U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous has become another blemish on a town that has way too many blemishes already. He’s accused of boozing, gambling and fibbing. His attorneys and some judges say, for the most part, his behavior was limited to his private affairs. Nonetheless,  his superiors want him gone.

Judge Thomas Porteous

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Judge Friedman/mary noble ours

Sentencing for crack cocaine has historically been controversial. Some judges have always felt the guidelines were too tough. Two federal judges in Washington have knocked down some crack cocaine sentences and the U.S. Attorney is not happy.

By Joe Palazzolo
Legal Times
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia says two federal district judges have gone too far in reducing the sentences of crack cocaine offenders.
Judges James Robertson and Paul Friedman recently knocked down the sentences for two convicted drug felons beyond the policy set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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OMAHA, Neb. – The former Walthill Police Department chief was sentenced in U.S. District Court  Friday to probation for taking $3,500 earmarked for drug investigations, the Associated Press reported.

Joel Tyndall, 41, was given four years probation and ordered to repay the $3,500 he took, AP reported.

Federal prosecutors in Dallas will try again to get convictions in a terrorism finance case allegedly linked to Hamas. The first trial turned into one big flop. Can they pull it off this time or do they simply not have the goods?

The road to a child-porn investigation has led to a ministry in Arkansas. Just how big a scandal will this be?

By Jon Gambrell
Associated Press Writer
FOUKE, Ark. — Federal authorities conducting a child-porn investigation raided the headquarters Saturday of a ministry run by a convicted tax evader once labeled by prosecutors as a polygamist who preys on girls and women.
Social workers interviewed children who live at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries complex, which critics call a cult, to find out whether they were abused. The two-year investigation involves a law that prohibits the transportation of children across state lines for criminal activity, said Tom Browne, who runs the FBI office in Little Rock.

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