On March 24, 2006, Judy Newcomb was appointed district attorney in Baldwin County, Alabama. Previously, Newcomb served as chief assistant in the Baldwin County DA’s Office.
Recently, Carlos Valdez, the district attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas, announced the publication and release of his book entitled Justice for Selena: The State vs. Yolanda Saldivar. The book is a behind-the-scenes look at the murder trial of Yolana Saldivar, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Selena Quintanilla Perez, a rising superstar in the Tejano music industry.
At its annual summer conference, the California District Attorneys Association presented several awards honoring the prosecutors in the state. Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum was presented with the Instructor of the Year award. Assistant Deputy District Attorney Larry Scoufos received the Rural/Medium County Outstanding Prosecutor award. Lisa Gamoian, chief deputy district attorney, received the Outstanding Prosecutor award. Holly Wilkens, supervising deputy attorney general, was presented with the Williams E. Hames Award. The Edwin L. Miller, Jr. Leadership Award was presented to two prosecutors: Grover Trask and Tom Sneddon. Finally, the Joseph P. Busch Award was presented to George Kennedy.
Vance Myers, wife of Lexington County, South Carolina, Solicitor Donnie V. Myers, died on April 3 after celebrating her husband’s 61 birthday. Donnie has been a dedicated member of NDAA, formerly serving as NDAA secretary. Donnie met Vance at the University of South Carolina and they married while still undergraduates. They had a son Christian, who they tragically lost on February 14, 2003, at the age of 29. Vance was also a lawyer doing occasional legal work for her friends and family. She dedicated much of her time and money to charitable and civic causes and she loved to dance.
Dana Kaye Alsobrooks, wife of Charlotte, Tennessee, District Attorney General Dan M. Alsobrooks, died at 50, on June 30 of this year. Her husband, Dan, formerly served as NDAA president and currently sits on the NDAA Board of Directors. Dana Kaye spent 30 years working as a journalist. Sadly, her career ended after losing her long battle with cancer. For the last 11 years of her life, Dana Kaye worked as a reporter for Nashville’s News Channel 5. In 2002, she spent a month in Afghanistan reporting on the war and the following year she spent six weeks with the 101st Airborne in Iraq. In 2004, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to temporarily leave the job she loved to undergo surgery and seven months of chemotherapy. Her return to reporting was important to the dedicated journalist, however, less than a year later, doctors found a tumor in her brain for which treatment proved unsuccessful. Besides her husband, Dana Kaye is survived by her daughter, Alden A. Allen; her mother, Anne Akins Kildron; and her stepchildren, Lou Alsobrooks and Becca Alsobrooks.
NDAA Board Members in the News
As recognition of the “outstanding service that Solicitor John R. Justice (Solicitor, 6th Judicial Circuit) has provided the people of South Carolina,” Exit Number 55 along Interstate Highway 77 in Chester County, South Carolina, will be renamed the “Solicitor John R. Justice Interchange” pursuant to Senate Resolution 1402, adopted by the South Carolina General Assembly on May 11, 2006. The entire resolution can be accessed at http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess116_2005-2006/bills/1402.htm.
“What Do Prosecutors Do,” authored by Robert McCulloch (Prosecuting Attorney, St Louis County, Missouri), was published in the May 2006 issue of The American Legion magazine.
In response to the June 21 Los Angeles Times Op/Ed, “Overzealous Prosecutors, Cross-Examine Yourselves, Hunger for Convictions Leads Many Prosecutors to Hide Evidence That Could Prove Innocence” by Alan Hirsch, Paul Logli (State’s Attorney, Winnebago County, Illinois) has submitted the following response to the L.A. Times Editorial Board for publication. At the time of this writing the response had not been published. You may find the letter on the NDAA Web site at: http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/p_logli_la_times_6_26_06.pdf.
District Attorney Joshua Marquis (District Attorney, Clatsop County, Oregon) can be found cited as authority by Justice Scalia in his recent concurring opinion in Kansas v. Marsh, No. 04–1170 (U.S. June 26, 2006). The decision upholds the constitutionality of the Kansas death penalty statute and specifically provides that “Kansas’ death penalty statute, consistent with the Constitution, may direct imposition of the death penalty when the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that mitigators do not outweigh aggravators, including where the two are in equipoise.”
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