Illinois

New trial granted in murder case because drug probe of judge and investigator weren’t disclosed

In an unusual appeal that presumably could serve as a road map for other defendants, an Illinois judge has ruled that a convicted defendant should get a new trial in a first-degree murder case because his lawyers weren’t told the presiding judge and main investigator were the subjects of a…

Oct 3, 2013 3:33 PM CDT

$5M gift to University of Chicago Law School paves way for business leadership program

Law students at the University of Chicago who want the option to lead or advise businesses will be able to take special classes to prepare them, thanks to a $5 million gift from a high-profile alum. Bloomberg chief executive Daniel Doctoroff and his wife, Alisa Doctoroff, president of UJA-Federation of…

Oct 3, 2013 12:15 PM CDT

Bank and accountants to pay $40M settlement in city embezzlement case

An Illinois bank and two accounting firms have agreed to settle for $40 million a lawsuit over a massive, nearly two-decade-long embezzlement by the then-treasurer of the city of Dixon, its mayor says. The bulk of the settlement, around $36 million, will come from accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, Northern Public Radio…

Sep 25, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

First openly gay federal appeals judge confirmed; Obama names 3 nominees for district, circuit bench

September has been a noteworthy month as far as the federal judiciary is concerned. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Tuesday, in a 98-0 vote, former Department of Justice lawyer Todd Hughes for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is the highest-ranking openly gay…

Sep 24, 2013 9:55 PM CDT

Lawyer is accused of faking illness to avoid oral arguments; ethics complaint says he didn’t vomit

Updated: An Illinois lawyer is accused in an ethics complaint of faking illness to avoid oral arguments before the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Aug. 29 complaint by the Illinois Registration and Disciplinary Commission alleges that Michael Joseph Finn told a court clerk on April 14, 2011—the…

Sep 23, 2013 11:10 AM CDT

Judge holds reporter in contempt, imposes $300-a-day fine during 180-day compliance period

An Illinois judge on Friday held a suburban Chicago reporter in contempt for refusing to comply with a court order to disclose how he got hold of confidential police reports about a double murder in Joliet in January. Will County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Kinney also imposed a $1,000 fine,…

Sep 20, 2013 9:35 PM CDT

Lawyer sues over bad Google Plus review

A suburban Chicago lawyer and his law firm have filed a lawsuit because of a bad review on Google Plus. Naperville, Ill., lawyer Paul Nordini and his firm sued the writer, Joseph LaBarre, who wrote that Nordini worked for an “ethically shaky law firm” and an “exceptionally unethical law firm,”…

Sep 20, 2013 12:56 PM CDT

Illinois lawyer and congressional candidate paid for law school with Miss America scholarship money

An Illinois lawyer who is running for Congress had no debt when she graduated from Harvard Law School in 2007, thanks to scholarship money she got by winning the 2003 Miss America pageant. Erika Harold, 33, tells the Press of Atlantic City she gained political skills by participating in the…

Sep 18, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Quarles & Brady plans continued growth in Midwest and Florida, new chair says

Quarles & Brady is planning continued expansion in its Chicago and Tampa, Fla., offices, and will open a new office in an undisclosed Midwest location, the new chair of the Milwaukee-based law firm tells the Business Journal. When efforts to find a merger partner in Chicago didn’t work out, Quarles…

Sep 17, 2013 10:40 PM CDT

Prosecutor’s ‘white world’ remarks lead appeals court to order new murder trial

An Illinois appeals court has granted a new trial to a murder defendant because of the prosecutor’s racial remarks. The court said the prosecutor had referred to “our white world” and made race “an egregious and consistent theme throughout the trial,” the Associated Press reports. The story identifies the prosecutor…

Sep 16, 2013 1:17 PM CDT

Second Amendment protects the right to carry a gun outside the home, Illinois Supreme Court says

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a gun outside the home. The court ruled (PDF) in the case of Alberto Aguilar, who was charged under a law that bars the carrying of uncased, loaded guns outside a person’s home, land or…

Sep 13, 2013 11:40 AM CDT

Two Chicago men serving lengthy prison sentences are freed after convictions set aside

Two Chicago area men serving lengthy prison sentences were ordered freed Tuesday after prosecutors set aside their convictions. Carl Chatman, 58, had been sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping of a Cook County clerk at the Daley Center in downtown Chicago in 2002, the Chicago Tribune and the…

Sep 10, 2013 9:59 PM CDT

‘Routine’ wrongful-death lawsuit turns into 11-year ‘unholy mess’

In 2002, lawyers filed what should have been a routine wrongful death suit on behalf of a 7-year-old Romanian girl who had watched in horror as her mother was crushed under the wheels of a Greyhound bus. But 11 years later, as the Chicago Tribune (sub. req.) reports, that suit…

Sep 9, 2013 9:30 PM CDT

Bow and arrow, fishing line play key role in efforts to smuggle drugs into jails

David Wayne Jordan, 36, said he was squirrel hunting with his bow and arrow. But that excuse didn’t fly after a Whatcom County sheriff’s employee allegedly saw him shoot a marijuana-laden arrow at a Washington state jail, reports the Associated Press. Jordan, who fled the scene but was tracked down…

Aug 29, 2013 10:15 PM CDT

Attorneys are federally indicted in claimed multimillion-dollar law practice frauds

The feds announced indictments this week against attorneys in two different states who are accused in claimed multimillion-dollar frauds concerning their law practices. In Illinois, attorney, radio talk-show host, author and financial adviser Kathleen Niew, 57, is accused of bilking a suburban Chicago couple of $2.3 million, the Chicago Tribune…

Aug 29, 2013 8:00 PM CDT