Judiciary

Philadelphia Courts Take up Twittering

Philadelphia courts are putting news and announcements on Twitter, an online service that allows users to communicate in brief updates. As of last week, only 18 people were following court news from the 1st Judicial District on Twitter, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Users can obtain Twitter updates through text messages…

Oct 23, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Wis. Justice Sees Politics Behind Ethics Complaint Over his Election Ad

A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice accused in an ethics complaint of misrepresenting facts in a campaign ad says the allegations are “unfortunate” and an attempt to politicize the election after the fact. Justice Michael Gableman commented on the complaint in an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal. He’s not letting…

Oct 22, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Qwest CEO Judge Nottingham Resigns Amid Misconduct Probe

Facing multiple misconduct complaints, U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham, chief of the federal court in Colorado, has resigned, effective Oct. 29. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posted a statement (JPG) from 10th Circuit Chief Judge Robert H. Henry on its website confirming that the circuit’s judicial…

Oct 21, 2008 9:23 PM CDT

55% of Potential Voters Support Judicial Elections for State Judges

Most potential voters support judicial elections for state court judges, despite qualms about influence by special interest groups making campaign donations, according to a Harris Poll conducted with input from the American Bar Association. The survey (PDF) of the voting age public found that 55 percent think elections should be…

Oct 21, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

Holland & Knight Partner to Lead Judge Impeachment Probe

A partner at Holland & Knight with the right resume has been hired to lead the impeachment inquiry into U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous. D.C. partner Alan Baron will serve as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Baron was the House’s…

Oct 17, 2008 1:54 PM CDT

Ohio Judge’s Complaint about Opponent’s ‘Robocalls’ Advances

An Ohio judge’s complaint about false statements in his election opponent’s automated “robocalls” to potential voters has advanced to the state’s election commission. The complaint by Judge John Connor of Franklin County targets candidate David Goodman for claims that the judge released an admitted criminal, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The…

Oct 17, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

Facing New Ethics Complaint by Ex-Prostitute, US Judge May Resign

A federal judge in Denver is considering resignation after a former prostitute filed a new ethics complaint against him that contends he asked her to lie about paying her for sex. Published reports by 9News and the Rocky Mountain News say U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham is expected to resign…

Oct 17, 2008 11:02 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Chief Judge Says Pro Bono Work is ‘Anti-Social’

The chief judge of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blasted pro bono work as “anti-social” and “self-serving” at a Federalist Society meeting this week. Judge Dennis Jacobs contended pro bono work is an “anti-social” activity that is sometimes used to expand courts’ reach into legislative…

Oct 15, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

Federal Juror Names No Longer Secret in Western District of Pennsylvania

A rule that required the names of federal jurors to be kept secret in the Western District of Pennsylvania has been revoked by the chief judge there. The move by U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose followed a media protest over a decision by another judge there to keep juror names…

Oct 14, 2008 11:14 PM CDT

Chief Justice Roberts Depicts a Hard-Boiled Detective in ‘Three-Dollar Steak’ ‘Hood

It reads like a chapter from a hard-boiled detective novel: Narcotics officer Sean Devlin is working undercover in a neighborhood “tough as a three-dollar steak. Devlin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He’d made fifteen, twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.” But it’s not.…

Oct 14, 2008 8:57 PM CDT

Defendant in Hot Water After Dousing UK Judge

An unidentified 19-year-old man in Londonderry Magistrates Court had already been remanded in custody by District Judge Liam McNally. But he presumably didn’t help his defense in a burglary and traffic offense case by grabbing a fire extinguisher and dousing the judge. “Water from the fire extinguisher hit the district…

Oct 14, 2008 6:02 PM CDT

Court Asked to Rule in 3 Disputes over Fairness of W. Va. Justice System

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide this week whether the Constitution required the recusal of a West Virginia Supreme Court justice who received more than $3 million in campaign contributions from the chief executive officer of a corporate litigant. The case is one of three before the court…

Oct 13, 2008 12:39 PM CDT

Courts in Chicago Struggle to Protect Domestic Violence Victims

Victims of domestic violence in Chicago have a special court at which they can seek help. But, suffering from staff shortages and a deluge of cases, it doesn’t work as well as those who created it nearly 25 years ago hoped it would. Fewer than 1 in 5 of the…

Oct 10, 2008 11:03 PM CDT

We Won’t Evict Unless You Do Your Job, Illinois Sheriff Tells Lenders

In an unusual act of rebellion against an apparent defect in a number of foreclosure cases, the sheriff of Cook County has made national headlines this week by saying his officers wouldn’t enforce court orders and evict occupants of foreclosed homes in and around Chicago until lenders could prove that…

Oct 10, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

Connecticut Probate Courts ‘Hemorrhaging’ $20K a Day

Probate courts in Connecticut, funded by a percentage of the estates they distribute, are spending more than they take in, eating up dwindling reserves. “The state’s probate court system is hemorrhaging $20,000 a day, a million dollars every two months and is losing its savings so quickly that by this…

Oct 10, 2008 12:35 PM CDT