Appellate Practice

Appeal Over Judge-Prosecutor Affair Should Be Heard, Texas Court Finds

Not quite a year ago, Charles Dean Hood was on the verge of being put to death in Texas when an execution order expired. A few months later, a last-minute appeal was granted within hours of another scheduled execution. Now he seemingly has some likelihood of overturning his conviction, based…

May 1, 2009 11:26 PM CDT

Justice Souter’s Friends Aren’t Surprised by His Retirement Plans

Justice David H. Souter’s distaste for life in Washington, D.C., has friends expressing little surprise at his reported plans to retire. News of Souter’s plans broke yesterday evening. The liberal justice has “a well-known disdain for the ways of Washington” and travels home to his modest farmhouse in Weare, N.H.,…

May 1, 2009 12:25 PM CDT

Who Will Replace Justice Souter?

In the wake of reports Thursday night that Justice David Souter has told the White House he plans to retire from the Supreme Court, attention will turn immediately to possible picks to replace him. In fact, informed speculation began during the presidential campaign. In the ABA Journal’s November issue, sources…

May 1, 2009 3:23 AM CDT

O’Melveny Associate & UCLA Student Win 9th Circuit Immigration Appeal

Finding that a legal United States resident who served four years in the Navy had exhausted her administrative remedies, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has derailed a government effort to deport her over a California criminal conviction. The appellate ruling (PDF) in favor for Maria Gemma…

Apr 29, 2009 9:28 PM CDT

10 of 100 Win Representation, as Fla. Innocence Project Selects Cases

As lawyers and students sifted through the latest batch of pleas for help recently at the Innocence Project of Florida, they paused over a one case. A man has been imprisoned since 1995 for the attempted rape of a woman in a drainage ditch behind a convenience store. The main…

Apr 27, 2009 10:49 PM CDT

Rogue Juror’s Note Nixes $3M Pact, Ford Claims; Top Texas Court OKs Discovery

After a six-week trial in a products liability case over a Ford Explorer rollover accident, the forewoman of a jury in Brownsville, Texas, sent a note to the judge on the second day of deliberations. It read: “What is the maximum amount that can be awarded?” At that point, lawyers…

Apr 22, 2009 5:22 PM CDT

Jenner Associate Wins Supreme Court Pro Bono Victory in Immigration Case

Updated: A court of appeals retains its traditional authority to grant stays in deportation cases, despite a 1996 statute that limited the circumstances in which courts may block the removal of aliens, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 opinion. The decision is a victory for Jenner &…

Apr 22, 2009 3:29 PM CDT

New Twist in Banana Workers Case, as Dole Lawyer Claims 10-Year Fraud

In startling courtroom contentions today that reportedly received support from one opposing lawyer and the trial judge, an attorney for Dole Fresh Fruit Co. claimed a 10-year fraud underlies at least some allegations that workers on Nicaraguan banana plantations were rendered sterile by exposure to a pesticide there. Lawyers in…

Apr 21, 2009 11:23 PM CDT

‘Greedy’ Stanford Law Grad to Pay $630K in Legal Fees Over Meritless Art Suit

An art dealer who graduated from Stanford Law School reportedly tried to bully a well-known art auction house into paying $168,000 to settle a baseless lawsuit. But now the tables have been turned on art dealer and Washington, D.C., attorney Robert Fastov, reports the Blog of Legal Times. His effort…

Apr 20, 2009 11:22 PM CDT

Tardy Lawyers Still Get Paid in Texas Capital Appeals Cases

When a lawyer misses a filing deadline in a capital appeal, he or she risks not only the client’s case but the client’s life. Yet Texas lawyers who have repeatedly missed filing deadlines in death-row appeals are not only being paid for their work but allowed to represent inmates in…

Apr 20, 2009 6:25 PM CDT

1st Circuit Mulls Plan to Webcast Hearing in RIAA Music Downloading Case

Does webcasting court proceedings violate the traditional rule against cameras in the courtroom? And, if so, should the traditional rule be relaxed? That is the issue that the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is now expected to decide on an expedited basis, after a U.S. District Court judge…

Apr 10, 2009 12:49 AM CDT

Wis. Appeals Court Raps Lawyer for Failure to Proofread

Irked by a Wisconsin lawyer’s failure to proofread his pleadings, among other errors, a state appeals court has suggested that the longtime practitioner should go back to school for help with his legal writing. A three-judge panel of the District 2 Court of Appeals also fined Patrick Hudec $500 for…

Apr 9, 2009 5:12 PM CDT

Alaska Seeks Hatch Act Probe in Stevens Case, Supports Possible Tort Claim

Opening a new chapter in the ongoing debacle over the federal government’s stunningly unsuccessful prosecution of then-Sen. Ted Stevens for corruption, the legislature of his home state of Alaska today overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for further investigation of potential election law violations and demanding that the federal government give…

Apr 9, 2009 12:24 AM CDT

3rd Circuit: Muslim Cop Can’t Wear Headscarf on Duty

A three-judge panel ruled unanimously Tuesday that Philadelphia’s interest in “religious neutrality” in its police force overrode the bid of Officer Kimberlie Webb, a Muslim, to wear her headscarf while on the job, the Legal Intelligencer reported. In the opinion (PDF), Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica agreed with…

Apr 8, 2009 8:39 PM CDT

Can’t Pay Court Costs? Jail Is Alternative, in Florida & Other States

Most people may think of debtors’ prisons as a relic of history. But they arguably still exist in this country, where judges in criminal cases routinely employ a strong-arm collection tactic concerning court-imposed fees that isn’t available to the most aggressive civil creditor: They put people in jail. As courts…

Apr 6, 2009 11:15 PM CDT