Latest news with #SpeedyTrialAct
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Katherine Robertson announces candidacy for Alabama Attorney General
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) — Katherine Robertson has launched her campaign for Alabama Attorney General. Robertson announced her intentions to run for the position in front of a packed out crowd at Regions Field in Birmingham. She served as Chief Counsel to Attorney General Steve Marshall for nearly a decade andpreviously worked at the U.S. Department of Justice and as legislative counsel to Senator Jeff Sessions. Robertson, a state native, grew up in a farming family within Dallas County. She is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law. 'Alabama needs a proven fighter who will harness the power of the Attorney General's office to protect our communities and uphold our values,' Robertson said during her announcement speech. 'I believe the first civil right of every Alabamian is to live free from the fear of violence. As Attorney General, I will ensure violent offenders, including those in our countryillegally, do not roam freely, and law enforcement will always know I have their back.' Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell launches campaign for Alabama Attorney General If elected, Robertson plans to prioritize cracking down on crime by supporting law enforcement, ensuring public safety remains paramount, and passing tougher laws on gangs, child exploitation, and illegal immigration. 'On my watch, the whims of the fanatical left will never make inroads in Alabama,' explained Robertson. 'The woke mob won't be able to tell us a boy can play girls sports, and we will continue to ensure that George Soros never gains a foothold in our criminal justice system.' Previously, Robertson played a key role in leading national litigation to protect women's sports, reforming Alabama's parole system, passing the Speedy Trial Act, election integrity, and protecting citizens from government overreach. 'You heard AG Marshall say that I am the law enforcement candidate in this race, and I am. This is their race, and they know that I'm their girl.' Robertson stated. ' I'm running because Alabama needs a strong, steadfast Attorney General who knows how to get things done. My record speaks for itself, and I'm ready to do the next right thing—decisively.' Robertson is also a wife and a mother of two children. Others who have entered the race for the Alabama Attorney General include Pamela Casey, Blunt County District Attorney and Jay Mitchell, a former Associate Justice for the Alabama Supreme Court. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has also endorsed Robertson for the position. The next general election for Alabama Attorney General will be held on November 3, 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
03-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Chief justice appoints judge to handle case against man accused of killing college student
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Chief Justice Sarah Stewart on Tuesday used a new law to appoint a retired judge to handle the case against a man accused of the 2019 killing of a college student that drew national attention. The new law, calls the Speedy Trial Act, allows the chief justice to appoint visiting judges in order to get criminal cases to trial more quickly. Stewart appointed retired Macon County Circuit Judge Tom Young to handle the case of Ibraheem Yazeed who is accused of killing Aniah Blanchard. Yazeed has pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall last month asked Stewart to make an appointment, writing that, 'our entire state has watched the repeated delays in this case with angst and frustration.' Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also referred to the case while signing the legislation into law. Stewart in the appointment letter wrote that 'any delays in this case have not been attributable to the judges in the circuit, but rather to circumstances beyond their control.' However, she said she agreed that the interests of the public require the expeditious resolution of this case.' An appointed attorney for Yazeed did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Blanchard, a Southern Union State Community College student and stepdaughter of prominent UFC fighter Walt Harris, was last seen on Oct. 23, 2019, at an Auburn gas station. Her remains were discovered about a month later in a wooded area of Macon County.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder seeks dismissal of bribery charge ahead of sentencing on IRS charge
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder would like to see his bribery charge dismissed with prejudice before sentencing on an IRS charge and for the court to bar prosecutors from re-trying the bribery charge at sentencing. If the court does not dismiss the bribery charge, Snyder's attorney Andréa Gambino wrote in a May 23 court filing that the court should grant his Brady motion, which seeks discovery of the Grand Jury record 'so that he can supplement his original motion to dismiss with additional evidence that the government did not seek or ask the grand jurors to return an indictment alleging quid pro quo bribery.' Snyder is scheduled to go to trial for a third time in U.S. District Court in Hammond on a bribery charge involving a $13,000 payment for a garbage truck contract. Currently, the trial is set to begin on Sept. 15, according to court records. Prosecutors filed court documents May 16 stating that after nearly a decade of court proceedings, Snyder 'stands convicted of the felony offense of corruptly obstructing the Internal Revenue Services' administration of the federal revenue laws,' according to court records. 