Illinois

More Than 100 Suits Filed over Pradaxa Warnings

More than 100 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts over alleged bleeding risks from the blood thinner Pradaxa. The medication has been on the market for two years, generating $1 billion in sales, the New York Times reports. The drug has been linked to more than 500 deaths in…

Nov 6, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Chicago Judge Seeking Info re Mystery Federal Cases Filed Against Her Is On Leave, Officials Say

Updated: Following news last week that a Chicago judge had appeared before two federal judges claiming that she is the target of “secret proceedings” that may have been filed by her former lawyer, doctor and/or “spiritual adviser” and seeking to intervene in cases that seemingly do not exist, state judiciary…

Nov 5, 2012 9:45 PM CST

Testifying re Alleged Prosecutor Battery, Assistant Chicago PD Claims Self-Defense; Jury Acquits

Updated: An Illinois public defender who was criminally charged after an altercation with a prosecutor two years ago in a Chicago court hallway testified at his felony aggravated battery trial Wednesday that he acted in self-defense when he grabbed the other lawyer by the neck, threw him to the floor…

Nov 1, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

Granted a Trial After Taking a 20-Year Plea, Man Is Again Convicted of Murder, Gets 45 Years

An Illinois man who won a new first-degree murder trial after taking a plea by pointing out to an appellate court that state law required him to get a substantially higher sentence, has now been tried, reconvicted and resentenced. And, just as a state appeals court warned Brian W. Pinkas…

Oct 31, 2012 9:14 PM CDT

After Unusual Dispute Over Who Represents Drew Peterson, New Lawyer Takes Over Ex-Cop’s Murder Case

After an unusual public dispute earlier this month over who is representing Drew Peterson in post-conviction matters concerning the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a new lawyer has stepped up to the plate in the high-profile suburban Chicago case. Lead lawyer Joel Brodsky has announced that he is…

Oct 30, 2012 7:30 PM CDT

See the Viral Bar Mitzvah Video in Which a Future Chicago Attorney Dances to Madonna’s Vogue

Nobody knew Shaun D. Sperling was a lawyer when his 20-year-old bar mitzvah video went almost instantly viral on YouTube, with help from Perez Hilton. Family and friends cheer and whistle as the then-13-year-old doffs his suit jacket, revealing a white shirt with an image of Madonna’s face on the…

Oct 18, 2012 4:04 PM CDT

Class Action Seeks Hearings for ‘Forgotten’ Chicago Police Torture Victims

In what is being billed as a first-of-its-kind filing in Cook County, two legal clinics supported by big-name members of the legal community are pursuing a criminal court class action seeking hearings for all imprisoned individuals with “credible claims” of having been tortured into confessing to murder by Chicago police.…

Oct 16, 2012 9:23 PM CDT

Fed. Circuit Says Trial Judge Abused Discretion in Smartphone Sales Ban, Aligns with Posner View

In a Thursday ruling in one of several recent patent cases related to smartphone technology, a federal appeals court said a U.S. District Court judge in California abused her discretion by granting a pretrial injunction sought by Apple Inc. that banned sales of the Galaxy Nexus marketed by Samsung Electronics…

Oct 12, 2012 9:38 PM CDT

Lead Drew Peterson Defense Lawyer Stays on Case, Calls Competing Attorneys ‘Bottom Feeders’

A court hearing Friday in suburban Chicago seemingly provided at least a temporary answer to a question that has been hotly debated in news articles lately: Is lead defense lawyer Joel Brodsky still representing now-convicted murderer Drew Peterson? Or has Brodsky been axed, in favor of the outside lawyers who…

Oct 12, 2012 8:38 PM CDT

‘Lettuce’ Case: Does $150K Veggie Garden Cash Stash Go to Finder, Neighbor or Robbery Victim?

An unemployed carpenter who alerted authorities last year to a $150,000 cash stash in the vegetable garden of his suburban Chicago home is getting a courtroom education on found property law. Two other claimants have come forward to vie for a court ruling awarding them ownership of the “lettuce,” and…

Oct 12, 2012 5:55 PM CDT

Lead Drew Peterson Lawyer Seeks Court Nix re ‘Completely Unauthorized’ Motion, Contempt for Filers

In the latest salvo in a bizarre battle to determine which attorneys represent the recently convicted defendant in a high-profile murder trial, the lead defense counsel for Drew Peterson on Thursday asked a suburban Chicago judge to strike a post-trial motion filed by two other lawyers who hitherto have not…

Oct 11, 2012 7:24 PM CDT

Outside Lawyer Files Motion for New Murder Trial for Drew Peterson; Lead Counsel Calls It ‘Insanity’

Updated: In the latest bizarre twist in a high-profile murder conviction against a former suburban Chicago police officer for the death of his third wife, a lawyer not previously involved in the case has filed a motion seeking a new trial for Drew Peterson. Attorney John Paul Carroll said in…

Oct 10, 2012 3:59 PM CDT

Lawyer Biking to Work Swerves to Avoid Car Door, Is Struck and Killed by Semitrailer Truck

A 32-year-old Chicago lawyer was struck and killed by a semitrailer truck as he bicycled to work Friday morning. Neill Townsend was an avid biker who loved his job at as head of operations at the Minimal Inc. design firm on the city’s near West Side, the Chicago Tribune reports.…

Oct 5, 2012 9:33 PM CDT

Abusers of Disabled Parking Get Hefty Fines, Lose Placards in Chicago Crackdown; More Penalties Loom

In a crackdown on a problem that has aggravated fellow drivers throughout the country, Chicago has begun an aggressive program to deal with disabled parking abusers. Those found to be taking advantage of a disabled-parking placard that isn’t theirs, or is for a disabled person who isn’t using the vehicle,…

Oct 5, 2012 8:00 PM CDT

High-Profile Litigants Get Cases Sealed in Chicago Courts

Chicago-area judges have sealed hundreds of cases in the last dozen years, benefiting several high-profile litigants. A Chicago Tribune investigative report revealed some of the well-known litigants whose names were kept out of the public record in Cook County. They included: • Chef Laurent Gras, who sued for injuries in…

Oct 1, 2012 12:24 PM CDT