Post-9/11 ‘Tour de Force’ bikes from Boston to DC to NYC to honor terrorism victims

Thirteen years after terrorists flew hijacked commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the attacks still resonate in the memories of victims’ surviving family members, first responders and others throughout the country. Among the events scheduled Thursday to honor the memory of victims, their families and those who…

Sep 11, 2014 4:58 PM CDT

Prosecutor resigns amid video voyeurism investigation

A Florida prosecutor has resigned after a screaming woman at a Gainesville tanning salon accused him of using his cellphone to record her in her underwear from above the tanning room wall. Assistant State Attorney William Ezzell of the 8th Circuit resigned on Tuesday, report the Gainesville Sun, First Coast…

Sep 11, 2014 10:18 AM CDT

Fired John Doe prosecutor can remain anonymous in suit against Justice Department, judge rules

A federal prosecutor who claims he was wrongly fired because of an anxiety disorder can keep his name a secret in his lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said the John Doe plaintiff could have trouble doing his job…

Sep 11, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Ex-prosecutor blames Ambien, job pressure for Web posts he resigned over; says few were work-related

A former federal prosecutor who posted anonymous comments on a New Orleans newspaper blog–comments which helped derail several high-profile cases and the careers of multiple lawyers in the local U.S. Attorney’s office–says he did so because of the pressure of his job. Interviewed recently at his home by a newspaper…

Sep 10, 2014 3:55 PM CDT

Citing climate change concerns, prosecutor drops criminal charges against coal protesters

A Massachusetts prosecutor has dropped criminal charges against two environmental activists who blocked a coal shipment to a power plant, saying he agreed with their point about climate change. Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter dropped a conspiracy charge against protesters Jay O’Hara and Ken Ward and downgraded other charges…

Sep 10, 2014 7:46 AM CDT

DA says smartphones should block texting behind wheel, wants insurance discounts for such devices

A New York prosecutor unveiled a program Monday to prevent motorists from texting and driving and is calling on smartphone makers and insurance companies to join her in offering incentives to obey the law. In a press conference and press release, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said texting and…

Sep 8, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Retired prosecutor who convicted two men just exonerated after 30 years behind bars is unrepentant

Perhaps it’s not a surprise that the person who was once nicknamed America’s “Deadliest D.A.” has no regrets over his role in putting Henry McCollum and Leon Brown on death row for a 1983 rape and murder in North Carolina—convictions that were overturned last week as a result of DNA…

Sep 8, 2014 1:40 PM CDT

Deputy Los Angeles city attorney charged with child porn possession

A deputy Los Angeles city attorney has been charged with possession of child pornography, the Los Angeles Times reports. Christopher Richard Garcia was arrested Sept. 4 at his home in San Pedro. He had been on administrative leave since last November; it was then that authorities served a search warrant…

Sep 8, 2014 10:06 AM CDT

Prosecutors in supervisory roles need to create a ‘culture of compliance,’ ABA ethics opinion says

Prosecutors have special duties under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Chief among them is the duty not just to win a case, but to do justice. But prosecutors with managerial and supervisory responsibilities have special challenges and obligations under the rules above and beyond those of other prosecutors.…

Sep 8, 2014 7:07 AM CDT

Ex-official gets time in law firm kickback case

A former law director and prosecutor for the city of Bedford, Ohio, was sentenced to six months Wednesday after taking a plea to a lesser charge in a bribery case that involved, among other issues, a $9,500 law firm kickback for bond work. Kenneth Schuman, who is 42 or 43,…

Sep 4, 2014 2:20 PM CDT

Prosecutor slayings suspect wanted to target former judges, too, those in charge of murder case say

A disbarred justice of the peace accused of shooting to death two Texas prosecutors in 2013 also wanted to assassinate two former judges, prosecutors say. Eric Williams planned to kill District Judge Glen Ashworth as far back as 2005, according to special prosecutors in charge of Williams’ capital murder case.…

Sep 3, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

New DA fires 5 prosecutors

Sworn into office a day earlier, the new district attorney general for Davidson County, Tennessee, lost little time in shaking up staffing last week. DA Glenn Funk fired five assistant prosecutors Friday, after announcing four new attorney hires earlier in the week, the Tennessean reports. At least one of the…

Sep 3, 2014 12:10 PM CDT

After stalemate between rancher, armed militia and feds, Nevada prosecutor not rushing to bring case

Corrected: Faced with potential violence in a standoff earlier this year between authorities and a Nevada rancher and armed militia supporters over cattle grazing on federal land, law enforcement officers backed off on a plan to round up trespassing cattle. But in the aftermath of the April incident questions remain…

Sep 2, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

Prisoner exonerations are at an all-time high, and it’s not because of DNA testing

Sep 1, 2014 10:20 AM CDT

Former US Attorney takes plea in tax-return case, agrees to pay $290K

Once the top federal prosecutor in his state, a Nevada lawyer who made a name for himself pursuing white-collar crime is now awaiting sentencing in a federal misdemeanor case over his failure to file tax returns. Prosecutors said Lawrence “Larry” Semenza II failed to file individual or corporate returns between…

Aug 28, 2014 9:25 PM CDT