'At this point, the United States believes the interests of justice are best served by proceeding to sentencing on the current count of conviction for Count 4 (the tax conviction), at which time it intends to present evidence of defendant's bribery activities as part of its presentation on the factors to be considered in imposing a sentence,' prosecutors wrote. If Snyder is sentenced on tax conviction, prosecutors will move to dismiss the bribery charge after the judge imposes a sentence. Prosecutors requested the court to set a sentencing date on the conviction charge within the next 90 days. Gambino wrote Snyder objects to the exclusion of time for 90 days under the Speedy Trial Act 'absent pending motions or awaiting a decision by the court.' The condition of dismissing the bribery charge upon sentencing 'holds the defendant (and the court) hostage until the government is satisfied that a sufficient penalty is imposed,' Gambino wrote. 'Apart from pointedly ignoring the Supreme Court's determination that the conduct for which he was convicted was not a crime, this is neither fair nor just,' Gambino wrote. The U.S. Supreme Court's June 26, 2024 decision determined, among other matters, that the payment to Snyder from the Buha brothers, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, was a gratuity because Snyder received the money, reportedly for health insurance consulting work, after the business got the garbage truck contracts and not before. Prosecutors don't have more evidence today than 'at the time of the first sentencing in support of its argument that Mr. Snyder should be sentenced as if the alleged gratuity were a bribe.' 'The government's continuing attempt to apply the bribery guideline without obtaining a bribery conviction smacks of vindictiveness,' Gambino wrote. During the trial, prosecutors noted a lack of contracts written between him and the Buhas and said there was no documented proof work was done. After multiple twists, turns and delays since Snyder was indicted on Nov. 17, 2016, in U.S. District Court in Hammond on two bribery counts and one of obstructing the IRS, a jury found Snyder not guilty on a bribery count involving a towing contract and guilty on the other two counts in March 2021. The second bribery conviction, over allegations surrounding a $13,000 payment involving around $1 million in contracts for garbage trucks, stood after two trials, only to get overturned when the Supreme Court ruled that the payment was a gratuity, not a bribe, and criminalizing the payment put even routine campaign contributions at the risk of the federal government's wrath. Overturning Snyder's conviction had a ripple effect on countless other cases, most notably prominent cases in Illinois, including the trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan and the case of the 'ComEd Four' who were convicted of a scheme to bribe him. Federal prosecutors have described Snyder in their filing as 'a thoroughly corrupt public official, twice convicted by a jury of his peers for receiving a $13,000 payoff,' and note there is 'no sound legal basis' for a windfall dismissal because of an omission from jury instructions, which was one of the contentions of Snyder's attorneys. Snyder, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2011 and reelected in 2015, a term cut short by his federal conviction in February 2019. Snyder received a sentence of 21 months in prison for the bribery and IRS convictions and a year on supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois. Still, Snyder successfully argued that the start of his sentence should be postponed until his bid to have the Supreme Court hear his case was complete. akukulka@
Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Snyder seeks dismissal of bribery charge ahead of sentencing on IRS charge
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder would like to see his bribery charge dismissed with prejudice before sentencing on an IRS charge and for the court to bar prosecutors from re-trying the bribery charge at sentencing. If the court does not dismiss the bribery charge, Snyder's attorney Andréa Gambino wrote in a May 23 court filing that the court should grant his Brady motion, which seeks discovery of the Grand Jury record 'so that he can supplement his original motion to dismiss with additional evidence that the government did not seek or ask the grand jurors to return an indictment alleging quid pro quo bribery.' Snyder is scheduled to go to trial for a third time in U.S. District Court in Hammond on a bribery charge involving a $13,000 payment for a garbage truck contract. Currently, the trial is set to begin on Sept. 15, according to court records. Prosecutors filed court documents May 16 stating that after nearly a decade of court proceedings, Snyder 'stands convicted of the felony offense of corruptly obstructing the Internal Revenue Services' administration of the federal revenue laws,' according to court records. 