As set forth in the Chicago Sun-Times, Thomas Piatek, Michael Meeks, and others who, as we noted, were acquitted a year ago in the prosecution of the “Hutaree” militia for conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, filed suit last month against the FBI, FBI agents and Michigan State police officers. The plaintiffs’ suit alleges that… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Governmental Misconduct
Subscribe to Governmental Misconduct RSS FeedSupreme Court Denies Petition in Shaygan Prosecutorial Misconduct Case
Posted in Governmental Misconduct, UncategorizedOn Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court denied Dr. Ali Shaygan’s petition for review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s reversal of the trial court’s award of attorneys’ fees to Dr. Shaygan based upon misconduct by Federal prosecutors during his criminal case, as noted by the Chicago Tribune. The Supreme Court… Continue Reading
New Orleans AUSA Caught Up in Online Comments Debacle
Posted in Governmental MisconductSal Perricone, former senior litigation counsel in the New Orleans U.S. Attorney’s Office, has been identified as an anonymous, frequent commenter on the Times Picayune (my favorite newspaper name by the way) website, Nola.com, regarding an investigation he was conducting. Perricone, who, apparently stepped down as senior litigation counsel (a position frequently given to the more experienced… Continue Reading
9th Circuit Pushes Back Against DOJ; Names Names In Case of Prosecutorial Misconduct
Posted in Governmental Misconduct, MistrialThe U.S. Department of Justice and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have come into conflict over misconduct by an Assistant U.S. Attorney which resulted in a mistrial, and the issue of whether prosecutors who engage in misconduct are entitled to have their names withheld from legal decisions. On the second day of the trial of… Continue Reading
The Acquittal of Army Col. Robert Morris and the Debate Over the Hyde Amendment
Posted in Governmental MisconductIn 1999, United States Army Colonel Robert Morris, then a Lieutenant Colonel, was targeted by the State Department and the Department of Justice over his charitable non-profit organization, Partners International, as Tod Robberson of the Dallas Morning News informed readers in a Monday editorial. At the time, according to Robberson, Federal investigators were investigating whether… Continue Reading
Judge Dismisses SEC Complaint, Drug Charges, Against Former Broadcom Executives in Case of Prosecutorial Misconduct
Posted in Governmental MisconductYesterday, a federal judge dismissed alleged drug charges against Henry Nicholas, the former Chief Executive of Broadcom Corp., a manufacturer of integrated circuits for broadband communications. In a related civil action, the judge, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, also ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission… Continue Reading
Defendant in Stock Option Backdating Case Requests Hearing Based on Prosecutorial Misconduct/Interference with Witnesses
Posted in Fraud, Governmental Misconduct, indictmentAs reported by Law.com, Bruce Karatz, Chief Executive Officers of KB Home, a home construction corporation based in Los Angeles, California, was indicted in the action of U.S. v. Nicholas, 2:09-cr-00203-ODW (C.D.Ca. 2009), on 20 counts of fraud for defrauding the company and its shareholders of millions of dollars in undisclosed backdated stock option over a… Continue Reading
DOJ Issues New Discovery Guidelines for Prosecutors
Posted in Governmental MisconductAs set forth in the official DOJ Blog yesterday, Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden issued three Memorandum to DOJ prosecutors no doubt intended to remedy some of the setbacks the Department suffered last year as a result of discovery violations. The subject of one of the Memos is “Guidance for Prosecutors Regarding… Continue Reading
More Brady Violations in Alaska Corruption Cases
Posted in Governmental Misconduct, High Profile CasesIn a related case to the Senator Stevens Alaska corruption prosecution, the Department of Justice today filed a motion to send the appeal back to the trial court and for the immediate release of the defendant because Brady material was withheld from the defense.
Fair Trials in Our Criminal Justice System
Posted in Governmental MisconductThe Washington Post articles, The Standard for Fair Trials, highlights the failure of prosecutors to understand their duties to provide evidence favorable to the accused, including evidence that impeaches the government’s witnesses
Veteran Boston Prosecutor Grilled Over Misconduct Allegation
Posted in Governmental MisconductBoston district judge Mark Wolf grills an AUSA about her failure to turn over to the defendant Brady material
Miami Judge Slams Federal Prosecutors
Posted in Governmental MisconductFederal judge in Miami imposes attorney’s fees and costs in excess of $600,000 for prosecutorial misconduct related a frivolous, collateral investigation into defense counsel witness tampering.
Dismissals in Stevens and SDFL Case
Posted in Governmental MisconductJudge dismisses case in Senator Stevens matter. In an unrelated case, a judge in the Southern District of Florida dismisses case with prejudice after earlier mistrial
Government Acknowledges Misconduct in Shaygan Case
Posted in Governmental MisconductIn a surprising response that acknowledges the seriousness of the governmental misconduct in the Shaygan case in the Southern District of Florida, the government this week made the following concessions in responding to the motion for sanctions: 1) that the Narcotics Section Chief failed to seek appropriate authorization to investigate the defense for allegations of witness tampering,… Continue Reading
Prosecutor Gets “Dressing Down” from Judge Posner and Seventh Circuit
Posted in Governmental MisconductThe defendant in U.S. v. Farinella, NO. 08-1839, 08-1860, 2009 WL 615408 (7th Cir., Mar. 12, 2009) purchased 1.6 million bottles of “Henri’s Salad Dressing” in 2003, id. at *1. The label on each bottle of dressing stated that the dressing was “best when purchased by” and then gave a date from January to June… Continue Reading
Caught on Tape: Prosecution Secretly Records Defense Counsel, Raising Questions About Prevalence of Governmental Misconduct and Remedies
Posted in Governmental MisconductA highly disturbing instance of governmental misconduct has come to light in the Southern District of Florida in the form of a gross and unwarranted invasion of the defense camp and the attorney-client relationship by the government. The case of United States v. Shaygan, Case No. 08-20112-CR, was a prosecution of a physician on 141… Continue Reading