Evidence

Study Sees Increase in Federal Media Subpoenas

An study to be published in an upcoming issue of the Minnesota Law Review concludes that media subpoenas are issued with some regularity. The article notes that proponents of a federal shield law to protect reporters from revealing confidential sources have cited an avalanche of subpoenas faced by the news…

May 1, 2008 5:32 PM CDT

Cert Petition Claims New Evidence Entitles Convicted Killer to Reversal

Former Milwaukee police officer Laurie Bembenek has filed a cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court that seeks a reversal of her conviction based on new evidence of innocence. Bembenek pleaded no-contest to second-degree murder in 1992 in the death of her then-husband’s former wife, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.…

May 1, 2008 4:29 PM CDT

Bite-Mark Evidence Loses Teeth

After two men on Mississippi’s death row were cleared of their convictions, the Innocence Project, which investigated their cases and represented the men, is calling for criminal charges against a controversial bite-mark expert who testified.

May 1, 2008 1:02 PM CDT

Put Simply, Make Your Experts Teach

Expert witnesses are most effective when they tell the story of your case

May 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

18th Innocent Man Freed in 1 Texas County; Officials Vow Change

For the 18th time in approximately seven years, an innocent man cleared by DNA testing reportedly has been released from prison by one Texas county. This time it was 55-year-old James Woodard who walked out of a Dallas courtroom yesterday, a free man. He had served 27 years in prison…

Apr 30, 2008 11:15 PM CDT

Sex, Lies and Text Messages: Mich. Judge Makes Legal Memo Public

Seldom has a legal memorandum apparently been read with such interest by so many. Reportedly retrieved by a forensic expert from the computer of Mike Stefani, a plaintiffs lawyer in Detroit police whistle-blower cases, an 18-page legal memorandum that allegedly led immediately to a controversial $8.4 million settlement by the…

Apr 30, 2008 5:54 PM CDT

Allegations That Rambus Shredded Documents Are Moot, Court Says

Memory chip technology developer Rambus protected itself from a judge’s stinging opinion when it offered to pay opponent Samsung’s legal fees after allegations Rambus shredded documents in advance of patent litigation. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne of Virginia had criticized the company two years ago for its actions, but yesterday…

Apr 30, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

Royal Murder Mystery Ends: Last 2 Children of Russian Tsar ID’d

Ending speculation that not all five of the children of Russia’s last royal couple, Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra, were murdered along with the rest of the family nearly a century ago, DNA tests have confirmed the identity of bone shards found last year in the Ural Mountains.…

Apr 30, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Yahoo Director’s Honeymoon to Delay Deposition in Pension Fund Suit

Delaware Chancellor William Chandler III says he is “a bit mystified” why a Yahoo director can’t find time for a deposition before he begins a delayed honeymoon on May 4, but the judge has refused to order the official to appear for the proceeding. Director Arthur Kern says he’ll be…

Apr 30, 2008 12:45 PM CDT

Roger Clemens Affair Claims Won’t Hurt His Libel Case, Experts Say

Updated: No matter how many extramarital affairs star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens may or may not have had, or with whom, there’s only one possible scenario in which they might have an adverse effect on his ongoing libel case against his former trainer, Brian McNamee, practitioners say. That is if…

Apr 29, 2008 11:12 PM CDT

Texas Appeals Court Refuses Emergency Relief in Ranch Raid Case

After a state appellate court’s denial of emergency relief concerning 462 children in a religious sect that were removed from a Texas ranch in a several-day raid early this month, all involved are settling in for what appears likely to be a lengthy course of litigation. Except for babies, the…

Apr 28, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

Lawyers Cite Bad Childhood in Convicted Sniper’s Appeal

Lawyers for convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad have filed a habeas appeal seeking to overturn his death sentence because jurors were not told of his abuse as a child or his brain damage. Muhammad received a death sentence for the slaying of Dean Meyers in a trial in Prince William…

Apr 28, 2008 1:34 PM CDT

9th Circuit Upholds $1M Farmworker Sexual Harassment Award

A federal appeals court has upheld a verdict by a California jury that awarded over $1 million in an employment discrimination case to a farmworker who said her supervisor repeatedly raped her and her employer retaliated when she complained. Her employer had argued to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit…

Apr 25, 2008 11:25 PM CDT

To Delete or Not to Delete? Not Doing So Puts Deal Lawyer on Hot Seat

In Peter Ehrenberg’s 34-year legal career, testifying in December in a Georgetown, Del., courtroom was clearly a low point for the Lowenstein Sandler partner. Like other M&A lawyers, he had found the second half of 2007 a difficult time to try to close deals. But Ehrenberg got particularly unlucky. Contested…

Apr 25, 2008 8:17 PM CDT

Lawmaker Wants to Add Terrorism Wiretap Authority to Funds Bill

A Republican congressman plans to try to attach a terrorism wiretap bill to legislation to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis says the measure would protect communications companies that cooperated with the government’s wiretap program, the Politico reports. The House adjourned in February without approving…

Apr 25, 2008 4:55 PM CDT