6th Circuit Court

‘Law School 101’ Could Help Struggling Homeowners

The requirements of legal standing could help homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes. A federal judge in Cleveland recently tossed 14 foreclosure cases because Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. could not prove ownership of the properties, the New York Times reports. The bank is trustee for investors in pools of…

Nov 15, 2007 3:36 PM CST

Father Loses Appeal Dubbed ‘Roe v. Wade for Men’

A Michigan father who contended he should have the right to decide whether to pay child support has lost his appeal. Men’s rights groups had dubbed the lawsuit a ”Roe v. Wade for men,” drawing objections from women’s rights groups, the Associated Press reports. Matthew Dubay said his ex-girlfriend had…

Nov 7, 2007 1:35 PM CST

Ex-Prosecutor Acquitted in ‘Political’ Case

A federal prosecutor accused of intentionally withholding evidence that would have helped the defense in a high-profile 2003 terrorism trial has been found not guilty on all charges in a jury verdict today. Outside the courtroom after the verdict, former assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino decried the case against him…

Oct 31, 2007 8:54 PM CDT

Prosecution of Ex-US Atty Hits Snag

Government lawyers contend in a trial that got under way this week that a former federal prosecutor from Detroit withheld evidence because of his ambition to win a terrorism case. But the case against former U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino hit a snag when a key witness against him admitted he…

Oct 11, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

Counsel: PI Lawyer’s Aide Was FBI Mole

A former legal assistant to one of three jailed personal injury lawyers accused of bilking $65 million from clients in diet drug litigation allegedly spied on her boss for the FBI and wore a wire to confidential attorney-client meetings. In a federal-court filing in Kentucky last week, counsel representing Melbourne…

Oct 9, 2007 8:01 PM CDT

Judge Halts TN Lethal Injection

A federal judge has halted an upcoming execution in Tennessee, ruling that the state’s lethal injection procedure presents “a substantial risk of unnecessary pain.” Judge Aleta A. Trauger of Nashville said the three-drug procedure does not ensure that inmates are unconscious when they are executed, the New York Times reports.…

Sep 20, 2007 4:06 PM CDT

Hearing Transcripts to Go Online

The policy-making arm of the nation’s federal courts voted today to make it easier for both lawyers and the public to access court materials. For lawyers, the big news is the plan approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States to put transcripts of district and bankruptcy court proceedings…

Sep 18, 2007 7:01 PM CDT

Shackled Fen-Phen Lawyers Seek Release, Judge Says No

Shackled and attired in faded gray-and-white-striped jail uniforms, three personal injury attorneys involved in mega-bucks fen-phen litigation attended a federal court hearing in Kentucky today to seek their release. Accused of bilking clients out of $64 million from a $200 million litigation settlement in 2001 concerning the diet drug combination,…

Sep 11, 2007 8:10 PM CDT

MI Lawyer Courtesy Rule Overturned

Controversial Michigan lawyer Geoffrey Fieger has won a round in his battle with Michigan state judges. A federal judge has struck down a state court rule used to sanction Fieger for calling state appeals judges jackasses in a radio interview and comparing them to Nazis, the Detroit News reports. The…

Sep 7, 2007 12:51 PM CDT

Cleric’s Appeal Challenges Spy Program

A Muslim cleric’s appeal of a terrorism conviction may represent the best chance of a federal appeals court ruling on the legality of a controversial wiretapping program. Yassin M. Aref of Albany, N.Y., was convicted of supporting terrorism by helping launder money for a supposed terrorism plot that turned out…

Aug 27, 2007 4:17 PM CDT

Guilty Plea in Mall Plot

A Somali has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists in a plot to blow up an Ohio shopping mall. Nuradin Abdi smiled and laughed with his lawyer before entering the guilty plea yesterday in Columbus federal court, reports the Columbus Dispatch. He is expected to receive…

Aug 1, 2007 1:53 PM CDT

ACLU Wiretap Suit Dismissed

Updated: A federal appeals court has ruled in a 2-1 decision that the American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs lack standing to challenge warrantless wiretaps in terrorism cases. Today’s opinion by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacates a lower court decision that had held the surveillance…

Jul 6, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

Ballast Law Rocks the Boat

A group of shipping companies and trade associations is challenging a Michigan law that requires ships to treat ballast before dumping it in state waters. The suit filed in Detroit federal court claims the state law, designed to protect Lake Michigan from invasive species carried in sea water, unconstitutionally regulates…

Jul 5, 2007 7:10 PM CDT

Last Resorts of Court

One date that’s on almost every federal judge’s calendar this summer is the meeting of his or her circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, at which trial and appellate judges review the work of the court and socialize at some of the nicest resorts and hotels in the nation.…

Jul 1, 2007 7:04 PM CDT

Longtime Judge Desegregated Schools, Sat on Watergate Hearings Panel

A retired federal judge known for his role in helping to desegregate the St. Louis schools–as well as, during an earlier stint in Congress, for sitting on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings–has died. William Hungate died today of complications from surgery June 6 for a brain hematoma…

Jun 23, 2007 12:21 AM CDT