9th Circuit Court

9th Cir. Lawyer Sues Obama Admin Over Withheld Benefits for Same-Sex Spouse

A federal government lawyer who works for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sued the Obama administration over its decision to withhold health benefits from her same-sex partner. The decision concerning benefits for the wife of attorney Karen Golinski, who works for the court in San Francisco, was…

Jan 21, 2010 1:05 AM CST

‘Brokeback Mountain’ Cited in Gay Marriage Trial

A lawyer seeking to uphold California’s ban on gay marriage asserted Wednesday that gays are gaining acceptance, pointing to the movie Brokeback Mountain as evidence of a new societal attitude. Lawyer David Thompson referred to the movie and the television show Will & Grace in his cross-examination of Yale history…

Jan 14, 2010 2:57 PM CST

China Cyber-Attack May Have Targeted Law Firm & Other Companies, Too

A Los Angeles law firm representing a software maker in a federal-court piracy case against the Chinese government may have been targeted in an apparent China-based cyber-attack that led Google Inc. to threaten this week to suspend Internet service in the Asian country. Gipson Hoffman & Pancione says in a…

Jan 14, 2010 1:43 AM CST

Federal Judge in Gay Marriage Case Described as Unpredictable

The San Francisco federal judge presiding in a suit that challenges California’s ban on gay marriage has a libertarian streak that has dismayed some conservatives. The Wall Street Journal describes U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker as “quirky” and offers the evidence. In 1994, Walker came out in favor of decriminalizing…

Jan 13, 2010 4:33 PM CST

Kozinski Letter Defends Court Cameras, Notes the Current Century

Updated: The U.S. Judicial Conference had a request for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: Please “consider” conference policy barring broadcast of federal trials. Apparently Kozinski thought the Judicial Conference should consider the century, the Legal Pad blog reports. The San Francisco-based judge wrote…

Jan 12, 2010 1:03 PM CST

Surgeon Indicted for Alleged Liver-Transplant Lie

A surgeon has been indicted by a federal grand jury in California for allegedly lying about the identity of a patient into whom a liver was transplanted in 2003 and directing his staff to submit falsified records. While in charge of the former liver-transplant program at St. Vincent Medical Center,…

Jan 7, 2010 9:04 PM CST

Coming Soon to YouTube: Federal Gay Marriage Trial

Those interested in the trial challenging California’s ban on gay marriage beginning Monday can catch a delayed broadcast of the proceedings on YouTube. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker allowed the broadcast under an experimental program adopted by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to stories in…

Jan 7, 2010 12:46 PM CST

Judge Seeks Contrition, Not Money, from Settling Lawyers

Potential jurors who arrived in San Francisco federal court on Tuesday found there was no longer a case involving a trademark dispute over the DWG extension given to design files. The parties had settled shortly after midnight, spurring U.S. District Judge William Alsup to express sympathy for the jurors. Morrison…

Jan 6, 2010 5:22 PM CST

Suspect in Courthouse Shootout Angry Over Social Security Suit, Officials Say

Although an investigation of today’s fatal shootout at a federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas is still ongoing, unidentified law enforcement officials say the suspect’s anger over losing a lawsuit about his Social Security benefits may have motivated the crime. The officials say Johnny Lee Wicks was killed in a…

Jan 4, 2010 11:48 PM CST

Advertising with Impunity on Craigslist, Foreclosed-Home Strippers Avoid Sanctions

When a potential buyer walks into a foreclosed home, it isn’t unusual to see gaping, often jagged holes where items of value including appliances, cabinets, countertops, sinks, toilets and doors, among other items of value, used to be. And it isn’t just ordinary thieves who are doing the stripping. Soon-to-be-former…

Dec 23, 2009 6:11 PM CST

Will Federal Challenge to Same-Sex Marriage Ban Be on TV? Maybe

An experimental program adopted Thursday by the judicial council for the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will allow televised civil bench trials, on a case-by-case basis. The chief judges of each of the circuit’s 15 districts will decide which cases may be recorded or broadcast, in consultation…

Dec 18, 2009 1:05 PM CST

Federal Judge Axes Broadcom Case over Prosecutorial Misconduct

Citing prosecutorial misconduct, a federal judge in Southern California has axed a stock options backdating case against two Broadcom Corp. executives. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney found that the government leaked grand jury information to the media, improperly contacted attorneys for defense witnesses and tried to prevent three key witnesses…

Dec 15, 2009 6:04 PM CST

Supreme Court to Decide Privacy Rights of Texting Government Employees

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police officers have a constitutional right to privacy in their personal text messages sent on city-owned pagers. The Supreme Court will review a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the officers have a reasonable…

Dec 14, 2009 4:58 PM CST

L.A. Lawyer Pleads in Quellos Case, Admits He Didn’t Pay Tax on $35M Offshore Account

A Los Angeles lawyer has pleaded guilty and agreed to accept up to a five-year prison term in a tax shelter scheme that involved a $35 million offshore account. Matthew Krane, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle yesterday to tax evasion and passport fraud concerning an alleged Quellos…

Dec 12, 2009 12:10 AM CST

62 Former Heller Ehrman Partners Agree to Pay $1.6M to Creditors

Although most senior lawyers at the now-defunct Heller Ehrman firm apparently have yet to agree to a payout to the bankrupt law firm’s creditors, a group of 62 primarily junior partners has reportedly promised to ante up $1.6 million in a tentative settlement. The individual payouts aren’t disclosed in yesterday’s…

Dec 11, 2009 9:44 PM CST