Prosecutors

Mice, claimed urine stains and file-filled halls photographed at ‘surprisingly gross’ DA’s office

A decade ago, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the “shameful” state of the city’s Hall of Justice, which, among other issues, isn’t constructed to withstand an earthquake. At that point, officials said it could take seven to 10 years to resolve the situation. But prosecutors and staff of the…

Jul 15, 2015 12:40 PM CDT

Pet policy feud aired in officewide emails between US Attorney employees

Two employees of a U.S. Attorney’s office bared their fangs on Monday in an email debate over office policy banning pets from the workplace. Above the Law published the email chain, copied to everyone in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The debate began with an…

Jul 15, 2015 8:55 AM CDT

Courthouse shooter’s relatives convicted of cyberstalking, face possible life prison terms

A federal jury in Wilmington, Delaware, has convicted three family members of a courthouse shooter of cyberstalking causing death. Lenore Matusiewicz and her children, David Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez, now face possible life prison terms when they are sentenced in October in the landmark case. Prosecutors say this is the…

Jul 10, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Elected prosecutors are mostly white males, study finds

A new study of the country’s elected prosecutors has found that about 95 percent of the positions are held by whites, and about 79 percent are held by white males. The study by the Women Donors Network found that 66 percent of states that elect prosecutors have no blacks in…

Jul 7, 2015 11:18 AM CDT

Convicted kidnapper faces new stalking case after alleged encounters near prosecutor’s home

A convicted kidnapper and sex offender is facing a misdemeanor stalking case after multiple alleged encounters with an Oregon prosecutor near her home. A probable cause affidavit says Multnomah County deputy district attorney Nicole Jergovic first spoke with Shane Vondel Michael Greene, 53, on June 19 or 20. She was…

Jul 1, 2015 3:35 PM CDT

DC prosecutors must now follow stricter standards for disclosing information to the defense

In a series of decisions starting with Brady v. Maryland in 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court carved out a rule stating essentially that prosecutors violate the due process clause of the 14th Amendment if they withhold evidence from the defense in criminal cases that, if disclosed, likely would have been…

Jul 1, 2015 6:40 AM CDT

Man accused of jury threat, biting court officer in 2010 gets mistrial after lawyer punch

A man charged with disrupting his initial Massachusetts murder trial by threatening the jury and a witness and biting a Worcester Superior Court officer, will not have to proceed with a retrial. The 35-year-old defendant, Janleer Povez, reportedly punched his own defense lawyer in the mouth in court Monday. Although…

Jun 30, 2015 1:15 PM CDT

Lawyer targeted in claimed murder plot says not enough was done to protect her family

An Indiana matrimonial lawyer allegedly targeted by a mother and son in a bizarre murder plot says authorities haven’t done enough to protect her and her family. Even though two suspects have been arrested, Rebecca Eimerman is fearful that she is still in danger. She credits her husband, Michael McQuinn,…

Jun 30, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Judge orders return of $167K seized from motorist, says federal prosecutors didn’t tell whole story

A federal judge in Nevada has ordered the government to return $167,000 seized from a slow-driving motorist in an opinion that chastised federal prosecutors for failing to disclose the driver had been subjected to two traffic stops only 50 minutes apart. U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks said in his June…

Jun 25, 2015 2:06 PM CDT

Judge grants drug-ring chief a plea deal to free up courtroom for other trials

Angel Alvarez likely would have faced a prison term of 45 years to life if he had been tried and convicted in a New York City drug-trafficking case. But instead he agreed to a plea deal Wednesday, over the objection of prosecutors, from a Manhattan Supreme Court judge known as…

Jun 25, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

State bar accuses DA and chief drug prosecutor of not doing enough to address drug-test issue

A Texas district attorney and his chief drug prosecutor had nothing to do with erroneous drug testing in a forensic laboratory. But when the two prosecutors were told by the Texas Department of Public Safety that the same worker responsible for errors in other cases had performed a test that…

Jun 24, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

About one-third of prosecutor’s new hires are defense lawyers

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk worked more than 25 years as a criminal defense lawyer before taking office in September. Now, many of his new hires come from the same background. Funk has hired 23 lawyers, and eight of them most recently represented criminal defendants as public defenders or in…

Jun 23, 2015 11:16 AM CDT

Former judges and prosecutors back bill cutting mandatory minimums for drug offenses

The Constitution Project has lined up 130 former judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials to sign a letter backing more flexibility in federal sentences. The letter (PDF), delivered Tuesday to the House and Senate judiciary committees, backs the proposed Smarter Sentencing Act, report the Sentencing Law and Policy blog and…

Jun 17, 2015 2:32 PM CDT

Judge jails woman who refused to testify; prosecutors, 2 other judges help win her release

When a Kentucky woman refused last week to testify against her boyfriend in a domestic violence case, she wound up in handcuffs. Jefferson District Judge Sheila Collins questioned Jasmine Stone, 21, who did not have a lawyer, then ordered her jailed for filing a false report. She was released, about…

Jun 17, 2015 10:30 AM CDT

Blogging prosecutor wins dismissal of federal civil-rights claim in 9th Circuit appeal

A political activist who sued a blogging prosecutor failed to establish he acted under color of state law and cannot bring a civil rights claim under Section 1983, a federal appeals court has ruled. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals tossed the Section 1983 claim by Nadia…

Jun 17, 2015 10:24 AM CDT