion programs meant to avoid conviction.

Apr 16, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Man accused of abandoning pet fish is off the hook for animal cruelty, DA says

Prosecutors have dropped misdemeanor animal cruelty and abandonment charges against a North Carolina man accused of abandoning his pet fish when he was evicted from his Wilmington home. Charges were dropped because fish aren’t protected under the state’s animal cruelty law, according to New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David.…

Apr 11, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

ABA says decision of revoked war crimes prosecutor’s visa should be reversed; no US honeymoon for this lawyer

Updated: The United States has revoked the visa of the chief prosecutor to the International Criminal Court because she has requested an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan that could examine U.S. abuse in detention centers overseas. The office of chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda confirmed Friday that her visa had…

Apr 8, 2019 12:09 PM CDT

DC Circuit bars release of grand jury materials to author; are there implications for Mueller report?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that judges don’t have inherent authority to order the release of grand jury information that is protected by secrecy rules.

Apr 8, 2019 11:23 AM CDT

Former federal prosecutor makes history as Chicago’s first black female and openly gay mayor

A former federal prosecutor who was an equity partner at Mayer Brown has been elected the new mayor of Chicago in a landslide victory against her runoff opponent. A “kickass trial lawyer,” in the words of former Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner, Lori Lightfoot, a lesbian, is the first openly…

Apr 3, 2019 3:07 PM CDT

No one will be convicted in deadly Twin Peaks biker shootout after DA drops remaining cases

One hundred fifty-five people were indicted for a deadly May 2015 shootout at a Twin Peaks restaurant between rival motorcycle gangs in Waco, Texas, but none of them will be convicted. On Tuesday, McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson announced that the remaining 24 cases will be dismissed, report the…

Apr 3, 2019 9:30 AM CDT

‘Blindfold’ off: New York state overhauls discovery laws

Prosecutors will be required to turn over information to the defense much earlier in a criminal case, among other changes.

Apr 3, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

10 Questions: Prosecutor uses her experience as a survivor to advocate for domestic violence victims

Shot three times by her estranged husband, April W. Ross uses her experience to improve the legal process, from setting legislative agendas to helping lawyers improve the efficacy of their communication with victims.

Apr 1, 2019 1:55 AM CDT

Former DA gets license probation; he denied telling defense lawyers he’d ‘make sure they never got hired’ again

A former district attorney in Texas has been placed on a probated suspension for a year after he was accused of telling defense lawyers he would “shut down” their practices for raising issues of prosecutorial misconduct. A State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee panel imposed a probated suspension on former…

Mar 7, 2019 12:57 PM CST

DC Circuit rejects challenge to Robert Mueller’s appointment as special counsel

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously rejected on Tuesday a challenge to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. The D.C. Circuit ruled in a challenge by Roger Stone aide Andrew Miller, report the National Law Journal, the Washington Post…

Feb 26, 2019 2:52 PM CST

See the video: Prosecutor delivers opening statement on love before proposing to his girlfriend

A Florida lawyer who invited his girlfriend to watch his opening statement in a DUI case instead delivered a marriage proposal in front of a jury of family and friends. She said yes. Fox News, the Daily Business Review, the South Florida Sun Sentinel and CBS 12 News have stories.…

Feb 25, 2019 7:30 AM CST

Federal prosecutors’ secret plea deal with politically connected sex abuser broke law, judge says

Federal prosecutors violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act when they failed to notify a sex offender’s underage victims about a secret plea deal, a federal judge in Florida has ruled. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra ruled Thursday on the conduct of prosecutors in the office of then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta…

Feb 22, 2019 10:23 AM CST

Lawyer told prosecutor she ‘doesn’t know how to act like a young lady,’ ethics complaint says

A Michigan lawyer called a prosecutor a “little girl” who “doesn’t know how to act like a young lady” and then misrepresented his behavior on Facebook, according to allegations in an ethics complaint filed last month. It’s not the first time that lawyer Clifford Woodards II has run into ethics…

Feb 21, 2019 2:39 PM CST

Former DA’s fake Facebook page, intended to ‘snoop’ bath salt sales, cited in suspension

A former Pennsylvania district attorney has been suspended from law practice partly because she created a fake Facebook page to investigate banned sales of bath salts being used as drugs. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended former Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller for a year and a day in…

Feb 19, 2019 7:00 AM CST