Prosecutorial overkill is a factor in the high cost of death penalty trials, a point made by retired Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, commenting upon the upcoming death penalty trial of Brian Nichols, the defendant in the Atlanta courthouse killings.

Prosecutors presented a 54-count indictment, including four murders, for crimes that took place at 13 separate crime scenes, and they identified 487 witnesses, Fuller said.

As Fuller pointed out, prosecutors could prove their case with ten witnesses. So whose fault is it that defense attorneys needed to interview 474 unnecessary witnesses to defend their client? Fuller suspended the trial when defense funds were cut off, and was later removed from the case. Unsurprisingly, the State of Georgia learned exactly the wrong lesson from the $1.8 million bill submitted by the defense:

State lawmakers approved new measures this year to ban senior judges such as Fuller — who do not face re-election — from hearing death penalty cases. They also tightened the public defender system's budget.

These are the costs of being labeled a suspect, or, almost as bad, a person of interest by the FBI:

When Perry Mikesell, a microbiologist in Ohio, came under suspicion as the anthrax attacker, he began drinking heavily, family members say, and soon died. After a doctor in New York drew the interest of the F.B.I., his marriage fell apart and his practice suffered, his lawyer says. And after two Pakistani brothers in Pennsylvania were briefly under scrutiny, they eventually had to leave the country to find work.

Not to mention Steven Hatfill. Maybe Bruce Ivins had something to do with the mailing of anthrax, although the lack of evidence that he was in Princeton when the letters were mailed is a glaring hole in the FBI's theory. [more ...]

Scott Muschany, a Republican state legislator from suburban St. Louis, joined other Republican legislators and Gov. Matt Blunt last March in urging the Supreme Court to uphold the death penalty for the sexual assault of children. Muschany was indicted this week for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Muschany is fortunate that the Supreme Court didn't agree with his position.

Life isn't getting any better for Detroit's Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Yesterday he went to jail for violating his bond conditions. Today he was charged "with two felony counts of assaulting or obstructing a police officer" for an incident that occurred on the day after he violated his bond by traveling to Canada without the court's permission.

Moments before Mr. Cox’s announcement, a circuit court judge, Thomas E. Jackson, allowed the mayor to be released from jail after posting a $50,000 cash bond. He also took away the mayor’s travel privileges and ordered him to wear a global-positioning tether.

But Mr. Kilpatrick, 38, who is in his second term as mayor, could soon be headed back to jail, as assault charges would be another bond violation.

Anyone want to buy half a tunnel? Detroit's Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick went to Windsor to lobby for the sale of Detroit's half of the Detroit-Windsor tunnel to raise money for the cash-strapped city. That turned out to be a bad decision.

Kilpatrick is facing perjury, obstruction of justice, and other criminal charges. A bail condition prohibits his travel outside of Michigan without the court's permission, which Kilpatrick failed to obtain before venturing into Windsor. A judge revoked Kilpatrick's bail today, sending him to jail for at least one night.

The mayor’s lawyers sought an immediate appeal, but the circuit court judge who will take up the matter put off a hearing until Friday morning.

While Kilpatrick is incarcerated, his chief of staff will be acting mayor. A statement that "residents can be assured government will continue to operate as usual" is hardly reassuring, given that business as usual in Detroit's city government is awfully dysfunctional.

Update: No bail for Gotti.

Looks like I'll be wearing my "Free John Gotti" t-shirt to bed tonight. The Government just can't get enough bites at the apple when it comes to the son of the notorius, deceased mobster.

John A. Gotti has been charged with conspiracy for his role in a sprawling cocaine trafficking operation and in three mob-related killings in 1980s and ’90s, the United States attorney’s office in Tampa, Fla., announced on Tuesday....Mr. Gotti has been prosecuted four times before on charges related to organized crime; he pleaded guilty in the first case but contested the later charges, resulting in three mistrials.

More...

