James Burdick is a former Wayne County prosecutor in Detroit and is a criminal defense attorney who also practices health care discipline and is a reinstatement expert at the firm of Burdick Law, P.C. in Bloomfield Hills, Mi. He has also appeared regularly on Larry King Live, Court TV, Geraldo, Good Morning America and other…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — Following months of frustration and opposition from Republicans, President Obama last week used a recess appointment to install James Cole to the number two spot at the Justice Department. On Monday, he was sworn in. The post, deputy attorney general, has been vacant since February. Cole, 58, is a…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON –A USA Today investigation shows that federal prosecutorial misconduct has not only put innocent people in prison, but also set guilty people free, sometimes by shortening their sentences and allowing them to commit crimes again when they should have been behind bars. The USA TODAY investigation found 201 cases since…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — Is the Justice Department losing its nerve to go after Congress members? The New York Times reports that critics feel that way in wake of the dismissal of some high profile probes into members of Congress like Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.). “They’re gun-shy,” J….
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — ATF has asked the White House to ok an emergency order to require gun dealers along the Mexico border to report sales of two or more rifles to the same person within five days, the Washington Post reported. The measure is part of an ongoing crackdown on the flow…
By The Los Angeles Times Editorial Page From Abscam to the arrest of former Washington Mayor Marion Barry on drug charges, sting operations have brought accusations that the government was entrapping its targets. This perennial complaint has acquired a new sensitivity with charges that the FBI, as part of its anti-terrorism activities, is inducing Muslims…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — A government report found that U.S. Attorney’s Offices declined 50 percent of the cases from American Indian reservations from 2005-2009, the Associated Press reported. The Government Accountability Office report found that Federal prosecutors resolved 9,000 of the 10,000 cases they got during that period. Half were declined for prosecution…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — Walk through any federal courthouse and it seems security is pretty tight. Still, a Justice Department Inspector General report on courthouse security says federal judges and personnel could be at risk because of poor training, questionable contracts and broken security equipment, the Washington Post reports. The Post’s Ed O’Keefe…
