5th Circuit Court

Judge: School Wrong to Allow Gideons to Pass Out Bibles

Within hours of a federal court ruling that a Louisiana school district violated the First Amendment by allowing Gideons International to pass out pocket bibles to fifth-graders last May, a unanimous school board voted to appeal the case to the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit. “We are somewhat surprised, but very…

Apr 23, 2008 1:23 PM CDT

Wily Tax Attorney Helps Win IRS Case from Beyond the Grave

His own case is still ongoing, some seven years after his death. But tax attorney Burton Kanter’s wily plan for avoiding excessive payments in a nearly 20-year-old income tax matter has now been okayed by an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel hearing a co-defendant’s case. And that 11th…

Apr 7, 2008 10:35 PM CDT

Court Hears Appeal Today by Ex-Enron CEO

Lawyers for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling are asking a federal appeals court to overturn his conviction in oral arguments today. Experts told the Associated Press that Skilling has a good chance of winning his attack on the prosecution theory that he deprived the company of honest services. The New…

Apr 2, 2008 5:02 PM CDT

Ex-Houston DA Fined $19K for ‘Venomous’ Deletion of E-Mails

A federal judge has ordered Houston’s former district attorney Charles Rosenthal to pay almost $19,000 for his “venomous” deletion of thousands of e-mails. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt imposed the sanction after finding Rosenthal in contempt of court for violating a subpoena for the e-mail in a civil rights lawsuit,…

Mar 31, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Scruggs’ Son Pleads in Judicial Bribe Case

Zach Scruggs, the son and law partner of famed Mississippi plaintiffs attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a judicial bribery case that also brought down his father. The junior Scruggs pleaded guilty in federal court today to misprision of a felony because he was…

Mar 21, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Skilling Appeal Argues Secret FBI ‘Sledgehammer’ Notes Require Reversal

Lawyers for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling contend recently released FBI notes show that star prosecution witness Andrew Fastow gave testimony sometimes at odds with prior interviews he gave to federal agents. In a 71-page filing made public Friday, lawyers for Skilling say his 2006 securities fraud conviction should be…

Mar 18, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Judge: Countrywide ‘Bungling’ Not ‘Full-Blown Bad Faith’

In a bit of good news for one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, which has been deluged lately with claims of abusive foreclosure practices, a federal judge in Texas said today that he won’t punish Countrywide Financial Corp. for its repeated mistakes in a Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy case.…

Mar 5, 2008 11:15 PM CST

Starbucks Settles Worker Suit as 1,000s Seek Overtime Pay

An undisclosed settlement between Starbucks Corp. and 350 assistant managers who claim they were required to work unpaid overtime was approved yesterday by a federal judge in Houston. But the Seattle-based international coffee chain, which has a reputation of paying workers generous benefits, is still facing other federal suits by…

Mar 5, 2008 5:48 PM CST

5th Circuit Slows Down BP Plea, Says More Victims’ Rights Info Needed

Weighing in on a contested plea bargain in a criminal case over a deadly 2005 explosion at a Texas City refinery owned by petroleum giant BP, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stopped the clock for now. Ruling on victims’ claims that they are entitled to…

Feb 29, 2008 5:57 PM CST

Departing Airline Passengers Detained, Prosecuted ... Then Deported

As individuals stand in line at the airport waiting to fly home, it might seem that arresting them for violating immigration laws—so that they can be jailed, tried and deported to the very country to which they had planned to travel at their own expense—isn’t the most effective use of…

Feb 25, 2008 5:38 PM CST

Recusal Effort Irks Judge in Case Involving DA’s Deleted E-Mail

Although a politically sensitive federal civil rights trial in Texas still hasn’t gotten started as scheduled, the case this month has nonetheless been action-packed. First, the Harris County District Attorney admitted he’d accidentally deleted some 2,500 e-mails that he was supposed to produce as evidence. And now, as the jury…

Feb 14, 2008 11:37 PM CST

Appeals Court Overturns Sex Toy Ban, Setting Up Circuit Conflict

A federal appeals court decision overturning a Texas ban on the sale of sex toys wasn’t issued in time for retailers’ lucrative Valentine’s Day season. The decision will take effect when the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues its mandate in March, the Houston Chronicle reports. In…

Feb 14, 2008 12:31 PM CST

Sixth-Highest Patent Verdict Reported

A federal jury in Texas has awarded a New Jersey radiologist $431.9 million in a suit against Boston Scientific Corp. for infringing his patent for a heart stent. Plaintiff Bruce Saffran has also sued Johnson & Johnson in another infringement suit related to stents, the Wall Street Journal reports. The…

Feb 13, 2008 4:54 PM CST

After 2 Months, Man Mistakenly Arrested Is Freed

After being flown in from Texas and held in a Florida jail for two months, protesting all the while that he was not the man authorities thought he was, the wrong Jose Garcia has finally been freed. Although he shares the name—and birthday—of the Jose Garcia that Miami-Dade authorities were…

Feb 12, 2008 8:33 PM CST

BP Pleads Guilty in Texas Refinery Explosion That Killed 15

A federal judge in Houston is one step closer to approving a criminal plea deal by petroleum giant BP concerning a 2005 explosion at a Texas refinery that killed 15 and injured more than 170. BP entered a guilty plea today, but U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal hasn’t yet decided…

Feb 5, 2008 12:03 AM CST