Edmond Brandy's first strike was robbing a Beef Bowl with a BB gun at age 19. While serving his sentence, he earned his second strike for his involvement in a prison yard fight. Brandy, now 32, faces 25 to life if he's convicted of his third strike.

Brandy has been charged with pointing a gun at another motorist in an alleged episode of "road rage." The California Highway Patrol traced the car to Brandy. Two months after the alleged incident, the police raided his house to search for a gun. They didn't find one, but they arrested him anyway.

The people in the car who say they were threatened can't get their stories straight. [more ...]

For seven years, the identity of the person who mailed letters contaminated with anthrax has been a mystery. The FBI, once quite certain that Steven Hatfill was the culprit, eventually expressed regret at ruining an innocent man's life with its false accusations. Now the FBI has decided that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was the guilty party. Ivins' apparent suicide conveniently allows the FBI to close its investigation without being bothered to prove that he was any more guilty than Hatfill.

The FBI views the suicide as a confession. In the absence of a suicide note that actually admits the crime, that assertion is speculative. Ivins' lawyer points out that people who are dogged with life-ruining accusations, true or false, might lose the will to live.

Tom Daschle correctly argues that the public deserves to know whether the evidence against Ivins was compelling. If not, the true criminal may still be at large. [more ...]

The judge in the Jena 6 case has been removed due to inappropriate comments about the arrested teens.

Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. had acknowledged calling the teens "trouble makers" and "a violent bunch" but insisted he could be impartial. Defense attorneys disagreed and asked that he be removed. Judge Thomas M. Yeager, who was appointed by the state Supreme Court to decide whether Mauffray should be taken off the case, found there was an appearance of impropriety.

"The right to a fair and impartial judge is of particular importance in the present cases," Yeager wrote.

Where the case stands now: [more...]

Former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio can't be happy today. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the Government's request for an en banc rehearing of his appeal. The three judge panel which initially heard the appeal threw out Nacchio's convictions because the trial court didn't allow his expert witness to testify. The Government sought review by the full court. Its petition is here(pdf).

Here's today's order (pdf), which specifies the topics they will be addressing at a September 24 hearing. The first relates to whether Nacchio had to ask the court before trial to hold a Daubert hearing and present the methodology of his expert at the hearing -- or demonstrate his expert's methodology some other way before trial, such as in a brief. Next the appeals court will address whether the trial judge failed to give Nacchio the opportunity to do either. [More...]

The game fixing ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months today in federal court in Brooklyn:

Tim Donaghy, the former N.B.A. referee who admitted to betting on games he officiated, was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months in prison. The sentence delivered by Judge Carol Amon of the United States District Court in Brooklyn was significantly shorter than the 24 to 30 months suggested by federal guidelines. Judge Amon said she wanted to recognize Donaghy’s cooperation, which led to the guilty pleas of two co-defendants, James Battista and Thomas Martino.

. . . “Mr. Donaghy was a central figure in the scheme, and without him, there would have been no scheme,” Judge Amon said. But, she added, “The defendant deserves to receive a benefit for his cooperation, and there is no doubt in this case that he provided substantial cooperation and he should receive a benefit.”

About that cooperation . . .

The victim of Bob Novak's hit-and-run, Don Clifford Liljenquist, has this charitable reaction:

"Bob Novak is the one that hit me? Well, everybody knows who Bob Novak is! He's a famous journalist! . . . I was struck by Bob Novak? . . . Well, I think that makes it a great story!"

Yes it does. More about Liljenquist:

[T]he victim of syndicated columnist Robert Novak's hit-and-run pedestrian scuffle is not, as earlier reported by us and everyone else, 66 years old -- he's 86 years old. And homeless. And forgiving. And kind of tickled at all the attention.

Liljenquist thinks it's possible that Novak didn't see him, given that Novak wasn't paying attention. It would be difficult to charge Novak with hit-and-run if that's the testimony Liljenquist would give. Novak caught a break by colliding with a nice guy. He's likely to skate with only the "failure to yield" ticket he was given at the scene.