'At this point, the United States believes the interests of justice are best served by proceeding to sentencing on the current count of conviction for Count 4 (the tax conviction), at which time it intends to present evidence of defendant's bribery activities as part of its presentation on the factors to be considered in imposing a sentence,' prosecutors wrote. If Snyder is sentenced on tax conviction, prosecutors will move to dismiss the bribery charge after the judge imposes a sentence. Prosecutors requested the court to set a sentencing date on the conviction charge within the next 90 days. Gambino wrote Snyder objects to the exclusion of time for 90 days under the Speedy Trial Act 'absent pending motions or awaiting a decision by the court.' The condition of dismissing the bribery charge upon sentencing 'holds the defendant (and the court) hostage until the government is satisfied that a sufficient penalty is imposed,' Gambino wrote. 'Apart from pointedly ignoring the Supreme Court's determination that the conduct for which he was convicted was not a crime, this is neither fair nor just,' Gambino wrote. The U.S. Supreme Court's June 26, 2024 decision determined, among other matters, that the payment to Snyder from the Buha brothers, owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, was a gratuity because Snyder received the money, reportedly for health insurance consulting work, after the business got the garbage truck contracts and not before. Prosecutors don't have more evidence today than 'at the time of the first sentencing in support of its argument that Mr. Snyder should be sentenced as if the alleged gratuity were a bribe.' 'The government's continuing attempt to apply the bribery guideline without obtaining a bribery conviction smacks of vindictiveness,' Gambino wrote. During the trial, prosecutors noted a lack of contracts written between him and the Buhas and said there was no documented proof work was done. After multiple twists, turns and delays since Snyder was indicted on Nov. 17, 2016, in U.S. District Court in Hammond on two bribery counts and one of obstructing the IRS, a jury found Snyder not guilty on a bribery count involving a towing contract and guilty on the other two counts in March 2021. The second bribery conviction, over allegations surrounding a $13,000 payment involving around $1 million in contracts for garbage trucks, stood after two trials, only to get overturned when the Supreme Court ruled that the payment was a gratuity, not a bribe, and criminalizing the payment put even routine campaign contributions at the risk of the federal government's wrath. Overturning Snyder's conviction had a ripple effect on countless other cases, most notably prominent cases in Illinois, including the trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan and the case of the 'ComEd Four' who were convicted of a scheme to bribe him. Federal prosecutors have described Snyder in their filing as 'a thoroughly corrupt public official, twice convicted by a jury of his peers for receiving a $13,000 payoff,' and note there is 'no sound legal basis' for a windfall dismissal because of an omission from jury instructions, which was one of the contentions of Snyder's attorneys. Snyder, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2011 and reelected in 2015, a term cut short by his federal conviction in February 2019. Snyder received a sentence of 21 months in prison for the bribery and IRS convictions and a year on supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois. Still, Snyder successfully argued that the start of his sentence should be postponed until his bid to have the Supreme Court hear his case was complete.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Mobile County DA catches up on backlog of cases, says new law won't impact office
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — A new Alabama law is aimed at speeding up the prosecution of violent crimes across the state, but Mobile County's top prosecutor said his team is already staying ahead of the curve. MCPSS teacher arrested after 4-year-old hospitalized: MCSO Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the Speedy Trial Act, also known as HB307, on May 13, and the bill's purpose is to reduce delays in the prosecution of violent crimes by appointing special or visiting judges at the attorney general's or district attorney's request. Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said it's a law that his office won't really need. 'The new speedy trial law certainly has a place in the system,' Blackwood said. 'I don't think it will be something that this office would use on a regular basis. There may be a particular circumstance at some point in the future.' According to Blackwood, his administration started with 9,000 backlogged cases in January of May 2025, that number has been lowered to around 5,000. 'One of the things that we did that was critical in getting through a backlog was a restructuring that happened over a period of time and in different phases that seemed to work very well,' he said. But he said what would help is getting more funding from the state to hire more prosecutors. He said he's already spoken with lawmakers in Montgomery about this issue. 'We need more personnel,' he explained. 'We need the state to fully fund DA's offices all across the state. It's not just Mobile County. We need that funding, so that we can hire the personnel, pay them fairly, so they don't get burned out doing more than five times the work of their counterparts.' Conecuh County drug bust: Tennessee man accused of hiding $250K worth of fentanyl in car battery The law takes effect on June 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
