‘Complete Regulatory Collapse’ Helped Abortion Doc Charged in 8 Murders Keep Operating

Despite multiple complaints about issues ranging from the death of patients to an apparent lack of malpractice insurance at one point, a physician charged with eight murders concerning the Philadelphia abortion clinic he operated was never aggressively pursued by Pennsylvania agencies charged with overseeing health care. What a grand jury…

Mar 21, 2011 8:42 PM CDT

Judge Ponders Possible Dismissal of Obstruction Case Against Ex-Glaxo In-House Counsel

At an action-packed pretrial hearing yesterday, a federal judge indicated that he may be considering dismissing the indictment (PDF) in an obstruction case against a former in-house counsel of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. At issue in the Greenbelt, Md., case is whether the grand jury that issued the indictment against Lauren Stevens…

Mar 18, 2011 9:33 PM CDT

Manhattan’s First Mental Health Court Opens

A court in Manhattan designed for criminal defendants with severe mental illnesses opened Wednesday. “A significant percentage of defendants suffer from mental disorders—an issue that the courts and its criminal justice system partners simply cannot overlook,” New York state Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman stated, reports the Epoch Times. The Mental…

Mar 18, 2011 8:17 PM CDT

Judge Disqualifies Counsel for Defendant Doc’s Wife at Bail Hearing in Abortion Clinic Murder Case

A court hearing today in a high-profile case involving murder charges against multiple workers at a Philadelphia abortion clinic was supposed to be about the amount of bail set for defendant Pearl Gosnell. But when Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner realized that Gosnell’s attorney Mary Maran, had also met…

Mar 18, 2011 5:15 PM CDT

Law Student Among Plaintiffs Claiming Baldness Drug Causes Concentration Loss, Impotence

A class action lawsuit filed against Merck & Co. claims its baldness drug Propecia can cause permanent sexual dysfunction and mental problems such as anxiety and insomnia. One of the plaintiffs is a man forced to drop out of law school because the drug caused an inability to concentrate, the…

Mar 16, 2011 1:44 PM CDT

Maine Town Declares Food Sovereignty, Inspiring a Movement

As state lawmakers debate whether food such as raw milk can safely be sold to informed consumers, the residents of a Maine community have seized the day and recognized a right to do so. Under a so-called food sovereignty initiative unanimously approved at a March 5 town meeting by 100…

Mar 15, 2011 10:52 PM CDT

DOJ Advises Supreme Court There’s No Rush on Review of Health Care Law

The Obama administration has advised the U.S. Supreme Court there is no need to be hasty in reviewing the new health care law. The state of Virginia has asked the Supreme Court to accept an expedited review of the constitutionality of the law’s requirement for individuals to buy health insurance.…

Mar 15, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

7th Circuit Zaps Lawyer for Exceeding 14K Word Limit in Brief, Summarily OKs Lower Court Decision

In a blistering opinion (PDF) today, a federal appeals court not only stated or implied that a lawyer had been untruthful in his certification that a brief met the 14,000-word limit but criticized his “rambling” writing. Then, saying that any further effort by appellant attorney John Caudill to file a…

Mar 10, 2011 12:15 AM CST

One Day After Mont. Judge Orders Woman to Have Hysterectomy for Cancer, Top Court Calls a Halt

Under legal standards for informed consent, an adult who is mentally competent generally has a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, even treatment that would be life-saving. But after being told by a psychiatrist and a doctor that an unidentified woman’s “religious delusions” interfered with her ability to understand the…

Mar 7, 2011 6:11 PM CST

Ex-General Counsel, 4 Other Former WellCare Execs Indicted in Claimed $400M Medicaid Fraud

A former general counsel of WellCare is among five ex-executives of the Florida-based company who were indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged Medicaid fraud that is claimed to have raked in as much as $400 million to $600 million. Like the other defendants, ex-GC Thaddeus Bereday, 45,…

Mar 4, 2011 1:15 AM CST

Prosecution to Seek Death Penalty for Abortion Doc Accused of Murdering Woman and 7 Viable Babies

The government has announced that it will seek the death penalty in the case of a 70-year-old abortion doctor accused of murdering a woman patient and seven viable babies. However, a lawyer for Kermit Gosnell, 70, points out that he likely would die of old age before the penalty was…

Mar 2, 2011 8:06 PM CST

More than Five Years After Reversed $10.1 Billion Judgment, Illinois Tobacco Case Is Revived

An Illinois appeals court helped revive a dismissed Illinois tobacco class action case that resulted in a $10.1 billion judgment in 2003. More than five years after the state supreme court dismissed Price v. Philip Morris Inc., the case was given another chance in the Fifth District Appellate Court of…

Mar 2, 2011 7:57 PM CST

GC Loses Onetime $720K-a-Year Job Over ‘Evidence of Financial Irregularities’

After working for a little less than a year as the top lawyer for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, general counsel Roosevelt Hairston Jr. was terminated last month. In a written statement, the hospital cited “an internal investigation that found evidence of financial irregularities,” reports the Legal Intelligencer in an article…

Mar 1, 2011 8:13 PM CST

As Surrogacy Becomes More Popular, Legal Problems Proliferate

Mar 1, 2011 11:40 AM CST

Ethics Opinion Says Lawyers Can Assist Medical Marijuana Providers, But Adds Some Caveats

An Arizona ethics opinion says lawyers can help clients set up medical marijuana businesses, despite federal laws that bar possession and sale of pot. The opinion by a State Bar of Arizona professional conduct committee says lawyers can provide advice on the state’s medical marijuana law and help would-be dispensaries…

Feb 25, 2011 1:18 PM CST