Georgia

Ex-Prosecutor Accused in Alleged RICO Scheme to Bilk Corporate Client of $3M

A former federal prosecutor who has been working as outside counsel for the U.S. headquarters of Glock has been accused with two other defendants of attempting to bilk the Austrian-based gunmaker of $3 million. James Harper III, 55, who also was a candidate for state attorney general a decade ago,…

Jan 26, 2010 7:46 PM CST

Ga. Judge Resigns After Questions Raised About Facebook Contacts

A Georgia judge has resigned from the bench after questions surfaced about his Facebook relationship with a defendant. Chief Judge Ernest “Bucky” Woods of Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court, 54, told the Fulton County Daily Report that he is retiring from the job. “I just got tired of living under…

Jan 7, 2010 3:44 PM CST

Law Firm’s Search for Records Turns Up 96 Boxes of Cremains

A law firm’s search for financial records of a bankrupt funeral home turned up a startling discovery: nearly 100 boxes of cremated human remains. Employees of Arnall Golden Gregory in Atlanta found the remains in suburban storage units used by the Sellers Brothers Funeral business, according to WSB-TV, which broke…

Dec 18, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Top Ga. Court Halts Execution Today, Orders Judge to Mull DNA Testing

Four hours before a convicted murderer was scheduled to be put to death today, the Georgia Supreme Court halted the execution and ordered a trial judge to consider Carlton Gary’s request for DNA testing. The 59-year-old Gary, who was convicted in 1986 of raping and strangling three elderly women with…

Dec 16, 2009 11:09 PM CST

New Ga. Rules Foster Volunteer Work by Deferred Out-of-State Lawyers

The Georgia Supreme Court has adopted new rules that help out-of-state lawyers who volunteer for state offices and nonprofits get valuable courtroom experience. The new rules allow the out-of-state lawyers to appear in court as long as they are accompanied by a lawyer for the agency where they work, the…

Dec 15, 2009 1:07 PM CST

Judge Acquits Boy, 12, in Baby’s Murder, Says He Didn’t Intend to Kill

A Georgia judge this morning found a 12-year-old boy not guilty of murdering his baby cousin, saying that the defendant hadn’t intended to kill the five-week-old girl. Left alone in a car with the infant while her mother shopped, “he was scared and didn’t know what to do so he…

Dec 11, 2009 6:01 PM CST

Lawyer Arrested for Bringing Loaded Gun into Courthouse

An Atlanta lawyer facing a $43,000 judgment was arrested Monday morning for bringing a loaded gun into the courthouse. The lawyer, Rodd Walton of the Walton Law Group, is a former deputy counsel of Glock Inc., according to a profile on his firm’s website. Glock is the make of the…

Dec 9, 2009 5:31 PM CST

Court Fines Insurer & Lawyer for Appealing Duty to Defend

An insurance company that not only refused its contractual duty to defend a policyholder but appealed a trial court’s ruling that the duty to defend was not a close case has been hit with a $2,500 sanction by a Georgia appellate court. And Atlanta attorney Dennis Brown of Buckley Brown…

Nov 25, 2009 12:34 AM CST

Indicted Defense Lawyer Makes Unusual Filing in Civil SEC Case

A 56-year-old Georgia securities law practitioner and another man have been criminally charged in federal court in North Carolina concerning an alleged interstate investment fraud. But that shouldn’t prevent defense lawyer Gregory Bartko from continuing to represent a client in a claimed $53 million civil fraud case in federal court…

Nov 24, 2009 11:17 PM CST

Judge Jails 2 Attorneys for Contempt in 4 Days

It may not be a good time for Georgia practitioners to try the patience of Matthew Simmons, the chief judge of Clayton County Superior Court. Within two business days he has jailed two lawyers for contempt in unrelated cases, according to a Daily Report article reprinted in New York Lawyer…

Nov 18, 2009 7:21 PM CST

Ex-Clients Claim Collapsed Ga. Law Firm Took Filing Fees Without Filing Suit

A Georgia law firm that handled debt collections has collapsed amid allegations that it paid its own expenses with client money that had been designated for filing fees. Trauner, Cohen & Thomas of Sandy Springs, Ga., is facing three suits by former clients alleging the firm took money for filing…

Nov 17, 2009 3:26 PM CST

Ga. Supremes Intervene After Judge Jails Asst. DA, Reports ‘Ruckus’ With Her Boss

The Georgia Supreme Court quickly intervened yesterday after a Fulton County judge sent an assistant district attorney to jail and then threatened her boss with contempt for a “ruckus” that began in a courtroom hallway. The Supreme Court stayed the contempt order against the assistant district attorney, Linda Dunikoski, on…

Nov 13, 2009 3:41 PM CST

Law Offices Opt for Smaller Spaces and ‘More Basic’ Appointments

Law firms are shrinking in more ways than one. Law firms are shedding employees, and their office spaces are getting smaller, causing a glut of space for rent. A report by real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle found that more than 6 million square feet of built-out law firm…

Nov 12, 2009 2:06 PM CST

Federal Judge Calls Courtroom Tweets Banned Broadcasts Under Rule 53

A federal judge in Georgia has banned reporters from sending live-action tweets from his courtroom, saying that Twitter is a form of broadcasting and hence prohibited under Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. But the ruling by U.S. District Judge Clay Land only extends as far as…

Nov 10, 2009 12:53 AM CST

Missing Lawyer and Her Husband Are Declared Dead

A Savannah lawyer and her husband have been declared dead by a Georgia judge, more than a year after they disappeared following a meeting with a bookkeeper they suspected of stealing from them. A memorial service for Elizabeth Calvert, 45, and her husband John, 47, is planned later this month.…

Nov 3, 2009 10:06 PM CST