2nd Circuit Court

Judge Nixes Ex-Con’s Effort to Gain Cancer Care by Shoplifting, Arranges Another Health Plan

Desperate for high-quality medical treatment for his leukemia and remembering the excellent care he got during a 20-year prison stint for cocaine trafficking conspiracy, Frank J. Morrocco said he shoplifted $23 worth of goods from a New York state supermarket last month in the hope of being reincarcerated. A federal…

Dec 11, 2012 11:51 PM CST

US Supreme Court to Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court is going to weigh in on same-sex marriage. Among the certiorari petitions it accepted Friday (PDF) are two in which this is a central issue, as the New York Times (reg. req.) details. One of the two cases to be reviewed by the high court, Hollingsworth…

Dec 7, 2012 9:23 PM CST

SEC Sues Fla. Lawyer, Says He Used Atty Niece’s ID to Issue Opinion Letters, Faked Her Signature

Banned in 2010 from issuing opinion letters concerning so-called Pink Sheets stocks, a Florida lawyer has been accused of assuming another attorney’s identity in order to continue doing so. In a civil suit (PDF) filed yesterday in federal court in New York City, the Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Guy…

Dec 7, 2012 7:53 PM CST

Jury Convicts Attorney in Mortgage-Fraud Case, But Acquits on 20 Charges Despite Staff Testimony

A New York real estate lawyer charged in a mortgage-fraud case has been convicted on four counts by a federal jury in Syracuse. However, Michael G. Bouchard, 49, was acquitted on 20 additional charges Friday, despite the testimony of two cooperating paralegals who formerly worked for his law firm, reports…

Dec 4, 2012 7:54 PM CST

2nd Circuit Reverses Tax-Shelter Convictions of 2 Former Ernst & Young Lawyers

Saying that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support a conviction, a divided federal appeals court panel Thursday reversed the convictions of two former Ernst & Young tax attorneys for developing abusive tax shelters sold by the accounting and financial firm between 1999 and 2001. However, the New York City-based 2nd…

Nov 29, 2012 10:51 PM CST

2nd Circuit Upholds New York’s Concealed Carry Law and Its ‘Proper Cause’ Requirement

A federal appeals court has upheld a New York gun law that requires residents seeking a concealed carry permit to show “proper cause.” The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found no Second Amendment violation, the New York Law Journal and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog…

Nov 28, 2012 5:12 PM CST

Can We Talk? At Bankruptcy Judge’s Urging, Hostess and Union Agree to a Mediation Session

At the urging of a federal judge in charge of the company’s bankruptcy case, Hostess Brands Inc. and the union representing one of its largest groups of workers have agreed to mediate in an effort to prevent the total liquidation of the bakery goods company, which is particularly known for…

Nov 19, 2012 10:45 PM CST

Ex-Mayer Brown Partner Joseph Collins Guilty on 7 Counts in Case re Fraud By Former Refco Execs

An ex-partner of Mayer Brown was found guilty Friday by a federal jury in Manhattan of seven of the 10 counts he faced for allegedly helping then-executives of the Refco Inc. commodities brokerage perpetrate a $2.4 billion fraud on investors. Joseph Collins was convicted of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud…

Nov 16, 2012 9:33 PM CST

2nd Circuit Reverses Disbarred Lawyer’s Fed’l Immigration Fraud Conviction Over Voir Dire Issue

A federal appeals court panel has reversed the immigration fraud conviction of a disbarred New York lawyer, finding that his constitutional right to a public trial was violated because the presiding judge excluded the attorney’s brother and the brother’s girlfriend from the courtroom during voir dire. The judge reportedly did…

Nov 13, 2012 11:10 PM CST

Federal Court Staff Attorney Takes Misdemeanor Plea in Child Sex-Abuse Case; Probation Expected

A lawyer who is employed as a staff attorney at a federal court in Syracuse, N.Y., has taken a misdemeanor plea in a child sex-abuse case and is expected to be sentenced to a six-year term of probation, a prosecutor tells the Post-Standard. Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Cali said Thomas…

Oct 30, 2012 5:47 PM CDT

As Hurricane Sandy Closes Many East Coast Courts, Supreme Court Stays Open on Monday

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court isn’t going to let Hurricane Sandy put a damper on its proceedings, at least not on Monday. Even as courts and governments across the Eastern United States are shutting down, the top court plans to stick to its oral argument schedule, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy…

Oct 29, 2012 11:38 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Rules for Surviving Gay Spouse, Says DOMA Violates Equal Protection Clause

A New York-based appeals court has ruled on behalf of a lesbian seeking an estate tax deduction after the death of her spouse in a constitutional challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. The 2-1 opinion (PDF) by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a section of…

Oct 18, 2012 4:27 PM CDT

Self-Help Guru Who Authored ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ Hit with $24M Judgment, But Still Worth a Bundle

A self-help guru who became well known as the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and went on to make a mint from his numerous books and speaking engagements, is about $24 million lighter in the wallet after a jury verdict earlier this year in federal court in Manhattan against…

Oct 10, 2012 7:15 PM CDT

Retired Dewey Partners Say Judge’s Fast-Track Clawback OK ‘Adds Insult to Injury,’ May Appeal

Accused in a Tuesday opinion by a federal bankruptcy judge of seeking an independent examiner merely as a litigation tactic, a committee of retired partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf say the claim they acted improperly by doing so in the law firm’s massive Chapter 11 case “adds insult to injury.”…

Oct 10, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

Judge OKs $71.5M Settlement with Ex-Partners of Dewey

Only a little more than four months after Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Manhattan at the end of May, some 400 former partners of the once-storied law firm have agreed to give up part of their 2011 and 2012 pay in exchange for…

Oct 9, 2012 10:46 PM CDT