criminal prosecution news stories on Newser

GOP DA Threatens Sex-Ed Teachers With Jail

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:33:00 CDT

A Republican district attorney in Wisconsin is warning teachers who talk about contraceptives in class that they may be prosecuted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Juneau County DA Scott Southworth calls a state law establishing a new sex-ed program in schools a "sick and shameful piece of...

Oh, Poor Polanski, Child Rapist

Harry Kimball — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:31:46 CDT

Kate Harding would like to remind everyone crowing about the injustice of arresting a 76-year-old man who’s put in 31 years of exile that Roman Polanski is a fugitive and, coincidentally, a child rapist. The director “gave a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude and champagne,” according to her testimony and his...

Pfizer Pays Record $2.3B Fine for False Marketing

Harry Kimball — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:11:53 CDT

Pfizer will shell out $2.3 billion—a record for a health care fraud settlement—over deceptive marketing of its drugs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Pfizer and one of its subsidiaries marketed four drugs based on off-label uses specifically prohibited by the FDA. The settlement with the Justice Department...

Burress Indicted, Faces 15 Years

Harry Kimball — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:48:46 CDT

Former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted on gun charges today in New York, where he accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed handgun in November, the Post reports. Burress is charged with two felony counts of criminal possession and one count of reckless endangerment, a...

US Won't Charge Ruth Madoff

Matt Cantor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:45:17 CDT

Ruth Madoff won’t be prosecuted in her husband’s giant Ponzi scheme, insiders tell the New York Post, because the feds didn't find enough evidence against her after a 6-month probe. She had “no criminal exposure,” one source says. But if something new turns up, authorities could still pursue her. Meanwhile,...

Court: Defendants Can Question Crime Lab

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:08:40 CDT

A 5-4 Supreme Court ruling yesterday gives defendants the chance to face authors of crime lab reports in their cases. Prosecutors who want to use lab testing undertaken for a given case will be required to bring its authors to court, where the defense can confront them. The ruling shows...

FBI to Expand Role Battling Terrorism

Matt Cantor — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:21:00 CDT

The FBI will take a bigger role in the fight against terrorism, the Los Angeles Times reports, moving into investigation and criminal prosecution of accused terrorists. The shift marks a change from the secretive CIA operations favored by the Bush administration, and ties in with President Obama’s assertion that most...

Craigslist to SC AG: Apologize, and Back Off

Harry Kimball — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:49:12 CDT

Craigslist is due an apology from South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, the site’s CEO writes on his company blog, after threatening “unwarranted and unconstitutional charges against us that are clearly barred by federal law.” What’s more, Jim Buckmaster charges, Craigslist isn’t the only outlet running the “adult services” ads...

Obama Must Oppose Spain's Bush Lawyer Probe: Bolton

Matt Cantor — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:19:50 CDT

President Obama’s "John Ehrlichman approach" to Spain’s investigation of Bush officials may be “smart politics,” but it’s dangerous for the country, writes John Bolton in the Washington Post . If the administration doesn’t speak out against the probe, it allows an “unaccountable foreign court” judge US policy actions, but “our Constitution...