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

Prosecutors drop murder charges against man awaiting retrial in Chandra Levy’s slaying

Prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a man awaiting retrial in the death of intern Chandra Levy. Prosecutors in Washington, D.C., said they were dropping charges against Ingmar Guandique, report the Washington Post, the Washington Times and the Associated Press. Guandique had been convicted of the slaying in 2010, but…

Jul 28, 2016 2:58 PM CDT

Prosecutors drop charges against activists who made undercover Planned Parenthood videos

Prosecutors in Texas have dropped the remaining charges against two anti-abortion activists who made undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials in an attempt to show the group illegally sells fetal tissue. The Harris County District Attorney’s office on Tuesday dropped charges accusing David Robert Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of using…

Jul 26, 2016 11:32 AM CDT

Rape victim who had breakdown on witness stand was jailed to ensure future testimony, lawsuit says

A woman who had a breakdown while testifying against her alleged rapist was jailed for nearly a month because prosecutors wanted to ensure her future testimony, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week in Houston. District Attorney Devon Anderson of Harris County, Texas, issued a videotaped statement defending the…

Jul 21, 2016 9:33 AM CDT

Law professor files ethics complaints against Baltimore prosecutors in Freddie Gray cases

A public-interest law professor is filing complaints seeking the disbarment of two prosecutors with the Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office for actions in the prosecution of police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore Sun reports. Professor John F. Banzhaf III of the George Washington University Law School…

Jul 19, 2016 4:00 PM CDT

Another police officer is acquitted in Freddie Gray’s death

Another Baltimore police officer has been acquitted in the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old man who died of a spinal injury after a ride in a police van. A Baltimore judge presiding in the bench trial acquitted Lt. Brian Rice of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office,…

Jul 18, 2016 10:29 AM CDT

10 Questions: This young lawyer could put people behind bars before she could legally have a drink

Jul 1, 2016 3:20 AM CDT

Prosecutor’s appearance on ‘Nancy Grace’ spurs bar complaint by a defense lawyer

A defense lawyer in Tacoma, Washington, contends in a bar complaint that the local prosecutor violated ethics rules by appearing on HLN’s Nancy Grace television show to discuss a murder case during the trial. The complaint is one of three recently filed with the bar association against Pierce County Prosecutor…

Jun 29, 2016 7:48 AM CDT

DOJ mandates implicit bias training for prosecutors and agents

The U.S. Department of Justice will require its employees to receive training designed to prevent implicit bias from affecting their decisions. The DOJ announced in a Monday press release that all law enforcement agents and prosecutors would begin receiving this training over the next few weeks. Implicit bias, defined as…

Jun 28, 2016 4:35 PM CDT

Prosecutor is charged for alleged in-the-buff hotel-room spectacle after blogger asks questions

A Maryland prosecutor who was keynote speaker at a conference in Ocean City has been charged with indecent exposure after tourists reported he could be seen naked either on his balcony or behind the sliding glass door. Cecil County State’s Attorney Edward “Ellis” Rollins III was charged on Monday after…

Jun 28, 2016 9:37 AM CDT

Lawyer facing felony home invasion charge wants DA off the case; judge who owned the house agrees

An Alabama lawyer accused of home invasion for allegedly entering the New Orleans courtyard of a judge’s home and sparring with her husband wants the district attorney kicked off the case. So does the alleged victim Orleans Parish Judge Laurie White, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The defendant, Joshua Stemle,…

Jun 27, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Utah’s indigent defense system is underfunded and unconstitutional, ACLU suit alleges

A new lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that the state of Utah so drastically underfunds its indigent-defense system that it’s failing to meet its constitutional obligations to the state’s poor. The state ACLU and law firm Holland & Hart filed the proposed class action lawsuit Tuesday in…

Jun 23, 2016 3:45 PM CDT