Administrative Law

NYC Tree House Prevails in Legal Battle, Winning Permit in Historic District

Score another win for a tree house. A neighbor in her historic New York City neighborhood objected. But artist Melinda Hackett, 49, has won a permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the circular, roofed structure with a spiral staircase wrapped around a tree trunk after months of legal battling,…

Oct 27, 2010 5:46 PM CDT

BP Corner-Cutting Led to Gulf Oil Disaster, Says Ex-EPA Lawyer; PBS Program Tonight Details Claims

A “corrupt culture” at BP concerning the oil giant’s compliance with safety regulations is responsible for the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier this year, a retired Environmental Protection Agency attorney claims in an article related to a documentary to be aired tonight on PBS’ Frontline. Attorney Jeanne Pascal…

Oct 26, 2010 10:58 PM CDT

Watchdog Still Seeks to Sanction Top Texas Criminal Judge re Execution-Eve ‘We Close at 5’ Ruling

An attorney for the top criminal court judge in Texas hailed the elimination of a public warning earlier this month as a conclusive win for his client in a legal ethics case over the court’s refusal to accept a late appeal on the eve of the defendant’s execution. But the…

Oct 26, 2010 5:54 PM CDT

Report: Court Tried to Protect Worker from Socially ‘Inept’ Judge by Hiding Her Desk

Before banning a Florida judge from the Osceola County Courthouse, officials tried to prevent him from offering unwanted attention to a court worker by changing her cellphone number and moving her desk to a secret location, she testified today at a legal ethics trial. But Orange-Osceola Circuit Judge N. James…

Oct 25, 2010 11:29 PM CDT

Court Records: Retiring Judge Who Said Colleague Was Biased Has His Own Struggles

Updated: George Painter, one of the two administrative law judges at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is retiring, and he knew that it meant seven pending cases on his docket would be reassigned to his only counterpart, Bruce Levine. But Painter sent a letter to the CFTC on Sept. 17…

Oct 21, 2010 12:52 AM CDT

Municipal Judge Appeals Kibosh on 2nd Gig as Stand-Up Comedian

Nixed when he sought permission to continue with his longstanding sideline as a stand-up comedian, a New Jersey municipal judge will soon explain his position to the state supreme court. It has agreed to hear the appeals of South Hackensack Judge Vincenzo Sicari, 41, from the kibosh put on his…

Oct 15, 2010 11:29 AM CDT

DOJ Seeks Stay of Judge’s Ban on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Rule—But Wants to End Policy, Too

A lawyer for the group that successfully challenged the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay and lesbian troops tells the Associated Press that the Obama administration plans to appeal and ask for a stay of the ruling later today. And an unidentified government source confirmed the news…

Oct 14, 2010 8:15 PM CDT

Judge Rapped, Should Have Stepped Aside Before Going to Lunch with PD, Official Argues

It wasn’t only the gag sex-book gift that got a New Mexico judge into trouble. Handing an assistant public defender a book on The One-Hour Orgasm, with his own photo pasted over the author’s (who happened to have the same name), apparently violated a sexual harassment policy. And it was…

Oct 13, 2010 1:50 AM CDT

UK Has a New Lawyer-Complaints Czar: The Legal Ombudsman

In an effort to streamline complaints about lawyers that used to be made to four different agencies and eliminate the appearance of bias in favor of the legal profession that was created by putting attorneys in charge of disciplining other attorneys, the United Kingdom has rolled out out a new…

Oct 7, 2010 5:49 PM CDT

Judge Censured for Mishandling Criminal Cases

A Massachusetts judge has been censured and will be monitored for at least a year for mishandling two criminal matters, the state Supreme Judicial Court announced yesterday. District Judge Diane Moriarty, 57, failed to warn a noncitizen defendant in 2005 in one case, before accepting a guilty plea, that he…

Oct 7, 2010 4:55 PM CDT

NH Lawyer Publicly Censured for Having Sex with Client

Add another lawyer to the list of those recently disciplined for having sex with the wife in a divorce case. In the case of Paul Maggiotto, however, the wife was also his client, and he “had a duty not to engage in a sexual relationship with his divorce client,” says…

Oct 6, 2010 6:07 PM CDT

Israeli Attorney Is 1st Foreign Law School Grad to Become Wis. Lawyer, Under New Rule

An Israeli attorney who earned her law degree from Bar Ilan University Law School in her home country is the first graduate of a foreign law school to win admission to the Wisconsin bar under a new rule that no longer requires graduation from an American Bar Association-accredited institution. Deborah…

Oct 6, 2010 12:00 AM CDT

Newspaper: ‘Weak-Kneed’ Discipline Council Stumbled in Probate Judge Matter

In a 2004 will, Josephine Smoron left almost all her considerable assets, which included a dairy farm, to her longtime caretaker. A subsequent estate document in 2006 explained that she had expressly disinherited several churches. But as she lay dying in 2009 her court-appointed conservator transferred her assets to two…

Oct 4, 2010 6:58 PM CDT

Cuffed to Prostitute, Lawyer Agrees to Take Her Case for Free, Earning a Disciplinary Censure

Arrested for allegedly visiting a house of ill fame and handcuffed to a prostitute in the back of a Chicago police vehicle last year, attorney Steven Koukios agreed to do some business for free. He said he would represent the woman, who had been arrested for soliciting an undercover officer…

Oct 1, 2010 9:30 AM CDT

Embattled DA Accused of Sending Sexually Harassing Texts Will Resign, His Lawyer Says

An embattled veteran prosecutor in Wisconsin will resign, his lawyer says, following accusations that he sexually harassed at least three women he apparently met on the job, according to the CNN Justice blog. The news came at a scheduling hearing today for what was to be an expedited removal proceeding…

Sep 27, 2010 6:05 PM CDT