Following reports of a "turf war" between residents and roving bands of teenagers in Brower Park and the Park Slope Playground, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is seeking to assuage fears that his office is out of touch with the issue. "We are definitely aware of the increase in gang activity in parks and playgrounds," Hynes's spokesperson Jerry Schmetterer told the Daily News. According to Schmetterer, the DA's Gang's Bureau is "monitoring their activity. And we are in touch with the community about it." more ›

A jury acquitted a man of aggravated murder in the killing a police officer during a June 2007 traffic stop. The jury also found Robert Ellis not guilty of attempted murder (another cop was wounded) but he was found guilty on three counts of criminal possession of a weapon. more ›

A former prosecutor in the Brooklyn DA's office was admonished by a judge for giving her defense lawyer fiance (now husband) information about prosecution witnesses. The Daily News reports that Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Guy Mangano said of Sandra Fernandez, "This was a despicable act...Not only has she violated her oath, but the trust of the people of this county." Fernandez ran criminal history and vehicle information checks on prosecution witnesses to help her fiance, Douglas Rankin undercut their testimony. Rankin's client, on trial for a shooting, was acquitted, but the Brooklyn DA's office was suspicious that Rankin had such information at his disposal. Fernandez, who once claimed prosecutors ran rap sheets to colleagues, was given probation, as well as stripped of her law license (she can reapply in seven years). more ›

Today, the Times, Post and Daily News look at one devoted mother's fight to prove her son's innocence. Doreen Giuliano, whose son John Giuca was convicted in the murder of a college student, transformed herself from a 46-year-old married Brooklyn mother to a sexy 30-something California transplant in order to catch the eye of a juror from her son's trial (see before and after pictures at left). more ›