Prosecutors

Former NC justice calls for outside review of state bar, says it’s divided into ‘two extreme camps’

A former justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court says the state bar is divided into “two extreme camps” and he believed an outside review is needed. Former Justice Bob Orr tells the Raleigh News & Observer that one camp in the state bar is more supportive of prosecutors and…

Feb 9, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Spitting at prosecutors would be a felony under Wisconsin bill

A bill that makes it a felony to throw or expel bodily fluids at prosecutors moves to the floor of the Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday. Currently such conduct directed at prosecutors can only be charged as disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, the Associated Press reports. Current Wisconsin law does make…

Feb 8, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Prosecutor’s feigned sleep during defense closing didn’t create prejudicial error, court says

Maine’s top court has refused to overturn a murder conviction in a case where the prosecutor admitted he likely tried to annoy the defense lawyer by feigning sleep during his closing. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled (PDF) on Tuesday that there was no prejudicial error in the trial of…

Feb 4, 2016 7:47 AM CST

Judge OKs criminal case against Bill Cosby, rejects immunity argument

Rejecting arguments by lawyers for Bill Cosby and testimony by a former Pennsylvania district attorney, a Montgomery County judge on Wednesday said a sexual assault prosecution against the entertainer will go forward despite claims that testimony on which it is based was given under a grant of immunity. Cosby, who…

Feb 3, 2016 5:40 PM CST

Utility is criminally charged in methane gas leak that displaced thousands from homes

A California utility is facing criminal charges over a massive methane gas leak outside Los Angeles that has forced thousands from their homes since October. The four misdemeanor counts filed Tuesday accuse Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. of failing to timely report the discharge of the air contaminant after…

Feb 3, 2016 3:15 PM CST

Law license suspended for former St. Louis prosecutor who covered up assault of handcuffed suspect

The law license of a former St. Louis prosecutor who admitted helping cover up an officer’s assault of a handcuffed suspect has been temporarily suspended. The suspension, disclosed in a court order Tuesday, is in place pending the outcome of lawyer disciplinary proceedings against former prosecutor Bliss Barber Worrell, the…

Jan 27, 2016 11:45 AM CST

Prosecutor’s ‘Hannibal Lecter’ comparison was unauthorized and inappropriate, DA says

A prosecutor who called a California jail escapee “Hannibal Lecter” wasn’t speaking for the District Attorney’s office, the DA said in a statement on Tuesday. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said the prosecutor’s recent statements were “inappropriate, uninformed and rash,” report the Orange County Register and the Associated Press.…

Jan 27, 2016 7:28 AM CST

Former federal prosecutor settles with Justice Department for an estimated $1.8M

A former federal prosecutor who claimed retaliation led to his firing in January 2009 has settled with the U.S. Justice Department for an estimated $1.8 million. The former prosecutor is Thomas Gruscinski, who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Cleveland before his firing in 2009, Cleveland.com reports. The National…

Jan 20, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Former top federal prosecutor takes plea after alleged $613K theft from convicted ex-client

A former top federal prosecutor in Connecticut pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Thursday, after being accused of stealing over $600,000 from an ex-client convicted in a racketeering case the government said was linked to organized crime. As the ex-client served time for conspiring to fix prices in the trash-hauling…

Jan 15, 2016 11:20 AM CST

Bill Cosby filing says former DA made binding agreement not to prosecute

Lawyers for Bill Cosby claim the indecent assault charges against him in Pennsylvania should be tossed because a former district attorney made a binding promise in 2005 not to prosecute. In a habeas petition (PDF), the lawyers say former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor agreed not to prosecute Cosby…

Jan 13, 2016 7:22 AM CST

Embattled AG Kathleen Kane seeks return of law license, points to suspended supreme court judge

The day before a scheduled state senate committee hearing on whether she should be removed from office, Pennsylvania’s embattled attorney general asked the state supreme court on an emergency basis to restore her license to practice law. The Monday filing by AG Kathleen Kane’s lawyer, James Mundy, seeks a ruling…

Jan 11, 2016 4:55 PM CST

BigLaw firm to review Chicago in-house team after police shooting defense verdict is struck

The longtime chief of a major Chicago-based international law firm has been put in charge of a third-party review of the conduct of a division of Chicago in-house lawyers. Announced last week, in the wake of a stunning civil rights trial loss, the review is to be headed by Dan…

Jan 11, 2016 11:50 AM CST

Chicago mayor orders ‘third-party review’ of federal civil rights litigators after verdict tossed

The city of Chicago will be bringing in a third party to review its in-house legal department, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday. The news follows a string of bad press regarding Chicago and police cover-ups, including a recent federal ruling that a law department senior counsel intentionally concealed evidence in…

Jan 7, 2016 5:26 PM CST

Report faults Orange County DA in jailhouse informant scandal

A panel created by the district attorney in Orange County, California, to look into the county’s jailhouse informant scandal has faulted the DA’s office for a “failure of leadership.” The group, whose members were picked by elected DA Tony Rackauckas, said the office was “rudderless” and had “serious deficiencies” in…

Jan 5, 2016 3:32 PM CST

One-month suspension is recommended for prosecutor’s ‘joke gone awry’

A California bar court judge is recommending a 30-day suspension for a California prosecutor who said he was joking when he added an admission of guilt to a transcript. The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Robert Alan Murray, added the admission before sending the transcript to a deputy public defender, the…

Dec 29, 2015 5:45 AM CST