Civil Rights

Bankruptcy Judge Properly Fired Debtor’s PI Counsel

A Manhattan bankruptcy judge properly fired a debtor’s incompetent and uncooperative personal injury lawyer, a federal appeals court has ruled. Although Manhattan personal injury lawyer Jeffrey H. Schwartz was initially retained by the debtor with the bankruptcy trustee’s permission, he subsequently hired co-counsel without seeking bankruptcy court approval and made…

Nov 6, 2007 6:27 PM CST

Stevens Rejects Former IL Gov’s Bail Appeal

A long-shot bid by former Illinois Gov. George Ryan to remain free on bail pending his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of his political corruption conviction has been rejected. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens today rejected the emergency bail application that Ryan made to him last week, according…

Nov 6, 2007 6:07 PM CST

25 Percent of Pakistan’s Lawyers Arrested; Fired Top Judge Urges Defiance

Under house arrest but having somehow gained access to a cell phone, the ousted chief judge of the Pakistan supreme court urged the country’s lawyers today to continue to defy a state of emergency imposed by Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday. “The lawyers should convey my message to…

Nov 6, 2007 4:28 PM CST

Pakistan Fires Top Court, Lawyers Protest There and Elsewhere

The protesters wore conservative business suits today as thousands of lawyers throughout Pakistan clashed with authorities over the suspension of the constitution and the firing of the country’s chief judge, along with numerous other supreme court and appellate judges. Many of the 17 supreme court judges, including fired Chief Judge…

Nov 5, 2007 10:07 PM CST

Pakistan Fires Chief Justice, Arrests Attorneys

Updated: Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, invoked emergency powers on Saturday, suspending the country’s constitution and firing the chief justice of its supreme court, who reportedly is under virtual house arrest. Numerous lawyers who protested the move were arrested, and some were also reportedly beaten and sprayed with tear gas…

Nov 5, 2007 9:34 AM CST

Lawyer: Gitmo Co-Counsel Banned Me

A private practitioner from Canada who represents a Guantanamo Bay detainee held since the age of 15 has reportedly been banned by his military co-counsel from the client’s upcoming arraignment at a military tribunal. Because of a dispute with co-counsel selected by the Pentagon about how best to handle the…

Nov 1, 2007 9:15 PM CDT

States Enforce Federal Immigration Laws

Although enforcing the nation’s immigration laws has traditionally been the federal government’s job, states increasingly are doing it. They are motivated by a perception that the feds aren’t getting it done—and that illegal immigrants cost states money. This year, as Congress failed to agree on omnibus immigration legislation, 43 states…

Nov 1, 2007 5:48 PM CDT

Full 4th Circuit Hears ‘Enemy Combatant’ Case

Whether the president has the power to hold a legal U.S. resident in military custody as a so-called enemy combatant is being argued today before the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Va.-based 4th Circuit ruled in June that the president does not,…

Oct 31, 2007 7:23 PM CDT

Supreme Court Halts Execution in MS

A last-minute decision tonight by the U.S. Supreme Court to call off the scheduled execution of a Mississippi murderer seemingly signals that there is now a de facto death penalty moratorium in place nationwide. The decision—which was made a mere 15 minutes or so before Earl W. Berry was scheduled…

Oct 30, 2007 11:44 PM CDT

Mob Moll: Mafia Solved Civil Rights Case

In the latest revelation in the ongoing murder trial of a former FBI supervisor in New York, the longtime mistress of a Mafia enforcer has testified that the FBI relied on mob muscle to solve an infamous 1964 civil rights case. (It was dramatized in the movie Mississippi Burning.) Witness…

Oct 30, 2007 8:35 PM CDT

FL Family in Publicized Case Deported

Two teenage brothers in a high-profile immigration case said goodbye to their parents and 85-year-old grandmother at Miami International Airport today, as the older family members were deported to their native Colombia. The brothers, Juan and Alex Gomez, aged 18 and 19, respectively, also are here as illegal immigrants, having…

Oct 30, 2007 7:57 PM CDT

Noose Use Up Nationwide Since Jena March

Displaying a hangman’s noose has become an increasingly common practice throughout the country since a civil rights march in Jena, La., last month over a racially charged schoolyard attack that reportedly occurred after a noose was hung in a tree near the tiny town’s high school. Since then, nooses have…

Oct 30, 2007 7:10 PM CDT

New China Rules on Privilege, Judgment

The Chinese legislature has adopted new draft standards creating an attorney-client privilege in criminal cases and making it easier to enforce civil judgments. The fledgling standards approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will eliminate monitoring of conversations between criminal suspects and their counsel. They also “will…

Oct 29, 2007 5:58 PM CDT

Army Overturns Rushed 1944 Conviction of Black Soldiers in Lynching

Updated: An Army review board has overturned the conviction of African-Americans court-martialed for lynching an Italian prisoner of war at a Seattle military base in 1944. The board concluded the trial, which resulted in the convictions of 28 African-Americans, was “fundamentally unfair.” Four men requested the review, but the ruling…

Oct 29, 2007 1:35 PM CDT

Civil Rights March Over Boot Camp Death

About 700 people marched on Tallahassee, Florida, today, to call for further investigation of the death last year of Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old black teen being held at a military-style “boot camp” for juvenile inmates. Speaking to marchers at the federal courthouse, Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida…

Oct 23, 2007 9:47 PM CDT