California

Simpson Sidelight: Offshore Accounts??!!

A lawyer for the family of a man O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering more than a decade ago was electrified by a minor detail in the current armed robbery case against the former football superstar. In a tape reportedly made shortly after the Las Vegas casino hotel room incident…

Sep 21, 2007 1:09 AM CDT

Chancellor: I Bungled Chemerinsky Hire

The man responsible for the on-again, off-again hiring of a prominent constitutional scholar to serve as dean of a new law school being created at the University of California at Irvine admits his handling of the matter left much to be desired. “This is certainly something that I bungled, and…

Sep 21, 2007 12:14 AM CDT

CA Lawyer Accused in Investment Scam

A California lawyer has been indicted on charges that he participated in an investment scam that netted more than $1 million from his clients and other victims. Lawyer Gerald M. Shaw of Newport Beach and Gregory De Lavalette of Rancho Santa Fe were indicted yesterday, the Daily Pilot reports. The…

Sep 20, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

Spector Judge Does About-Face

The judge in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector has agreed to revoke a jury instruction requiring prosecutors to prove the record producer held the gun that fired while in actress Lana Clarkson’s mouth. Deadlocked jurors had told Judge Larry Paul Fidler that they found the instruction confusing,…

Sep 20, 2007 2:34 PM CDT

Judge Ito Hoax Fools TMZ

TMZ.com, the Web site known for its celebrity reporting coups, had egg on its face after it learned a video it posted of “Judge Lance Ito” featured an imposter. The person in the video, thought to be the judge who presided over the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson, opined…

Sep 20, 2007 12:54 PM CDT

Law Prof: CA Bar Swayed by Liberals

A UCLA law professor seeking more information about bar passage rates for minority law students is planning his next move after the State Bar of California turned down his request for historical data. The Committee of Bar Examiners refused to release the information, saying test takers provided it in the…

Sep 19, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

Lawyers Seek Vindication in Document Dustup

Former lawyers for Qualcomm Inc. have asked a judge to allow them to reveal privileged information so they can explain why the company failed to produce hundreds of thousands of discovery documents. Heller Ehrman and Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder are responding to an order to show cause why they…

Sep 19, 2007 11:52 AM CDT

Spector Jurors Say They’re Deadlocked

A week after deliberations began, jurors in Phil Spector’s second-degree murder trial say they can’t agree on a resolution. But although the panel reports it’s divided almost equally between those who believe the famed music producer is guilty and those who don’t, the case isn’t over yet, reports the Los…

Sep 19, 2007 12:02 AM CDT

Stanford Class for Laity: Think Like Lawyer

An all-star faculty lineup at Stanford Law School is offering an ambitious and perhaps unprecedented course for nonattorneys. In a single quarter, 12 professors will attempt to teach graduate students in other disciplines to think like a lawyer, reports the Stanford Daily. The whirlwind tour of the legal profession is…

Sep 18, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Car Public Nuisance Suit Tossed

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the California attorney general that contends six car companies created a public nuisance by making vehicles that produce greenhouse gases. U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins of San Francisco said the suit would have required him to balance the interest in reducing…

Sep 18, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Lerach to Plead Guilty

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in a criminal case that contends his former law firm, Milberg Weiss, paid kickbacks to lead plaintiffs. Lerach will ask for a sentence of one year and prosecutors will ask for two years, the Recorder reports.…

Sep 18, 2007 10:31 AM CDT

Britney Spears’ Lawyer Bails

Celebrity attorney Laura Wasser is reportedly about to withdraw as matrimonial counsel to pop singer Britney Spears. Tired of dealing with a difficult client who has rejected her advice and created problems with a previously agreed 50/50 child custody split, Wasser is about to end the representation now that Spears’…

Sep 17, 2007 8:55 PM CDT

Chemerinsky to be Rehired as Irvine Dean

In a remarkable about-face, Erwin Chemerinsky is to be rehired as dean of the new law school being created at the University of California at Irvine. For the second time in less than a week, university Chancellor Michael Drake traveled to Durham, N.C., over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times…

Sep 17, 2007 6:14 PM CDT

Novel Court Order: No Gang Loitering

In an unusual and controversial approach to criminal activity by street gangs, a California judge issued a preliminary injunction today prohibiting more than 100 alleged members of a notorious Riverside street gang from gathering together in certain public areas. If it is made permanent by Superior Court Judge Edward D.…

Sep 14, 2007 11:38 PM CDT

UC Irvine Official on Hot Seat in Dean Case

In a rapid-fire change of circumstances, the UC Irvine official who made a controversial decision to fire a renowned constitutional scholar who had just agreed to serve as dean of the institution’s as-yet-unopened new law school is now himself in hot water. Some faculty are now calling for Michael Drake,…

Sep 14, 2007 11:05 PM CDT