Prosecutors

California makes it a felony for prosecutors to withhold or alter exculpatory evidence

More than two years into a dispute over alleged misconduct by Orange County, California, prosecutors trying a multiple-murder case, the state of California has made it a felony crime to withhold exculpatory evidence.

Oct 5, 2016 3:00 PM CDT

Prosecutor gets Carnegie hero award for disarming woman

A Vermont prosecutor who grabbed a rifle from an assailant is among 25 people who are receiving a Carnegie Medal for heroism. Washington County, Vermont, State’s Attorney Scott Williams received the award for disarming a woman who shot a social worker with a hunting rifle, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission…

Sep 28, 2016 9:37 AM CDT

As murders increase nationwide, US attorney links Chicago violence to release of dashcam video

Release of dashcam video of the police shooting of Laquan McDonald set in motion a chain of events that partly explains the increase in gun violence in Chicago, according to the top federal prosecutor in northern Illinois. In a speech to the City Club of Chicago, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon…

Sep 27, 2016 9:54 AM CDT

Former DA heads to prison Monday for obstruction of justice

An investigation called “Operation Twisted Justice” led to the obstruction of justice charge against a former district attorney in Louisiana who heads to federal prison Monday. The former St. Charles Parish DA, Harry Morel, pleaded guilty earlier this year and was sentenced to three years in prison, the New Orleans…

Sep 23, 2016 4:29 PM CDT

Judge tosses charges against pharmacy chain owner, says prosecutors’ actions ‘shock the conscience’

A federal judge in Maryland blasted prosecutors for actions that “shock the conscience” when he dismissed fraud charges last week against the owner of a pharmacy chain. U.S. District Judge George Russell III accused prosecutors of allowing the destruction of evidence, failing to turn over evidence, and presenting false evidence…

Sep 9, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Federal prosecutors will drop case against former Virginia governor after SCOTUS loss

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that they will not seek to retry former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, whose bribery conviction was overturned in June by the U.S. Supreme Court. Prosecutors will also drop the corruption case against McDonnell’s wife, Maureen, according to a statement by the U.S. Justice Department. The…

Sep 8, 2016 2:26 PM CDT

Evidence dumped in room cleanup could affect more than a thousand cases

More than 20,000 pieces of evidence were destroyed—potentially endangering more than a thousand criminal cases—when deputies cleaned out a property room in January, a Texas district attorney said on Friday. Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said prosecutors are being asked “to try to resurrect these cases as best they…

Sep 7, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

DA in San Antonio gives interview saying that vaccines can cause autism and CDC study is false

The district attorney in San Antonio, Texas, asserts that vaccines “can and do cause autism” in a video promoting a documentary that claims the government has covered up the link. Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood claims his children were “vaccine injured”—one has autism and the other a skin condition—and…

Sep 1, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

ABA brief urges 10th Circuit to apply ethics rule on grand jury subpoenas to federal prosecutors

The ABA has filed an amicus brief asking a federal appeals court to rehear a decision that allows federal prosecutors to subpoena lawyer testimony before federal grand juries without abiding by a state ethics rule on prosecutor responsibilities. The brief (PDF) asserts that a panel of the Denver-based 10th U.S.…

Aug 30, 2016 9:51 AM CDT

Prosecutors obtained video recordings of lawyer-inmate meetings at private-run federal prison

Prosecutors obtained video recordings of lawyers meeting with their prisoner clients that were made by the Corrections Corporation of America and turned over in response to a grand jury subpoena, testimony revealed at a hearing before a federal judge last week. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ordered (PDF) prosecutors to…

Aug 15, 2016 3:48 PM CDT

Pennsylvania AG leaked documents for revenge, prosecutor says in opening statement

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane leaked grand jury documents to take revenge on a rival and then lied about it, a prosecutor said in opening statements on Tuesday. Assistant District Attorney Michelle Henry argued that Kane leaked documents about a case that wasn’t pursued by former state prosecutor Frank Fina…

Aug 9, 2016 12:06 PM CDT

Judge agrees to suspension for Facebook comments, says he doesn’t believe prosecutor is a racist

A judge in Louisville, Kentucky, agreed to a suspension for his Facebook comments on Monday and said in an apology that he doesn’t believe a prosecutor is racist. Judge Olu Stevens resolved his ethics case when he agreed to a 90-day suspension, report the Louisville Courier-Journal, Courthouse News Service, the…

Aug 9, 2016 10:07 AM CDT

Juror strikes in capital murder case were based on race, SCOTUS rules

Race-based peremptory juror strikes in a capital murder case are unconstitutional.

Aug 1, 2016 2:50 AM CDT

10 Questions Live: What was it like to be a prosecutor at 20? Robyn Crawford shares her experience

Robyn Crawford’s path to her job as an assistant state’s attorney in Florida may have been short, but it wasn’t always smooth. “I was originally just in a public high school, and wasn’t getting along very well with some of the teachers and the things that they were teaching me,”…

Jul 29, 2016 4:25 PM CDT

Ex-cop Drew Peterson gets 40-year sentence in plot on prosecutor’s life

Former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday for trying to solicit the murder of the prosecutor who put him behind bars for killing his third wife. Peterson addressed the court for at least 25 minutes before he was sentenced for plotting…

Jul 29, 2016 4:11 PM CDT