9th Circuit Court

‘Bonnie and Clyde’ of Mortgage Fraud Stole $8.7M, Feds Say

A high school dropout and former house cleaner who became a Las Vegas real estate agent is now accused, with her husband, of being the Bonnie and Clyde of real estate fraud. Eve Mazzarella, 31, and her husband, Steven Grimm, 45, were arrested by federal agents at their home in…

Oct 30, 2008 5:11 PM CDT

Some Courts Allow Evidence from Cell Phones Searched Incident to Arrest

Privacy advocates are expressing concern about some court rulings that are allowing police to search through cell phones for call lists and text messages during an arrest. The rulings cite the doctrine of search incident to arrest that allows a search of “containers” on or near arrested suspects without probable…

Oct 30, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Dell Sued Over Claimed ‘Concrete’ Ceiling

Alleging that recent layoffs at Dell have unfairly targeted older workers and women, four former human resources managers there filed a federal class action suit today against the computer maker. They are seeking $500 million in damages in the Northern District of California action, arguing that each of the four…

Oct 29, 2008 10:28 PM CDT

No New Trial for Christensen, Celebrity Lawyer Convicted in Wiretap Case

A prominent Los Angeles lawyer convicted of conspiring with a private investigator to conduct illegal wiretaps in a celebrity divorce case has been denied a new trial. Terry Christensen, the former managing partner of the law firm now known as Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs & Shapiro, had sought a new…

Oct 28, 2008 10:31 PM CDT

Judge Tells Chevron to Remove Sponsored Links to Website about Case

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered Chevron to take down sponsored Google links to a website providing the company’s spin on an incident that resulted in the death of a Nigerian villager and a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston had issued…

Oct 28, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

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