District attorneys are declining to defend controversial state and federal laws

Mar 1, 2013 9:40 AM CST

Appellate decision striking Illinois concealed-carry law won’t be reviewed by full 7th Circuit

In another step toward a likely relaxation of a strict Illinois state law banning concealed-carry firearms under most circumstances, a divided federal appeals court on Friday denied a request for en banc review of an earlier appellate court decision finding the law unconstitutional. The 5-4 order (PDF) by the 7th…

Feb 25, 2013 2:55 PM CST

‘The People’s Attorney’ radio host is charged in $10M mortgage fraud

A suburban Chicago attorney who hosts a syndicated national radio program is facing a federal mortgage fraud case. Warren Ballentine is accused of helping unqualified buyers obtain mortgages by falsely stating in real estate closing documents that they intended to occupy the homes they were purchasing, according to the Chicago…

Jan 28, 2013 11:57 PM CST

Ex-lawyer accused of stealing $4.5M from clients is now represented by public defender

A once-prominent personal injury attorney in Indiana is now represented by a public defender as he awaits trial in a federal wire fraud case in which he has been accused of stealing $4.5 million from 25 clients. William F. Conour, 65, told a federal judge at a hearing Friday in…

Jan 25, 2013 6:48 PM CST

Facebook ban for sex offenders is overturned by 7th Circuit

A federal appeals court has overturned an Indiana law that bars most registered sex offenders from using social media that is accessed by minors. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law “broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to…

Jan 24, 2013 2:18 PM CST

Man who was denied epilepsy medication while in prison awarded $12M by federal jury

A man who said staff at an Illinois prison denied him his prescribed epilepsy medication while he was an inmate there was awarded $12 million on Friday by a federal jury in Chicago. Raymond Fox suffered permanent brain damage from an aneurysm caused by a series of seizures and now…

Jan 22, 2013 6:15 PM CST

Fan’s privacy suit over Joan Rivers documentary nixed by 7th Circuit

Affirming a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Joan Rivers, a federal appeals court in Chicago on Thursday held that a fan did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning a brief backstage chat with the raunchy comedian, in the presence of others. The fan, Ann Bogie, sued…

Jan 18, 2013 4:42 PM CST

‘Slapdash’ Posner needs to be reined in by 7th Circuit, says law prof

University of Baltimore law professor Garrett Epps is taking federal appeals judge Richard Posner to task for the tone of his opinion striking down an Illinois gun law. Posner’s opinion for the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Moore v. Madigan overturned a law that prohibits most Illinois…

Jan 16, 2013 2:07 PM CST

Indictment: Ex-Mayer Brown CIO helped bilk law firm of $4.8M in vendor billing and kickback scheme

Already accused of teaming up with a vendor to bilk a Chicago-based international law firm of nearly $1 million, the former chief information officer of Mayer Brown is now facing charges that he and the other man stole nearly $5 million from Mayer Brown between 2004 and 2011. The former…

Jan 14, 2013 6:29 PM CST

2nd Man Who Escaped Federal Prison by Climbing Down 15 Stories on Bedsheet Rope Is Captured

A second man who escaped a fortress-like federal prison in downtown Chicago last month by climbing 15 stories down its facade on a makeshift rope made of bedsheets has been captured. Although the resulting federal manhunt had reportedly gone nationwide, Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber, was found Friday in…

Jan 7, 2013 3:30 PM CST

Feds Drop Escape Charge re Inmate’s Daring 15-Story Climb Down Chicago Prison Facade

In a strategic move apparently intended to avoid wasting resources on an unnecessary trial and, perhaps, encourage cooperation by a defendant already facing substantial time behind bars, the feds have dropped an escape case against one of two men who made a daring escape from a downtown Chicago prison last…

Jan 3, 2013 7:34 PM CST

Top Chicago Litigators to Retry 2,400-Year-Old Socrates Case Before 7th Circuit’s Judge Posner

Star litigators in Chicago are preparing to retry a controversial 2,400-year-old free speech case that famously resulted in the death of Socrates, now considered the father of Greek philosophy, when he drank a cup of poisonous hemlock. Dan Webb of Winston and Strawn and plaintiffs lawyer Robert A. Clifford, a…

Jan 2, 2013 7:12 PM CST

Posner Advises Judges to Consider Cost of Imprisoning Elderly When Imposing a ‘Superlong Sentence’

Judge Richard Posner of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has some advice for judges tempted to substitute “a superlong sentence for a merely very long sentence.” Consider the costs, Posner says in an opinion concurring in the dismissal of an appeal filed on behalf of a 46-year-old…

Dec 20, 2012 11:30 AM CST

7th Circuit Strikes Illinois Concealed-Carry Ban, Gives State 180 Days to Revise Gun Law

Saying that the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a right to bear arms for self-defense, which can be just as necessary outside the home as in one’s home, a divided three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Chicago has struck down as unconstitutional an Illinois law that prohibits most…

Dec 11, 2012 9:29 PM CST

Trial Lawyer Convicted with 6 Others in ‘Outlaw Biker’ Federal Racketeering Case

A trial lawyer in Gary, Ind., has been convicted of conspiracy, along with six co-defendants, in a federal racketeering case in St. Louis over their alleged activities in what prosecutors called an “outlaw biker” gang. Jerry Peteet, 49, who previously served as the lawyer for the Wheels of Soul motorcycle…

Dec 11, 2012 6:25 PM CST