7th Circuit Court

DOJ Files USERRA Suit Against Indiana Law Firm

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal law suit against an Indiana law firm, contending that Mike Norris & Associates unlawfully refused to re-employ a former staff attorney after he returned from military duty in Iraq. Mathew Jeffries initially filed a complaint over the alleged violation of Uniformed…

Mar 16, 2009 5:56 PM CDT

Business Booming for Lawyers Who Help Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

There’s one area of law practice that’s booming right now for attorneys in many areas of the country. With foreclosures at record levels, homeowners need help reaching a resolution with lenders. And while they may not be able to pay a lawyer much, if anything, many attorneys are either taking…

Mar 9, 2009 9:18 PM CDT

7th Circuit Affirms $80K Sanction: If Lawyer Can’t Pay, Bankruptcy Is Next Step

Known for his sometimes-blistering views on attorney competency issues, Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes something of a kindly tone, initially, in an opinion today upholding an $80,000 sanction against an impoverished attorney. But, writing on behalf of a three-judge panel, Easterbrook nonetheless…

Feb 28, 2009 1:59 AM CST

Civilian Criminal Indictment of ‘Enemy Combatant’ Is Unsealed

A landmark civilian criminal court indictment of an accused “enemy combatant” who has been held without trial for years by the U.S. military was approved yesterday by a federal grand jury in Peoria, Ill., where he had been living as a student, and unsealed today. Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a…

Feb 27, 2009 10:23 PM CST

Posner Writes Book Questioning His Free-Market Views, and Keeps on Writing

Judge Richard Posner has written a new book questioning his own free-market views, but he’s finding it difficult to let go of the project. Posner, a judge with the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, originally finished the manuscript Jan. 30, The Boston Globe’s Brainiac blog reports. But he…

Feb 26, 2009 4:15 PM CST

In ‘Fig Leaf’ Settlement With Jones Day, Website Agrees to Adjust Use of Links

Updated: In a “fig leaf” settlement entered into by BlockShopper after it racked up a six-figure legal defense bill in a controversial federal trademark infringement lawsuit, the website has agreed to alter the way it describes home purchases by Jones Day attorneys. Instead simply “deep linking” the name of a…

Feb 12, 2009 10:53 PM CST

Broke Blagojevich Looks for a New Lead Defense Lawyer

When Chicago attorney Sam Adam was asked recently by a television crew why fellow counsel Ed Genson was planning to leave the legal defense team for now-former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Adam pointed a finger to his head and replied: “Cuckoo.” The comment, which reiterated Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s use…

Feb 10, 2009 8:08 PM CST

FBI Ordered to Do DNA Search to Help Suspect in Rape-Murder Case

In what the U.S. Department of Justice describes as an unprecedented ruling, a federal judge in Chicago yesterday ordered the FBI to search its massive national DNA database to see whether it can identify a new suspect in the rape-murder of an 11-year-old Illinois girl. Twice convicted of the 1992…

Feb 3, 2009 8:06 PM CST

High Court Conservatives More to the Right than Those Before Them, Study Says

The U.S .Supreme Court’s conservatives are more decidedly to the right than the liberals are to the left, a recent study has found. Four out of five of the Supreme Court’s most conservative justices since the New Deal are currently on the Supreme Court, according to the study done last…

Feb 2, 2009 3:18 PM CST

Illinois Gov’s Unique Impeachment Trial Takes a New Turn

After taking a pass on the testimony phase of his own impeachment trial before the Illinois state senate this week—and instead discussing his case on national television shows—Gov. Rod Blagojevich is now planning to deliver a closing argument in the senate trial. According to the state senate president, John Cullerton,…

Jan 28, 2009 9:54 PM CST

Ill. Gov. to Boycott His Own Impeachment Trial, Frustrated Attorney Quits

Updated: An impeachment trial of the Illinois governor is set to begin on Monday in the state senate. But the defendant, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, announced at a press conference today that he isn’t going to attend, because the trial rules set for the proceeding, he says, are unfair and unconstitutional,…

Jan 23, 2009 10:26 PM CST

A Judge and His Son Undermine Arguments for Higher Judicial Pay

A high-profile federal appeals judge and his son are undermining calls for higher pay for federal judges. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has said federal judges are so underpaid that the problem has “reached the level of a constitutional crisis.” But Eric Posner and his father, appeals judge Richard…

Jan 20, 2009 5:05 PM CST

Oops. DOJ Spokesman Accidentally Sends Out Confidential Witness List

Uh-oh. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald accidentally e-mailed to journalists yesterday a copy of a federal criminal complaint that also included a one-page list identifying almost 20 confidential witnesses in a $15 million fraudulent investment case. “The inadvertent disclosure of the sources—former One World employees, customers, and ‘other’…

Jan 9, 2009 2:32 AM CST

Ill. Gov: I’m Not Guilty, ‘Will Fight Until I Take My Last Breath’

Responding for the first time to federal corruption charges that could result in his impeachment and have already led to widespread calls for his resignation, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said at a press conference today that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing and “will fight until I take…

Dec 19, 2008 8:55 PM CST

No Bright Line Between Political Favors and Illegal ‘Personal Piggery’

Concerning the accusation by federal prosecutors that Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in effect, tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, it isn’t difficult to see the legal issue that is posed by such alleged conduct. But both in criminal cases and the court…

Dec 11, 2008 10:59 PM CST