8th Circuit Court

Trial Delay Sought for Non-Lawyer Who Allegedly ‘Practiced’ for a Decade

Saying that they expect their client may be charged in other jurisdictions, lawyers for non-attorney Howard Kieffer are seeking a trial delay in in a fraud case related to his admitted lack of a law license. Kieffer, 53, was scheduled to go to trial next month U.S. District Court in…

Oct 13, 2008 6:39 PM CDT

Unlicensed ‘Lawyer’ Allegedly Practiced for a Decade in 10 States

For the past decade or so, Howard Kieffer has reportedly represented clients in federal cases in 10 states. The problem is, he reportedly wasn’t properly licensed to practice law in any of them—or, apparently, anywhere else. During that time, Kieffer, who is now in his early 50s, represented clients including…

Sep 16, 2008 9:14 PM CDT

Once-Prominent Illinois Lawyer to Plead in Cocaine Case

A former southern Illinois lawyer and Democratic power broker has accepted a plea deal in a cocaine case that calls for a six-year federal prison sentence and $525,000 in financial penalties and restitution. Additionally, U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert indicated that he is likely to charge Thomas Lakin, 68,…

Sep 10, 2008 8:40 PM CDT

8th Circuit: Bankruptcy Provision Violates Lawyer Free Speech Rights

A federal appeals court has struck down a provision in the 2005 federal bankruptcy law that bars lawyers from advising clients to take on more debt before filing for bankruptcy. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban violated the free speech rights of lawyers and…

Sep 5, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Hundreds Held in Another Big ICE Raid

In another signpost of stepped-up immigration enforcement, federal agents raided a Mississippi factory yesterday, detaining at least 350 workers who allegedly are in the country illegally. “The raid follows a similar large-scale immigration operation at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in May when nearly 400 workers were detained,” reports…

Aug 26, 2008 5:34 PM CDT

Non-Lawyer Disbarred By Federal Court in N.D.

A non-lawyer who apparently tricked a federal court in North Dakota into admitting him to practice there, by claiming to be licensed in California, has been disbarred. Howard Kieffer now admits that he is neither an accredited law school graduate nor a member of any state bar, and U.S. District…

Aug 18, 2008 9:56 PM CDT

Sanctions Study: Lying to Court is Costly, But Baseless Claims are Most Common

A study of sanctions against attorneys in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that frivolous claims were the biggest source of penalties. Failure to comply with discovery requirements was the second-most common reason for sanctions, but this category accounted for only about a dozen punishments, reports…

Aug 18, 2008 7:33 PM CDT

Appeals Court Rejects Militia Organizer’s Second Amendment Claim

A federal appeals court has ruled a man who organized his own militia did not have a Second Amendment right to possess a machine gun. Hollis Wayne Fincher had argued that his Washington County Militia was a well-regulated militia that was protected by the amendment. A federal judge rejected his…

Aug 14, 2008 10:50 AM CDT

Mo. Lawyer Rants Against Judge, Gets 4 Months in Jail

Asking a Missouri judge “Are you a pedophile?” was but one of the “rude and angry” comments that reportedly helped persuade the jurist to slap a 120-day contempt sentence on a Kansas City lawyer. Attorney Carlos Romious also caught the attention of Greene County Circuit Court Judge Tom Mountjoy by…

Jul 31, 2008 7:50 PM CDT

Fake Cop’s Work Prompts 17 Civil Rights Suits Against Small Mo. Town

Updated: In a small Missouri town, a bizarre case is still unraveling: A fake undercover cop conducted raids and made arrests for weeks, with the help of local police, before being unmasked. Now at least 17 federal civil rights suits have been filed over the debacle, according to the Associated…

Jun 24, 2008 9:09 PM CDT

Jury Gives Lawyer Extra $1.6 M Slice of $103 M Legal-Fees Pie

A Minneapolis attorney has won $1.6 million from his former law firm, in a Hennepin County jury verdict over the division of $103 million in legal fees in a federal securities class action concerning AOL Time Warner. But the money, which is coming to former partner Brian Williams in addition…

Jun 13, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

A Question of Faith

Cash-strapped states look elsewhere for inmate rehab programs

Jun 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Appeals Court Dismisses Suit Over Judge’s R-Word Ban in Rape Trial

The lawyer for a woman who was banned from using the word “rape” in the trial of her alleged sexual assailant says she will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week dismissed a lawsuit that had…

Apr 7, 2008 2:22 PM CDT

Kansas Supremes Refuse Legislature’s Punt on Funeral Picketing Law

A Kansas law regulating picketing at funerals has been struck down because of an unusual provision that required the state supreme court to rule on the measure’s constitutionality before it could take effect. Legislators added the so-called trigger provision out of fear the state would have to pay the legal…

Mar 11, 2008 6:27 PM CDT

Speeding Lawyer Not Fast Enough on Her Feet With Court Excuse

An Arkansas lawyer is facing a contempt of court charge after reportedly telling a Carroll County judge she couldn’t appear before him the next day because she was in St. Louis, awaiting a federal appeals court hearing. But after Cindy Baker was ticketed for speeding the next morning in northwest…

Mar 3, 2008 11:30 PM CST