Constitutional Law

Rare Jury Verdict Delay ‘Sheer Agony’ for Bob Bennett & Client Attorney

After days of deliberation, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a verdict on Thursday in a tax evasion case against Michigan attorney Alan Miller. But it wasn’t announced until the jury also reached a verdict on charges against Miller’s tax client, Indy 500 and Dancing with…

Apr 21, 2009 7:36 PM CDT

Pillow Fight Organizer in Vt. is Charged With Disorderly Conduct

Some 50 individuals briefly pummeled each other with pillows in a staged—and videotaped—event in Burlington, Vt., on Friday. But only 21-year-old Darin Cassler has been criminally charged over the incident, apparently because he allegedly blew a whistle that signaled those involved in the fluffy and apparently good-natured free-for-all to start…

Apr 21, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

High Court Rules Against Terror Victim’s Brother in Immunity Case

A man who claims Iran participated in the assassination of his brother cannot attach an American court judgment as compensation for the death, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled against Dariush Elahi, who is seeking compensation for the killing of his brother, Cyrus, in Paris in 1990,…

Apr 21, 2009 3:47 PM CDT

Supreme Court Narrows Belton and Limits Car Searches

The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with a criminal defendant who challenged a police search of his car that turned up cocaine and a gun. Police searched Rodney Gant’s car after he was arrested on a warrant for driving on a suspended license, handcuffed and placed in a squad car.…

Apr 21, 2009 2:49 PM CDT

Former Employees Say Insurer May Have Paid Their Lawyer $5 Million

Did a major insurer make a $5 million payment to a law firm representing former employees against the company? That is the question that may soon finally be answered after more than five years of litigation between Prudential and some of the 359 employees who filed an earlier suit against…

Apr 21, 2009 12:52 AM 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

High Court to Hear Important Cases in ‘Intense’ Two-Week Period

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear several important cases in the next few weeks, including disputes over a student strip search, a reverse discrimination claim, voting rights, and a requirement for immigrant English classes. Legal Times says the next two weeks will be an “intense” period, despite a…

Apr 20, 2009 5:47 PM CDT

Supreme Court Turns Down Case of Bible-Consulting Jurors

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a death-row inmate’s claim that his constitutional rights were violated when jurors consulted a Bible during deliberations. The case, Oliver v. Quarterman, is the second turndown by the court this term that involved jurors consulting the Bible, SCOTUSblog reports. In both cases,…

Apr 20, 2009 3:56 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Weigh Law Barring Videos of Animal Cruelty

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a law barring videotapes and other depictions of animal cruelty violates the First Amendment. The court will consider whether to create a new exception to the free speech clause that would uphold the law, SCOTUSblog reports. “Like other forms of unprotected…

Apr 20, 2009 2:39 PM CDT

Celebrity Client’s Cyberbattle Sparks Alleged Threats Against Counsel

Attorney Joan Lukey helped celebrity author Patricia Cornwell battle a cyber-attacker with some success. The author eventually won not only libel damages but a court order that persuaded a number of Internet service providers to take down offending material. But then the bane of the best-selling crime novelist’s existence turned…

Apr 18, 2009 12:03 AM CDT

11th Circuit Rejects Appeal by Death-Row Inmate Claiming Innocence

A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by a Georgia death-row inmate who claims the Eighth Amendment bars his execution because he is innocent. In a 2-1 decision (PDF), the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the claim by Troy Anthony Davis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. “Davis…

Apr 17, 2009 6:29 PM CDT

US Releases 4 More ‘Torture’ Memos, Promises Defense to CIA Workers

The U.S. Department of Justice today released four more Office of Legal Counsel memos providing legal advice to the CIA from 2002 to 2005, as Attorney General Eric Holder promised a free defense and potential indemnification to any CIA employee facing investigation for conduct approved by these memos. “The President…

Apr 16, 2009 7:54 PM CDT

NSA Surveillance Flubs Found: Americans Wiretapped, Rep. Targeted

The National Security Agency’s eavesdropping program, designed to uncover terrorist activity, improperly collected e-mail and phone communications from Americans, a routine review has found. The problems spurred the Justice Department to enact new safeguards to bring the program into compliance with a law last year that gave the NSA broad…

Apr 16, 2009 11:46 AM CDT

Baseball Fan Sues, Says Call of Nature Trumped ‘God Bless America’

A baseball fan who says he was ejected from a New York Yankees game after answering the call of nature rather than staying in his seat for the singing of “God Bless America” has sued over the alleged violation of his First Amendment rights. Bradford Campeau-Laurion contends that he was…

Apr 15, 2009 7:13 PM CDT

DOJ Revs Up Prosecutor Training, Ponders Discovery Policy

Following blistering criticism by a federal judge who last week appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the government’s handling of a high-profile criminal corruption case against former Sen. Ted Stevens, U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder is cleaning house at the Department of Justice. Holder is setting up a training program…

Apr 15, 2009 4:53 PM CDT