Latest news with #SpeedyTrialAct
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.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speedy Trial Act goes into effect June 1: What this means for victims and families
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the Speedy Trial Act into law last week and it goes into effect June 1. It's all part of an effort to reduce court backlogs and ensure swift justice for victims and their families. It also allows the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court to appoint a sitting or retired judge to preside over violent crime cases. Alabama jazz musician Ray Reach found guilty on child pornography possession Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall considers the Speedy Trial Act crucial legislation. 'What we've attempted to do is to provide another tool for both prosecutors as well as our office at having violent crime cases heard,' said Attorney Marshall. 'It's not just an urban problem that we're seeing in the sense of backlogs in many of our major cities, but also our rural trial judges have limited docket time to be able to conduct jury trials.' One family hoping to see the benefits of this is Aniah Blanchard's. They've been waiting nearly six years for her alleged killer to stand trial for her murder. 'I really feel like the state has been ready, I feel like Yazeed's attorney has been pretty much pushing this back. His time is up now, so it's time for him to face what he has done,' said Aniah Blanchard's father, Elijah Blanchard. Blanchard said with this law enacted he hopes to get the ball rolling. 'The lord works in mysterious ways even though we're broken, but now we're going to see how good God is with the pieces that were broken,' said Blanchard. Alabama Attorney Andrew Segal with said there are various pros and cons for both parties to the new law. 'I think the general public, with the exception of a few of us defense lawyers, will think it's a good idea. The potential disadvantage of this is lawyers feeling that they're not sufficiently ready and people getting a substandard of justice if their lawyers are not adequately prepared,' said Segal. Since this law has been enacted, Attorney General Marshall asked the Chief Justice to appoint a visiting judge to Aniah Blanchard's case. Aniah Blanchard's father said no trial date has been set as of yet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
