5th Circuit Court

‘Lone Wolf’ Saudi, Studying in Texas, Is Charged in Alleged Explosives Plot

When a Saudi man studying chemical engineering in Texas allegedly ordered certain items that can be used to make explosives, workers at two different suppliers became suspicious. Both notified authorities on Feb. 1. Today the U.S. Department of Justice announced a criminal case against the college student, Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari,…

Feb 25, 2011 2:12 AM CST

Feds Raid Health Care Facilities, Arrest Over 100 Professionals in 9 Cities in Record Medicare Bust

Federal authorities have arrested 111 doctors, nurses and other professionals in nine cities in what is being billed as the biggest Medicare fraud bust ever. It allegedly involved fraudulent billing of the government for health care services that weren’t provided, according to ABC News and the Associated Press. The raids…

Feb 17, 2011 6:49 PM CST

5th Cir. Eases La. Attorney Ad Rules, OKs Endorsements, Some Slogans

Finding that a blanket ban on results-oriented attorney advertising violates the First Amendment, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today struck down a challenged Louisiana rule of professional conduct that prohibited testimonials and factual information about results achieved in prior representations. And a three-judge appellate panel also…

Jan 31, 2011 10:34 PM CST

Former Judge Is Federally Indicted in Hurricane Ike Fraud; Defense Cries Foul, Says He Is Innocent

A former Texas judge has been indicted, along with a Liberty County official and a contractor related to the judge, on charges alleging he used Hurricane Ike as an opportunity to profit from government contracts paid for with federal emergency funds. The grand jury indictment in Beaumont this week accuses…

Jan 28, 2011 5:57 PM CST

Jury Wallops Ex-Sheriff’s Deputies with $16M Award to Beaten Arrestee in ‘Kind of Pro Bono’ Case

Arrested on an outstanding traffic warrant in 2007, a Texas man was beaten by two now-former Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies while in custody at the jail. Yesterday, after six hours of deliberation, a federal jury awarded Christopher Roberts, 24, more than $16 million, almost all of it in punitive damages,…

Jan 13, 2011 8:39 PM CST

Federal Judge Recommends Criminal Charges for Lawyers Who Questioned His Impartiality

Updated: U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth, Texas, has sanctioned three lawyers and recommended criminal charges against two of them for motions questioning his integrity in litigation over golf club patents. McBryde said the plaintiff in the litigation, John Gillig, had used comments the judge had “jokingly” made…

Jan 11, 2011 11:30 AM CST

5th Circuit to Rehear Case of Grade School Students’ Confiscated Jesus Pencils

Do grade school students who want to distribute religious-themed pencils and pens have a First Amendment right to do so? The issue will be reconsidered by the en banc 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans, How Appealing reports. In a June decision, amended in November (PDF),…

Dec 23, 2010 4:52 PM CST

5th Circuit Nixes $21M Katrina Pact, Worried That Legal Fees and Other Costs Could ‘Cannibalize’ It

A federal district court judge erred by approving a $21 million settlement of Hurricane Katrina damage claims, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday, because attorney’s fees and administrative costs could “cannibalize” most or all of the money. Absent a showing that the more than 500,000 residents and businesses concerned will…

Dec 17, 2010 4:27 PM CST

US Sues BP and 8 Other Entities Over Gulf Oil Spill, Seeking Cleanup Costs and Penalties

As civil and criminal investigations continue to determine responsibility for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that began April 20, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued BP Exploration and Production Inc. and eight other defendants. Its suit, filed in federal court in New Orleans, contends that…

Dec 15, 2010 11:16 PM CST

Ex-Judge Pleads Guilty to False Statement; Officials Accused of Personal Profit from Court Cases

Originally charged in a two-count federal indictment with destruction of records and making a false statement, a former Texas municipal court judge pleaded guilty yesterday to the latter count. Monica Lynn Corker now faces up to five years in prison when she is sentenced subsequently, on a date that has…

Nov 18, 2010 6:55 PM CST

Law Firm Sues Akin Gump and Lloyd’s, Says It Was Stiffed on Stanford’s $437K Defense Bill

A law firm defending onetime Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford in federal civil securities litigation has sued the insurer providing his company’s policy of directors and officers liability coverage and the insurer’s legal counsel, contending that they are obligated to pay a $437,151 legal bill but haven’t anted up. Certain…

Nov 17, 2010 11:00 AM CST

Lawyer, 71, Awaits Trial in Record Alleged $2M Theft as Guardian for Disabled Veterans

Some disabled veterans reportedly have been shorted on living expenses, as a result of a claimed record-breaking guardianship theft by a Texas lawyer. Responsible for overseeing funds of some veterans for decades, attorney Joe Phillips, 71, allegedly evaded detection for years with the help of doctored records even though his…

Nov 10, 2010 1:13 AM CST

Prosecutors Blast Ex-DA in ‘Nightmare’ Case of Innocent Man Jailed 18 Years

Freed yesterday after spending 18 years in prison for a capital crime he did not commit, Anthony Graves was initially convicted because of a “nightmare” of prosecutorial misconduct that included withholding evidence and threatening witnesses, Texas prosecutors said in a press conference today. DA Bill Parham of Washington and Burleson…

Oct 28, 2010 9:07 PM CDT

School District Must Pay $81,000 Legal Bill re Teen’s Challenge of Same-Sex Prom Date Ban

Although a high school prom in Mississippi was canceled and Constance McMillen says she was tricked into attending a sham prom after her after she challenged a ban on same-sex dates, McMillen was nonetheless a prevailing plaintiff in a civil rights suit. So a federal judge has ordered the Itawamba…

Oct 26, 2010 10:16 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Trustee Joins Homeowner Suit Over Law Firm Foreclosure Fees

A bankruptcy trustee has joined a Mississippi family in challenging fees charged by a law firm and other companies involved in a mortgage foreclosure, on behalf of all similarly situated families in bankruptcy in the Northern District of Mississippi. The law firm, Johnson & Freedman, has participated in “illegal” fee-splitting…

Oct 15, 2010 10:00 AM CDT