Court report raises conflict-of-interest concern in Ferguson

Headline Legal News

The lines separating government powers have been blurred among Ferguson's court staff, police and prosecutor, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest, according to a report released Monday by Missouri's judiciary.

The state report examining Ferguson's municipal court system comes as a follow-up to a highly critical U.S. Justice Department report released earlier this year, which asserted that the city's police and courts had been used as a revenue-generating machine.

The Justice Department review was prompted by the fatal shooting last August of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black, by a white Ferguson police officer.After the federal review, the Missouri Supreme Court in March appointed appeals Judge Roy Richter to take over the Ferguson court and asked court administration experts to take a look at how things were working.

The new report summarizes the observations and recommendations of those unnamed experts, noting several potential conflicts of interest that caused concern.

Until very recently, the report said, court staff were required to report to the police chief. That structure "potentially compromises the separation our government is to have" between the judicial and executive branches, the report said.

Related listings

  • New Jersey, leagues renew court tussle over sports gambling

    New Jersey, leagues renew court tussle over sports gambling

    Headline Legal News 03/20/2015

    The fight over legalized sports gambling in New Jersey returned to a federal appeals court Tuesday, where attorneys for the state and the country's major sports leagues spent nearly an hour parsing language in a decades-old federal statute and in rec...

  • Robert Durst back in court for 2nd straight day

    Robert Durst back in court for 2nd straight day

    Headline Legal News 03/20/2015

    Authorities found nearly 150 grams of marijuana and a revolver in millionaire Robert Durst's hotel room when he was arrested over the weekend, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Durst appeared before a judge for a second straight day to face the drug and wea...

  • Court scraps Dutch data retention law, cites privacy concern

    Court scraps Dutch data retention law, cites privacy concern

    Headline Legal News 03/12/2015

    A judge scrapped the Netherlands' data retention law Wednesday, saying that while it helps solve crimes it also breaches the privacy of telephone and Internet users. The ruling by a judge in The Hague followed a similar decision in April by the Europ...

Nicholas C. Minshew - Minshew & Ahluwalia LLP

Nicholas C. Minshew, Attorney at Law, concentrates his practice in the area of Family Law including divorce, separation, child support, child custody, alimony, division of property, separation agreements, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements, and child support enforcement & modification. Mr. Minshew provides legal services to clients in Washington, D.C., and throughout Maryland, including Montgomery County, Frederick County, and Prince George’s County. Mr. Minshew obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the American University, Washington College of Law in 2000, where he worked as an editor for the Administrative Law Review. After receiving his law degree, Mr. Minshew worked as an attorney for the global law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and for Leonard Street & Deinard LLP representing companies in Federal proceedings. During that time, Mr. Minshew redirected his focus to provide legal services directly to individuals and families.

Business News

Surry County Criminal Defense Lawyers. At DiRusso & DiRusso, we have the legal knowledge and experience to protect you. >> read
Canton, MI Criminal Law Attorney Rita White is a metro Detroit area attorney with a focus on criminal defense. >> read