Law clerk who advocated for safer streets for the disabled is killed in crash

When Kenneth “Bryan” Goodwin was injured in a 2011 accident, his wheelchair was stolen while he was being treated at a San Francisco hospital. He made a claim against the city, resulting in a new policy requiring emergency responders to safeguard patients’ mobility devices. Early Monday morning, the 31-year-old legal…

Nov 8, 2013 7:02 PM CST

Blind lawyer says he will compete in New York marathon despite constant pain from accident

Richard Bernstein was training for a marathon when he was hit by a bicyclist in Central Park in August 2012, breaking his left hip and sending him to the hospital for 10 weeks. Bernstein, who is blind, thought the injuries might keep him from competing, but he plans to complete…

Oct 30, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Strangers donate $14K to woman facing petty theft case over $3 in courthouse fountain coins

There seems to be a happy ending looming in the story of a struggling woman ticketed for allegedly taking less than $3 in change from a fountain near a Logan County, Ohio, courthouse. Since the incident was publicized and community members rallied to help Deirdre Romine, some $14,000 in donations…

Oct 23, 2013 11:00 PM CDT

Embattled disability lawyer featured on ‘60 Minutes’ says he served clients ‘with honor and dignity’

Am embattled Kentucky disability lawyer who was featured on 60 Minutes on Sunday and under investigation by a U.S. Senate committee has spoken publicly for the first time about the probe. “The truth will be forthcoming,” attorney Eric Conn told WKYT, urging observers not to rush to judgment. “I have…

Oct 10, 2013 5:05 PM CDT

Disability lawyer featured on ‘60 Minutes’ takes Fifth during Senate committee hearing

A high-earning Kentucky disability lawyer featured in a 60 Minutes television segment that aired Sunday subsequently took the Fifth during a U.S. Senate committee hearing. Eric Conn told the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that his lawyer had explained in an Oct. 7 letter why he wished to…

Oct 8, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

Report accuses judge and disability lawyer of defrauding Social Security Administration

A Kentucky lawyer who self-branded over the years in all manner of advertisements as “Mr. Social Security” got some re-branding by U.S. Senate committee investigators today and the CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday in exposes of alleged abuse and fraud in Social Security disability claims. In 2011, two whistleblowers in…

Oct 7, 2013 8:40 PM CDT

9th Circuit says Calif. must ensure help for disabled parolees redirected to county jails

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday affirmed a trial court’s decision that California cannot wash its hands of responsibility when, as part of the state’s effort to ease prison overcrowding, disabled parolees returned to custody are placed in county facilities, the Los Angeles Times reports.…

Oct 7, 2013 5:55 PM CDT

Brain-injured man can’t marry, judge rules

An Illinois man who suffered a brain injury during surgery in 2009 can’t marry his girlfriend of 38 years because he doesn’t have the capacity to consent, a Rockford judge has ruled. Judge Lisa Fabiano says she has no doubt that John Morris would like to marry long-time girlfriend, Colette…

Oct 7, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

ABA is looking for a few good lawyers to help members of the military

Oct 1, 2013 7:50 AM CDT

Oct. 21, 2003: Florida enters the Terri Schiavo case

Oct 1, 2013 5:30 AM CDT

New Yorkers dog apartments with pet restriction waiver requests

Serious depression, heart disease and chronic pain are three disabilities that can probably get tenants around pet restrictions, the New York Times reports, and more people are asserting their right to do so. According to the article, pet restriction waivers are hot topics at New York dog parks and pet-centric…

Sep 27, 2013 7:15 PM CDT

Bar drops complaint against DA and defense lawyer over ‘undeniably invalid’ court order

The Oregon State Bar has decided to drop an unusual legal ethics complaint against a sitting district attorney and a defense lawyer accused of knowingly urging a judge to issue an “undeniably invalid order” to commit a mentally ill man to a state hospital for treatment. Washington County District Attorney…

Sep 24, 2013 8:30 PM CDT

Police in Rhode Island say they warned Navy that suspect in Navy Yard slayings was ‘hearing voices’

A suspected shooter slain by police after reportedly killing 12 on Monday at the the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., had been experiencing mental issues, according to news reports. And a Newport, R.I., police report says the department warned Navy police last month that suspect Aaron Alexis, 34, had said…

Sep 17, 2013 10:25 PM CDT

After former friend’s tip-off, onetime BigLaw partner loses disability benefits

Terri Truitt said she had so much pain from a back, leg and foot injury that she was unable to continue practicing law. Truitt, a partner in the Houston office of Mayer Brown who focused her practice on oil and gas litigation, said she could no longer handle the international…

Sep 16, 2013 6:25 PM CDT

Lawyer who uses wheelchair sues hotel, says inaccessible restroom led to a difficult night

A California lawyer has filed a civil rights suit against a Miami Beach hotel that she says was unable to accommodate her wheelchair despite advertising itself as disabilities-compliant. Jennifer Kern says she called the Days Inn and Suites Miami/North Beach Oceanfront before her February stay to make sure her room…

Aug 28, 2013 10:35 AM CDT