Prosecutors

Lawmaker accused of firing 20 rounds into ex-wife’s car gets 10 months

A Michigan state senator accused of pointing an AR-15 at his ex-wife during an argument last year and then firing 20 rounds at her Mercedes Benz as she fled has taken a plea and been sentenced to 10 months behind bars. It hasn’t been determined by the court whether Sen.…

Mar 14, 2016 4:15 PM CDT

DA’s office disavows 19th conviction in ongoing probe of old convictions; ex-inmate served 25 years

Andre Hatchett was on crutches on Feb. 18, 1991, recovering from bullet wounds to his neck and trachea when Neda Mae Carter was found dead in New York City. Her body had been moved into a cross-like position, and a man said he had witnessed a portion of the crime…

Mar 10, 2016 4:30 PM CST

SCOTUS orders new trial for death-row inmate because of prosecution failure to disclose evidence

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a summary disposition that a death-row inmate’s due-process rights were violated when the prosecution failed to turn over material evidence. The Supreme Court ruled on behalf of Louisiana inmate Michael Wearry in a per curiam opinion (PDF) on Monday, leading two dissenters to…

Mar 7, 2016 11:34 AM CST

Prosecutor’s failure to warn witness about inadmissible evidence was harmless error, court says

A prosecutor’s alleged failure to properly prepare a murder witness for trial, resulting in his reference to threats that had been excluded as evidence, did not require a new trial for the man who was convicted in the killing, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled. The alleged misconduct in the…

Mar 4, 2016 11:27 AM CST

NYPD, Manhattan DA announce they will now issue summonses for low-level offenses

Good news for Manhattan residents who enjoy drinking alcohol in public or riding between subway cars: As of next Monday, you will no longer be arrested, thrown in a holding cell and arraigned in criminal court. You will still have to answer for your actions, though. The New York Police…

Mar 2, 2016 11:50 AM CST

Ex-prosecutor gets stayed suspension for using fake Facebook account to contact alibi witnesses

The Ohio Supreme Court has imposed a stayed one-year suspension on a former prosecutor who created a fake Facebook account to contact two alibi witnesses in a murder case. The per curiam opinion said the conduct of former Cuyahoga County prosecutor Aaron James Brockler was “an isolated incident in an…

Mar 2, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Criminal cases being decided based on ‘high-sensitivity’ DNA analysis that experts are debating

Judge and juries are being asked more and more to decide criminal cases based on “high-sensitivity” DNA analysis—which amplifies extremely faint, sometimes second hand samples—despite the fact that DNA experts themselves debate its accuracy, the Associated Press reports. New York prosecutors are among the most aggressive in using so-called low-copy…

Feb 29, 2016 1:25 PM CST

Top Texas court nixes abuse-of-power prosecution of former Gov. Rick Perry over veto of DA funding

The highest criminal court in Texas dismissed a felony case against a former state governor on Wednesday, saying that the laws under which he was charged were unconstitutional, at least as applied. Former Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, had earlier faced a bigger case concerning his 2013 efforts to force…

Feb 24, 2016 11:05 AM CST

Businessman wanted ‘broken bones’ due to lawyer’s defamation suit over online review, FBI says

In the course of a money-laundering probe of a Las Vegas businessman, FBI agents say, they happened upon another potential crime. Emile Bouari told undercover agents he wanted to put attorney Paul Padda in a wheelchair, have his hand cut off, or at the very least see him suffering from…

Feb 23, 2016 10:30 AM CST

County gave feds OK to unlock killer’s iPhone, but it never installed feature allowing remote access

Amidst the hoopla over Apple Inc.’s resistance to a federal court order requiring the company to cooperate with efforts to unlock an iPhone linked to a December work-related shooting in San Bernardino, California, there has been little media focus on the government’s basis for seeking access. The iPhone 5C in…

Feb 22, 2016 3:40 PM CST

Unaired ‘Vegas DA’ reality TV show sparks controversy by recording defendant’s chat with lawyer

At the request of Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, the Las Vegas criminal court system has been cooperating with the producers of Las Vegas D.A., a “docudrama” about his work. But not every defense lawyer is smiling for the camera, and footage of a chat between attorney Frank Kocka…

Feb 22, 2016 1:55 PM CST

Twice sentenced to death in son’s slaying, mother wins 3rd trial due to prosecutors’ comments

Twice sentenced to death, a Florida mother was granted a new trial Thursday by the state supreme court in the 1990 slaying of her toddler son because of inflammatory remarks made by prosecutors. Ana Maria Cardona, now 54, was also accused of torturing the boy, who weighed just 18 pounds…

Feb 19, 2016 2:00 PM CST

Appeals court stops case mid-trial, in latest judge-prosecutor dispute over jury diversity

The Kentucky Court of Appeals has called a temporary halt to a trial, in the latest dispute over the racial composition of a jury in a criminal case before Jefferson Circuit Judge Olu Stevens. On Tuesday, Stevens dismissed a jury panel in a robbery and assault trial, due to its…

Feb 11, 2016 12:05 PM CST

Feds announce ‘Operation Cocoon,’ hoping to curtail use of unwitting seniors as drug mules

Those seeking to protect individuals who are elderly and vulnerable have a new issue to worry about—the possibility that they will be tricked into serving as international drug couriers. Increasingly, unwitting seniors are being targeted by people who have gained their trust to carry drugs, disguised as something else, to…

Feb 10, 2016 4:35 PM CST

Federal judge issues ‘order on ineptitude’ in prosecutor benchslap

Updated: A federal judge in Houston has issued an “order on ineptitude” that takes “pretentious lawyers” from the U.S. Justice Department to task for experiencing difficulties when ordering a transcript. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes issued the unusual order (PDF) in the prosecution of Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, who…

Feb 9, 2016 7:59 AM CST