7th Circuit Court

Sidley to Pay $27.5 M in EEOC Partner Case

Updated: In a settlement that should send shock waves throughout many of the nation’s major law firms, Sidley Austin has agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve a landmark federal case alleging that the law firm discriminated against 32 of its own partners. The 1,700-lawyer Chicago-based firm also agreed in…

Oct 5, 2007 5:17 PM CDT

Judge Won’t Allow Plaintiff to Depose Himself

A judge has refused to allow a businessman who says he fears “bodily harm” during Russian business trips to take his own deposition. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz of Manhattan said plaintiff Michael Tierney’s concern of murder did not warrant a self-deposition to preserve testimony, the New York Law Journal reports.…

Oct 3, 2007 12:50 PM CDT

Chicago Cop Charged in Alleged Gang Plot to Kill Former Cop

A Chicago police officer has been arrested by federal authorities in an alleged plot to murder a former officer expected to testify against him in a police corruption case. Officer Jerome Finnigan was arrested at home this morning and charged with planning to hire a street gang member to murder…

Sep 26, 2007 5:41 PM CDT

Cert Accepted in Voter ID Case

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether voter ID laws are constitutional. The court will consider an Indiana law that requires voters to show photo identification before they can cast a ballot, the Associated Press reports. The en banc 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld…

Sep 25, 2007 6:05 PM CDT

‘Troubling Partisan Divide’ in Voter ID Judicial Split

Voter ID laws are dividing lawmakers and the judiciary, who tend to split along partisan lines when considering the measures. As many as 22 million Americans of voting age don’t have photo identification, which means they can’t vote if they live in a state that requires such ID before a…

Sep 24, 2007 2:50 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

EMC Accused of Bias Against Female Reps

EMC Corp. has become a market leader in sales of data-storage systems with the help of hard-driving salespeople. But some women say the male-dominated sales environment was less than hospitable, and even discriminatory. Former saleswomen have filed at least six sex discrimination suits since 2003 against the company alleging unequal…

Sep 12, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

End of Era: Chicago Mob Murder Case

Yesterday’s guilty verdict in the Operation Family Secrets federal trial in Chicago was an important first step toward resolving 18 unsolved gangland murders stretching back decades. Plus, the case’s aggressive prosecution of organized criminal activity is also significant, according to a local newspaper. The 18 murders were attributed by testimony…

Sep 11, 2007 3:26 PM CDT

Verdict in ‘Family Secrets’ Trial: All Guilty

After months of testimony and days of deliberation, a federal jury reached a verdict today in one of the biggest organized crime trials in years: all defendants are guilty on all counts. In a case based on high-level insider testimony, retired Chicago police officer Anthony “Twan” Doyle (who is not…

Sep 10, 2007 7:04 PM CDT

State Secrets Often Cited to Crush Suits

The Bush administration is apparently relying on the state secrets privilege in a motion seeking dismissal of a lawsuit claiming a Belgian banking cooperative gave customers’ records to the United States without a warrant. The Justice Department says in a July 25 motion that the suit should be dismissed to…

Aug 31, 2007 3:54 PM CDT

Defense Delivers Show in Mob Trial

The Godfather it ain’t. But Chicago’s Family Secrets mob trial has drawn plenty of spectators, the Washington Post reports. “The 10-week trial has spawned a subculture of its own: Chicagoans who feel as if the mob was a shadowy but ever-present force as they grew up in this city, and…

Aug 30, 2007 6:42 PM CDT

Dissent Hits ‘Dysfunctional’ Jury in Ex-Gov’s Trial

A federal appeals court has affirmed former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s conviction for fraud and corruption, despite jury problems during the trial. The Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled that the federal judge who oversaw the six-month trial acted within her authority when she replaced two…

Aug 21, 2007 5:10 PM CDT

SEC Sues Sentinel

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges yesterday against Sentinel Management Group, alleging the short-term investment management company misled clients about the reasons it was freezing a $1.5 billion fund. The actions followed Sentinel’s bankruptcy filing on Friday, reports the New York Times’ DealBook blog. Sentinel told clients…

Aug 21, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

Lawyer not ‘Client’s Puppet,’ Court Says

A federal appeals court has ruled a lawyer need not file an appeal that was waived by his client in a voluntary plea bargain, despite rulings to the contrary by six other circuits. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said lawyers in such cases have a duty to the…

Aug 17, 2007 11:47 AM CDT

Legal Strategies Hinted in Terror Case

As courts in Trinidad and Brooklyn began initial proceedings against four men accused of plotting to blow up fuel tanks at Kennedy International Airport, hints of their legal strategies emerged. Lawyers for three suspects in Trinidad said they would appeal a judge’s order to extradite them to the United States,…

Aug 9, 2007 5:25 PM CDT