Prosecutors

Claim: Media Overreached in Duke Rape Case

The local prosecutor criticized for too-hastily filing charges against former Duke University lacrosse players accused of raping a woman at a party was not the only one who rushed to judgment, the Baltimore Sun says. Many media outlets, too, didn’t let the facts or a need to investigate interfere with…

Apr 12, 2007 2:10 AM CDT

40-Year Prosecutor Still Swinging as Era Ends

After 40 years in office, the longest-serving prosecutor in Virginia is getting ready to hang up his gloves. An anachronism whose Fairfax County office lacks voicemail, a website and a media spokesperson, Robert F. Horan Jr. is nonetheless one of the most active chief prosecutors in the country and routinely…

Apr 12, 2007 12:58 AM CDT

Rape Charges Against Duke Players Dismissed

Prosecutors have dismissed all remaining charges against three Duke University lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a team party, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced this afternoon. It took over the case after the local district attorney in Durham, N.C. was accused of ethics violations. Attorney…

Apr 11, 2007 8:19 PM CDT

Poll Majority: Gonzales Should Resign

A poll by the Los Angeles Times shows that most Americans believe Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign.

Apr 11, 2007 2:17 PM CDT

Gonzales Appoints New Chief of Staff

Kevin O’Connor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, was appointed today as chief of staff for embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He replaces Chuck Rosenberg, who served on an interim basis. Rosenberg replaced Kyle Sampson, who abruptly resigned in mid-March due to the growing controversy over the firing…

Apr 10, 2007 10:54 PM CDT

Gonzales Subpoenaed

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been subpoenaed by a House panel seeking documents concerning the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, the Associated Press has reported. For more on the ongoing document dispute between the AG and Congress, see our blog stories earlier today and April 5. For more on the…

Apr 10, 2007 7:44 PM CDT

Critics Oppose US Atty’s Permanent Appointment

Critics of the acting U.S. attorney for Western Washington say his actions in a robbery case make him a poor choice for the permanent job, the Seattle Times reports. Jeffrey Sullivan, the former prosecutor for Yakima County, was criticized in a 2004 ruling by the state court of appeals for…

Apr 10, 2007 4:53 PM CDT

Double Duty for U.S. Attorneys

Six U.S. attorneys are pulling double duty, filling Washington, D.C.-based positions while keeping their day jobs.

Apr 10, 2007 3:57 PM CDT

Scooter Libby Suspended From Practice

Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former aide who was convicted of perjury in connection with the investigation into the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame, has had his law license temporarily suspended by the Washington, D.C. bar. The suspension, which is automatic when convicted of a felony, is…

Apr 5, 2007 7:33 PM CDT

Florida Felons Can Now Vote

Most Florida felons will have their voting and other civil rights restored after release from prison under a rule approved today by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and the state clemency board. Felons had been required to go before the board to get their civil rights restored – a process that…

Apr 5, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

Judge Decries “Media Frenzy” in Astronaut Case

The Florida judge overseeing the trial of fired astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak wants lawyers for both sides to limit their contact with the media. “I’m just trying to keep the media frenzy down to a dull roar,” Orange County Circuit Judge Marc L. Lubet said at a hearing this morning,…

Apr 5, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

LA Prosecutors Push to Deport Gang Suspects

Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley have partnered with federal law enforcement agencies to deport some suspected gang members before they are convicted of new crimes. Police officers in Southern California have generally not inquired about the immigration status of suspects, fearing that…

Apr 5, 2007 4:04 PM CDT

3 Charged in London Terror Bombings

Three men have been charged by British authorities in the four July 7, 2005 suicide attacks on three London Underground trains and a bus. The attacks killed 52 people.

Apr 5, 2007 3:48 PM CDT

“American Taliban” Seeks Reduced Sentence

Lawyers for John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, have called for a third time for the Bush Administration to reduce his 20-year prison sentence. Lindh pleaded guilty in 2002 to providing material support to the Taliban, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He was captured by Northern Alliance forces in…

Apr 5, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Bunkered Up, Gonzales Preps for Testimony

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is holed up this week, phoning more than a dozen Republican lawmakers to solicit support and intensively practicing his testimony about the firings of eight U.S. Attorneys in recent months. He’s blocked off three days next week to run through mock question-and-answer sessions with staffers,…

Apr 5, 2007 3:12 PM CDT