Delaware

Public defenders file more than 400 motions seeking to reopen Delaware drug cases

The public defender’s office in Delaware has filed more than 400 motions since April 30 seeking to reopen the cases of individuals convicted of drug offenses, based on evidence issues concerning the testing laboratory at the state medical examiner’s office. “We intend to keep filing [motions] every day, or as…

May 13, 2014 10:50 PM CDT

Consulting the NBA’s constitution | Big lawsuit over gift cards | Experience and lawyer discipline

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was suspended for life from the NBA on Tuesday over recorded racist remarks that were made public. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that he would ask the NBA Board of Governors to force a sale of the Clippers. Tuesday was the…

May 2, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Judge who sentenced DuPont heir to probation expressed concern about no jail time, transcript shows

A Delaware judge who sentenced a DuPont heir to probation for the rape of his young daughter didn’t say “he will not fare well in prison” during the hearing, though the comment was in the notes section of her sentencing order. But defense lawyer Eugene Maurer did make the argument…

Apr 10, 2014 2:10 PM CDT

Delaware Chancery Court uses little-known power, issues arrest warrant for party in corporate case

For the first time in decades and possibly its entire 220-year history, one of the nation’s top business courts has exercised a little-known power. Delaware’s Court of Chancery this week issued an arrest warrant for a party in a civil business dispute, reports the News Journal. “We have never done…

Apr 9, 2014 8:20 PM CDT

DuPont heir’s sentencing judge gets security detail after child rape case makes national news

Updated: A security detail has been assigned to the Delaware judge who sentenced a DuPont heir to probation for the rape of his daughter beginning when she was 3 years old. Judge Jan Jurden was assigned the security detail after receiving threats, the Delaware News Journal reports. Jurden sentenced DuPont…

Apr 3, 2014 8:00 PM CDT

DuPont heir got probation for child rape; judge said he wouldn’t fare well in prison

Corrected and updated: A lawsuit filed against DuPont heir Robert Richards IV is calling attention to the light sentence he received in 2009 for the rape of his daughter beginning when she was 3 years old. Judge Jan Jurden of Delaware sentenced Richards to probation as part of a plea…

Apr 1, 2014 4:12 PM CDT

Ruling banning secret arbitrations in Del. Chancery Court won’t be overturned by SCOTUS

The nation’s top court has refused to hear an unusual appeal by the Delaware Court of Chancery of a federal appellate court’s ruling that secret corporate arbitration hearings involving the state judiciary are unconstitutional. The Monday denial of the highly regarded state court’s petition for U.S. Supreme Court review leaves…

Mar 25, 2014 11:05 PM CDT

Charged under federal cyberstalking law, relatives of courthouse shooter call case unconstitutional

Relatives of a Delaware courthouse shooter could get as much as life in prison if they are convicted in an unusual federal cyberstalking case that has been brought against them. But the case shouldn’t proceed because the cyberstalking law is unconstitutional, the three defendants are arguing, the News Journal reports.…

Mar 17, 2014 10:45 PM CDT

Fallout from claimed sunken treasure discovery dogs law firm

A law firm that represented two divers who claimed to have found emeralds from a sunken ship is now facing a request for sanctions because of its actions in the contingency case. Partner Bruce Silverstein and Wilmington law firm Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor are facing the sanctions request, the…

Mar 17, 2014 2:02 PM CDT

Del. drug-testing lab issues spark prosecution call for trial freeze in all current drug cases

Another state is dealing with reported irregularities at its drug-testing laboratory, calling into question convictions that occurred between 2010 and 2013 as an investigation continues into the apparent theft of evidence. Prosecutors in Delaware have asked the superior court, court of common pleas and the family court to impose a…

Feb 28, 2014 6:10 PM CST

Are secret arbitration panels illegal? Del. Chancery asks SCOTUS to nix 3rd Circuit ruling

In an unusual case pitting one of the nation’s most respected corporate law tribunals against a federal appeals court, the Delaware Court of Chancery is seeking a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court concerning a recent ruling by the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that banned…

Jan 22, 2014 9:30 PM CST

Work-at-home lawyer suspended partly for lack of a ‘bona fide office’

Updated: The Delaware Supreme Court has ordered a two-year suspension for a lawyer who, among other violations, worked out of his Pennsylvania home and did not have exclusive, designated office space in Wilmington. The court said that Fred Barakat had failed to maintain a bona fide office, as required by…

Dec 18, 2013 11:45 AM CST

State AG backtracks, says he should have investigated whether there was underage drinking at party

Maryland’s attorney general, Douglas F. Gansler, opposes underage drinking and has urged parents to take responsibility to prevent it. But when it came to a high school graduation party attended by his own son, held in a beach house in Delaware, the AG felt it wasn’t his job to serve…

Oct 25, 2013 4:25 PM CDT

3rd Circuit says Delaware Chancery Court’s secret arbitration program trials violated 1st Amendment

A divided federal appeals court Wednesday said a novel attempt by a highly regarded state court to offer an alternative to private arbitration of corporate matters violates the First Amendment because it involves secret trials. Upholding a lower court’s determination but applying a somewhat different line of reasoning to arrive…

Oct 23, 2013 7:05 PM CDT

Daughter of courthouse shooter held without bail in ‘unique’ cyberstalking case

The daughter of a man who reportedly shot his former daughter-in-law and another woman to death at a Delaware courthouse before committing suicide earlier this year is being held without bail in what a lawyer for another defendant has called a “unique” cyberstalking case. Amy Gonzalez, 41, was denied bail…

Sep 17, 2013 5:10 PM CDT