Hard-charging U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz has been publicly criticized again for overreaching on another case.

The Boston-based federal prosecutor had her case against a Tewksbury, Massachusetts, motel owner thrown out by a district judge.

Ortiz tried for three years to seize Motel Caswell on grounds that it had become a haven for illegal drug deals. The motel owner, Russ Caswell, fought the seizure, claiming he was not responsible for the actions of his guests.

Caswell also argued that other nearby businesses had had more illicit drug activity, and that the government wanted his property because of its worth (more than $1 million).

“It’s bullying by the government. And it’s a huge waste of taxpayer money,” Caswell told the Boston Herald. “This has been a huge financial and physical toll. It’s thrown our whole family into turmoil. You work for all your life to pay for something and these people come along and think it’s theirs. It’s just wrong. The average person can’t afford to fight this.”

The criticism of Ortiz followed other complaints of her handling of the case against Internet hacker Aaron Swartz, the founder of Reddit, who killed himself earlier this month while facing a 13-felony count for downloading from an M.I.T. computer millions of academic journal articles that he believed should be made available to the public, particularly those that were based on taxpayer-funded research.

Critics of Ortiz said she went overboard in pursuing Swartz, whose actions constituted a breach of contract more than a felony crime.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Aaron Swartz And Motel Caswell: Book Ends To Prosecutorial Reform? (by Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor)

Triumphant Motel Owner Slams Carmen Ortiz (by Erin Smith, Boston Herald)

Tewksbury's Motel Caswell Wins Forfeiture Case (by Katie Lannan, Lowell Sun)

Why was Aaron Swartz Threatened with More Prison Time than a Bank Robber or Child Pornographer? (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime (by Glenn Harlan Reynolds, University of Tennessee Law School) (pdf)