9th Circuit Court

Ex-Milberg Partner Gets 6 Months in Class Action Kickbacks Case

Developing: Doubling the three months recommended by prosecutors, a federal judge today sentenced a former name partner of the New York City-based law firm now known as Milberg to half a year in prison. David Bershad, 68, who cooperated with the government, got a six-month sentence from U.S. District Judge…

Oct 27, 2008 9:26 PM CDT

Sen. Stevens Verdict: Guilty on All 7 Counts

Ted Stevens, the Senate’s longest-serving Republican, was found guilty today by a federal jury on all seven counts in a corruption case. After the almost unprecedented criminal conviction of a sitting U.S. senator, it will be up to Alaska voters to decide whether to re-elect the 84-year-old Stevens, who has…

Oct 27, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

Skadden Accuses Broadcom Prosecutor of Grand-Jury and E-Mail Leaks

A motion filed by the law firm representing Broadcom’s former chief financial officer accuses a prosecutor who pursued backdating charges against company officials of leaking grand jury information and confidential e-mails. The motion by Richard Marmaro of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom accused lead prosecutor Andrew Stolper of misconduct,…

Oct 24, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

WaMu is Being Investigated by FBI

Add Washington Mutual Bank to a list of major corporate failures that are being investigated by the FBI. The FBI had been secretly looking into the bank’s operations for months. However, it went public yesterday with the investigation because WaMu depositors, having already seen the institution become the biggest bank…

Oct 16, 2008 9:12 PM CDT

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

35 Indicted, $9.5M Seized in Alleged Calif.-Mexico ‘Operation Money Train’

After an 18-month investigation, a record $9.5 million has been seized and 35 people indicted by six grand juries in an alleged scheme to smuggle illegal drugs north from Mexico to nearby Imperial County, California, and cash south from Imperial County to Mexico. The indictments were announced yesterday by U.S.…

Oct 9, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Stanford Law Grad in Tax Evasion Case Over Alleged Escort Earnings

Rather than face years of student loan payments, a Stanford Law School graduate is suspected of pursuing a nonlegal career to help cover the cost of her legal education. Although 34-year-old Cristina Warthen has never been charged with prostitution, she is now facing a federal criminal case for allegedly “fail[ing]…

Oct 1, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

Japanese Businessman Faces US Trial in Alleged Conspiracy to Murder Wife

A Japanese businessman who is fighting a court battle on two fronts to avoid being tried on charges related to the 1981 murder of his wife has seemingly lost another round. Although Kazuyoshi Miura “was cleared of his wife’s killing by a court in Japan in 1998 following a marathon…

Sep 29, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Firing Wasn’t on GC’s List of Possible Penalties for his Backdated Stock

Former McAfee general counsel Kent Roberts gave company executives a list of possible actions they could take against him for a date change on his stock options grant. The list, neatly written on hotel stationery, included alternatives such as terminating his stock options, reducing his bonus or even demoting him,…

Sep 25, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

2 Phila.-Based Law Firms Join Probe of 9th Circuit Chief Judge

Two Philadelphia-based international law firms have been retained to help pursue an ongoing internal investigation of the chief judge of the San Francisco 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius have been retained by a panel of 3rd Circuit judges who were assigned to pursue…

Sep 24, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Adult Filmmaker Loses Double Jeopardy Bid Based on Kozinski Mistrial Declaration

A federal judge has ruled the double jeopardy clause doesn’t bar a new obscenity trial for an adult filmmaker whose case ended in a mistrial because of a controversy surrounding Judge Alex Kozinski. U.S. District Judge George King of Los Angeles said Kozinski acted with “due deliberation” when he declared…

Sep 23, 2008 2:25 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Sentenced to 15 Years to Life in Dog Mauling

A former lawyer whose dogs mauled and killed a neighbor has received a higher sentence—15 years to life in prison—in her second sentencing in the case. Judge Charlotte Woolard of San Francisco Superior Court sentenced ex-lawyer Marjorie Knoller yesterday for the death of Diane Whipple, the New York Times and…

Sep 23, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Judge Rules for Pro Se Plaintiff in Twin-Taser Civil Rights Suit

Reaching a different conclusion than police internal investigators, a federal magistrate judge has ruled that two Tukwila, Wash., officers used excessive force when they simultaneously Tasered a suspect. Siding with pro se plaintiff Terrance Releford, Judge Mary Alice Theiler found that his civil rights were violated in the June 2006…

Sep 19, 2008 5:16 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Suit Claiming McCain is not a Citizen

A federal judge in San Francisco has tossed a lawsuit that had contended John McCain is not a U.S. citizen and should not be allowed on the ballot. U.S. District Judge William Alsup said McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone made him a citizen under the relevant statutes, Legal…

Sep 18, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Judge Says ‘Heads Have to Roll’ Over Late-Disclosed McAfee E-Mails

A San Francisco federal judge is demanding that lawyers for McAfee Inc. appear at a hearing today to explain why 18 pages of corporate e-mails weren’t disclosed until the eve of the backdating trial of the company’s former general counsel. The e-mails were turned over at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday after…

Sep 18, 2008 11:44 AM CDT