Appellate Practice

Jailing man for ‘attitude,’ setting $1M bail was abuse of judicial discretion, top state court says

A Nevada judge said Juan Perez had an “attitude” when he sent the defendant to jail for 15 days and raised his bail from $3,000 to $1 million on a drug trafficking charge. However, a video of the Jan. 16 hearing shows Perez, if anything, was merely casual, the Las…

Apr 22, 2013 8:26 PM CDT

Former DA jailed after judge issues scathing opinion in rare Texas court of inquiry

An unusual court of inquiry held to probe the conduct of a former Texas district attorney has concluded with a blistering opinion by the presiding judge. Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was briefly booked into jail Friday before being released on $7,500 bail after District Judge Louis Sturns…

Apr 22, 2013 5:40 PM CDT

Special prosecutor to probe more decades-old claims by jailed men of Chicago police torture

Finding that the Chicago prosecutor’s office has a conflict of interest, the top criminal judge in Cook County, Ill., said on Thursday that he will appoint a special prosecutor to review the cases of at least five jailed men, and perhaps dozens of others, who say they were tortured into…

Apr 12, 2013 8:57 PM CDT

7th Circuit OKs $25K student-loan discharge for ‘destitute’ paralegal

A “destitute” paralegal who has made reasonable efforts to repay her student loan debt is entitled to a bankruptcy discharge of the remaining $25,000 or so despite the fact that she never enrolled in a federal income-contingent repayment plan, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reinstating a bankruptcy court’s determination…

Apr 10, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

US Chamber remains champion of cert-stage amicus ‘all stars’

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has “cemented its status” as the top filer of amicus briefs at the cert stage, part of a trend in which the top amici have a decidedly “rightward tilt,” according to a new study. The analysis posted at SCOTUSblog looked at cert-stage amicus filings in…

Apr 9, 2013 10:59 AM CDT

Booted from big enviro case, Covington blames ex-client for not protesting conflict earlier

A Minnesota judge last year agreed with 3M Co. that its longtime counsel, Covington & Burling, could not continue to represent the state in a big environmental lawsuit against the corporation. But even if a legal ethics rule would otherwise have prohibited the representation, Covington should be allowed to continue…

Apr 5, 2013 9:36 PM CDT

Want a summary of newsworthy federal appellate decisions? ABA project offers email alerts

The ABA is offering summaries of noteworthy filings and decisions in the federal appeals courts in a project that relies on help from law professors and teams of law students. The ABA’s Standing Committee on Federal Judicial Improvements is sponsoring the project, according to a press release. The students and…

Apr 5, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Job stats suit against New York Law School hits final roadblock

New York’s top court won’t hear an appeal by graduates of New York Law School who unsuccessfully sought to hold the school responsible for their decision to enroll. The New York Court of Appeals declined the case (PDF) on Thursday, the National Law Journal reports. An intermediate appeals court had…

Mar 29, 2013 12:14 PM CDT

Lawyer and heiress’ son who were convicted in siphoning of $60M from Brooke Astor estate lose appeal

The son of an elderly heiress and a now-disbarred lawyer convicted of working together to siphon some $60 million from her estate have lost an appeal before a midlevel New York court. Following the determination that Anthony D. Marshall, 88, and Francis X. Morrissey Jr. were appropriately convicted in 2009…

Mar 27, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

GLAD lawyer is credited for legal strategy advancing gay marriage

Lawyer Mary Bonauto has been likened to the Thurgood Marshall of the gay-rights world for her work on same-sex marriage cases. The chief civil rights lawyer for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Bonauto “is a quiet celebrity” in the world of gay legal advocacy, the New York Times reports.…

Mar 27, 2013 7:09 PM CDT

Ordered to pay $67K in legal fees, lawyer calls 9th Circuit’s sanction ‘a badge of honor’

Ordered by a federal appeals court to pay $67,495 in legal fees to the companies involved in an airline merger he contested on antitrust grounds, a longtime San Francisco lawyer says he will have to pay the money of his own pocket. But Joseph Alioto said the sanction by the…

Mar 26, 2013 3:28 PM CDT

Meet Charles Cooper, the lawyer who will support Prop 8 in arguments today

The lawyer who will be arguing on behalf of gay marriage today in the U.S. Supreme Court is well known. He’s Ted Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a conservative who joined with former opponent David Boies in the case. Less well known is the lawyer defending California’s Proposition 8…

Mar 26, 2013 1:43 PM CDT

Lawyer’s suicide may void his judicial bribery case conviction

Convicted last year in a judicial bribery case and sentenced to three and a half years, a South Texas lawyer may have cleared his conviction by committing suicide Feb. 28 as he was due to report to federal prison. Because Ray R. Marchan, 56, had an appeal pending at the…

Mar 25, 2013 7:16 PM CDT

‘Romeo Killer’ back on Lifetime TV weekend lineup after NY appeals court steps in

A New York appeals court has effectively reversed a trial judge’s prior restraint of a true-crime television movie scheduled to air on Saturday about a murder committed by Christopher Porco. In a rule to show cause order (PDF) issued Thursday, the Appellate Division, 3rd Department, stayed an earlier order banning…

Mar 22, 2013 7:42 PM CDT

‘Landmark’ NY appeals court ruling voids prenup due to millionaire’s oral promises to wife-to-be

In what lawyers are calling a landmark ruling, a New York appeals court has upheld a Long Island judge’s decision to void an prenuptial agreement that the wife of a millionaire says she was tricked into signing by false promises made by her husband-to-be, days before the wedding. Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis…

Mar 11, 2013 7:20 PM CDT