Prosecutors

DOJ Seeks $200M for Gang-Busting

The Department of Justice is seeking substantially to increase federal funding of efforts to combat gang-related crime blamed for much of the violence that occurs throughout the nation. Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced yesterday that the DOJ will ask Congress to appropriate $200 million as part of the budgeting process…

Jan 25, 2008 7:31 PM CST

Md. Judge Criminally Charged in Environmental Case

A Maryland judge who has served on the bench for nearly 25 years has been criminally charged in an environmental case resulting from work done at his waterfront vacation home. The charges against District Judge Askew Gatewood Jr., which carry a potential prison term of up to seven years, if…

Jan 24, 2008 8:22 PM CST

15 More to Go Free in Ohio Drug Case Built on Informant’s Lies

Only because a federal informant relented and recanted his false testimony, it appears, are 16 wrongfully convicted defendants being freed from prison. After informant Jerrell Bray got into a fight in Cleveland in May and was arrested for allegedly shooting a man, he admitted, while in prison, that he had…

Jan 23, 2008 10:34 PM CST

Probe of US Prosecutor Firings Heats Up

Ongoing investigations by Congress and the Department of Justice of the alleged politically motivated dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys are reportedly heading toward the boiling point. Citing anonymous sources, the Hill reports that investigations by the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility, in particular, may result…

Jan 23, 2008 12:08 AM CST

Citizen-Launched Kan. Grand Juries Pursue Abortion & Porn Cases

An almost-forgotten law in Kansas that allows citizens to convene grand juries reportedly has become a tool for local conservatives to use to force prosecutors to pursue abortion and pornography cases. A citizen petition drive, for instance, impaneled a grand jury earlier this month to investigate Dr. George Tiller, who…

Jan 18, 2008 6:29 PM CST

US Pays Hit Man $20K, But Fights Compensation for Victims

Advocates for victims targeted during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s by organized crime figures in Northeast who were aided by ties to the local FBI are expressing outrage about a $20,000 payment reportedly made by the government to a newly released convicted hit man. And those representing fellow criminals…

Jan 17, 2008 12:05 AM CST

O.J. Simpson Gets Bail, But Judge Doubles It to $250,000

Updated: Former football hero O.J. Simpson appeared in a Nevada court today, and was granted release on $250,000 bail prior to his upcoming trial in an armed robbery case. The amount was twice the $125,000 bail he was initially granted in the case. Although the Clark County, Nev., district attorney…

Jan 16, 2008 5:08 PM CST

Duke Rape Prosecutor’s Bankruptcy May Not End His Money Problems

The punishment continues for a disbarred North Carolina prosecutor who lost his job and his law license after pursuing a meritless rape case against three members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team. Mike Nifong filed today for bankruptcy against creditors, including the three athletes found by the state attorney…

Jan 15, 2008 9:24 PM CST

Acquitted Terror Prosecutor Seeks Legal Bill Reimbursement

A former federal prosecutor who was acquitted last fall on criminal charges that he withheld evidence favorable to four North African suspects in a high-profile 2003 Detroit terrorism trial is now seeking reimbursement of his personal defense costs. Richard Convertino contends that the Justice Department to pursue him in criminal…

Jan 15, 2008 7:39 PM CST

Judiciary Committees to Probe Corporate Monitors Following Ashcroft Deal

The House and Senate judiciary committees are seeking more information about the appointment of corporate monitors amid questions about whether prosecutors are rewarding political pals with the lucrative work. The move comes after news reports that the Justice Department is investigating a no-bid contract for monitoring work awarded to the…

Jan 15, 2008 12:39 PM CST

MySpace, 50 AGs Agree on Rules to Make Web Safer for Kids

MySpace has teamed up with prosecutors throughout the country to develop a set of principles for Internet use by teenagers that may become an industry standard. The social networking site is popular with teens and has come under increasing fire concerning sexual predators who reportedly use MySpace as a hunting…

Jan 14, 2008 8:20 PM CST

New Counselor at DA’s Office is Friendly, Furry, Wags Tail a Lot

When children who have been sex crime victims come to the Yolo County, Calif., district attorney’s office, they are often frightened and hesitant to trust adults. So the office chose someone they thought would especially appeal to children when selecting the newest addition to its staff of child abuse counselors—a…

Jan 12, 2008 12:15 AM CST

Feds in Calif. Probe Mo. Teen’s Suicide Over Web Harassment

Authorities in Missouri found no basis on which to pursue criminal charges in the controversial case of a 13-year-old who reportedly hanged herself in 2006 in a town near St. Louis as a result of Internet bullying. But authorities in Los Angeles have now convened a federal grand jury to…

Jan 9, 2008 7:03 PM CST

DA Probes ‘Sadly Predictable’ Murder; Victim Never Warned of Spouse’s Release

New details have emerged in the case of a California woman murdered last week by her increasingly abusive husband, and the district attorney’s office in Los Angeles County reportedly is investigating why the prosecution not only didn’t oppose but actually recommended his release on his own recognizance as part of…

Jan 9, 2008 6:26 PM CST

Release of Racist and Racy DA E-Mail Leads to Call for Resignation

The controversy over the e-mails of District Attorney Charles Rosenthal of Houston heated up yesterday with the disclosure of additional messages sent on government computers that contained racial slurs and off-color jokes and dealt with the DA’s re-election campaign. A federal judge ordered the e-mails released Monday in a lawsuit…

Jan 9, 2008 2:50 PM CST