9th Circuit Court

Ex-Attorney, a Harvard Law Grad, Gets Nearly 5 Years in $7M Ponzi Scheme

Unlike most convicted Ponzi schemers, Robert Tunnell didn’t live high on the hog, his defense lawyer, Edward Swanson, said in a federal court filing. But the 73-year-old Tunnell couldn’t bring himself to admit, Swanson said, that he’d failed in investing nearly $10 million, most of which came from friends and…

Apr 24, 2012 3:52 PM CDT

The Supreme Court Spurns Wikipedia, But Federal Appeals Courts Cited It Nearly 100 Times in 5 Years

Federal appeals courts are increasingly citing the reader-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia, though the trend has not spread to the U.S. Supreme Court. Federal appeals courts have cited Wikipedia about 95 times in the last five years, according to a search by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. In the Chicago-based 7th…

Apr 24, 2012 1:18 PM CDT

9th Circuit Says Privilege Waived re Superman Comic Docs Stolen From Lawyer and Sent to Warner Bros.

Attorney Marc Toberoff cooperated with prosecutors after he said privileged documents concerning his efforts to help survivors of the creators of Superman gain rights to the famous comic character were stolen by another lawyer then working for him. But because of that he has lost his legal battle to prevent…

Apr 17, 2012 11:31 PM CDT

9th Circuit Narrows Computer Fraud Law, Protecting Lying Homely People and Web-Surfing Workers

An en banc federal appeals court has tossed part of the criminal case against an executive headhunter accused of accessing a confidential database at his prior employer. The 9-2 decision (PDF) by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrows the reach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse…

Apr 11, 2012 12:38 PM CDT

Calif. Gov’s Clemency to Woman in Shaken-Baby Case Ends 9th Circuit’s Legal Battle with Supremes

For five years, a federal appeals court has been trying to free Shirley Ree Smith. It held in 2006 that the evidence on which her second-degree murder conviction was based in the death of her infant grandson just wasn’t sufficient to establish her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in the…

Apr 9, 2012 8:01 PM CDT

Lawyer and Disbarred Attorney Among Latest 14 Defendants to Take Pleas in Federal HOA Fraud Case

A lawyer and a disbarred attorney are among the latest 14 defendants to take pleas in a federal homeowner association fraud case in the Las Vegas area. Participants in the alleged scheme are accused of taking control of HOA boards, property managers and general counsel in order to forward their…

Apr 9, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

9th Circuit Committee Appointed to Investigate Ethics Complaints over Judge’s Racist Email

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed a committee to investigate ethics complaints about a federal judge who admitted he sent an email with a racist joke about President Obama. Kozinski appointed the five-member committee on March 23 to investigate the…

Apr 6, 2012 4:13 PM CDT

Longtime 9th Circuit Judge Robert Beezer Dies; Court Sees Six Deaths in About One Year

Senior Judge Robert Beezer of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has died at the age of 83. The cause of death was lung cancer, report the Los Angeles Times and Courthouse News Service. Beezer is the sixth 9th Circuit judge to die in about a year’s time, “dealing…

Apr 3, 2012 11:52 AM CDT

2 Lawyers Targeted in Nev. Homeowner Association Fraud Probe Are Found Dead Within a Week

Two Nevada lawyers who were targeted in a federal investigation of claimed widespread corruption among Las Vegas area homeowner associations have been found dead within a week of each other. The body of David Amesbury, 57, who pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to…

Mar 27, 2012 4:05 PM CDT

Sheriff Arpaio’s Pink-Underwear Policy May Violate Rights of Unconvicted Inmates, 9th Circuit Says

A nationally known Arizona sheriff’s requirement that inmates at his jail don pink underwear could be unconstitutional, as far as those not yet convicted of a crime are concerned, a federal appeals court says. But the comment in a written opinion by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Mar 8, 2012 12:27 AM CST

Fetish Filmmaker Credits 75-Year-Old Juror in Snowman Sweater for 2nd Mistrial in Obscenity Case

A fetish filmmaker facing a criminal obscenity case has for the second time won a mistrial in federal court in Los Angeles. This time, Ira Isaacs tells the Los Angeles Times, a 75-year-old juror who wore a Christmas-themed sweater featuring snowmen to court one day last week was one of…

Mar 7, 2012 6:13 PM CST

Feds Warn of Marijuana Crackdown in Central California

Benjamin Wagner, the Eastern District of California U.S. attorney, indicated yesterday that a federal crackdown on large-scale marijuana operations there is imminent, and individuals who own the land risk federal prosecution, along with losing their properties. Wagner made the remarks at a Sacramento Press Club event, the Associated Press reports.…

Feb 29, 2012 9:00 PM CST

Judge Boots Feinberg Day from Patent Case, Says Even ‘Collective Lobotomy’ Wouldn’t Resolve Conflict

A former team of DLA Piper attorneys now working at Feinberg Day on a major patent matter is going to have to find a new assignment. A federal judge in San Francisco says the firm must “phase itself out promptly” from working on Talon Research v. Toshiba. Now representing Talon…

Feb 28, 2012 11:51 PM CST

2nd Adoption Lawyer Gets Federal Time in Baby-Selling Scheme

Once a high-profile California adoption lawyer, Theresa Erickson was sentenced today in San Diego to serve five months in federal prison and nine months in home confinement for the role she played in what prosecutors described as an international baby-selling scheme. Erickson, 44, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy…

Feb 24, 2012 11:34 PM CST

Phone Messages for Gov’t Lawyers Create New Trouble for Indicted Researcher Who Refused to Wear Wire

Held in a Portland, Ore., jail after being arrested last week in a Manhattan insider-trading case, a research analyst who previously made headlines by publicly refusing to wear a government wire while he was under investigation is in hot water again. John Kinnucan, 54, is having trouble winning his release…

Feb 23, 2012 6:08 PM CST