Judiciary

Federal Judges Ax Case, Sanction N.Y. Lawyer for Trial Conduct

A New York civil rights practitioner was sentenced to two years of probation on Friday in a criminal contempt case that resulted from the way she handled a federal court employment discrimination trial. Ruth Pollack, who practices in Mineola, N.Y., on Long Island, also was suspended from practice for 45…

Sep 29, 2008 7:26 PM CDT

Philadelphia Courts Adopt ‘Massively Effective’ Foreclosure Rescue Program

A program to curb foreclosures by the city and courts of Philadelphia has staved off the sale of nearly 80 percent of the properties referred to it in the first three months of operation. The plan requires courts to review all scheduled residential foreclosures with borrowers and lenders before the…

Sep 29, 2008 12:43 PM CDT

Hood Seeks Habeas, Says Judge & Prosecutor Considered Marriage

Lawyers for a convicted Texas murderer who narrowly escaped execution earlier this month have filed a habeas corpus petition in the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. The judge and prosecutor in his death penalty case not only admitted earlier this month, after being ordered to give depositions by a…

Sep 25, 2008 5:10 PM CDT

2 Phila.-Based Law Firms Join Probe of 9th Circuit Chief Judge

Two Philadelphia-based international law firms have been retained to help pursue an ongoing internal investigation of the chief judge of the San Francisco 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius have been retained by a panel of 3rd Circuit judges who were assigned to pursue…

Sep 24, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Julius Title, Oldest Working Calif. Judge, Has Died at Age 93

Julius Title, who reportedly was the oldest working judge in California’s state courts, has died of heart failure. He was 93. Although he officially retired in 1985, Title found that he missed hearing cases. So he went back to work, as an arbitrator, a special master and a judge pro…

Sep 24, 2008 4:58 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Disbarred for Using Penis Pump During Trials

A former Oklahoma judge convicted for using a penis pump while presiding over trials has been disbarred. The Oklahoma Supreme Court said Judge Donald Thompson brought discredit on the judiciary and the legal profession by his conduct, and a severe sanction was warranted, the Oklahoman reports. Thompson had been convicted…

Sep 24, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Cross-Dressing Bankruptcy Judge Lands at Boston Law Firm

Former bankruptcy judge Robert Somma has a new job at a Boston law firm. Somma is joining the firm of Posternak Blankstein & Lund as a senior counsel in the firm’s bankruptcy department, the Boston Globe reports. The respected judge made headlines in February when he was arrested for drunken…

Sep 24, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

ABA Online Election Materials May Help Judges as Well as Voters

Imagine you go to the polls to cast a vote and find that your eligibility is questioned or the poll closes while you are in line. What rights do you have? The ABA has the answers in an online pamphlet (PDF) listing voter rights and responsibilities, part of its online…

Sep 23, 2008 6:09 PM CDT

‘Queen’ Sybil Moses is Retiring from N.J. Bench

It wasn’t until she was 30-something and married with two children that Sybil Moses went to law school. And that was in the 1970s, when she and the other members of the “Band of Mothers” at Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey, were “a bit of an…

Sep 22, 2008 5:48 PM CDT

How a Bankruptcy Court Overrode Restitution in a Criminal Case

The plight of Mark Poveromo illustrates how bankruptcy law and criminal law can conflict, sometimes to the victim’s detriment. The Associated Press reports on Poveromo’s predicament and quotes experts who say the case highlights the need to revise bankruptcy laws to treat people better who are awarded restitution in a…

Sep 22, 2008 4:16 PM CDT

Judge Barefoot Sanders, Civil Rights Icon, Dies at Age 83

A “larger than life” federal judge who oversaw desegregation of Dallas schools has died at the age of 83. U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders died Sunday at his Dallas home after battling an infection, the Dallas Morning News reports. He once identified the highlight of his career as helping pass…

Sep 22, 2008 12:06 PM CDT

Judge Suspended in Cemetery Fence Flap

A Mississippi judge has been suspended for 60 days and fined $2,000 for accompanying deputies to a woman’s home and threatening her with prosecution for taking part of a cemetery fence. Judge Pat Carr, a judge in Lee County, Guntown and Saltillo, disagreed with the Mississippi Supreme Court’s decision in…

Sep 19, 2008 5:15 PM CDT

Vote on Judicial Nominees Delayed in Spat Over Torture Memos

The nominations of five judicial nominees were delayed yesterday in a dispute over Justice Department interrogation memos. The Senate Judiciary Committee had been scheduled to give consensus approval to the district court nominees yesterday, but committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., put them on hold for a week, the National Law…

Sep 19, 2008 4:47 PM CDT

Tulane Law Dean Apologizes to La. Justices for Errors in Study of Donor Influence

The dean of Tulane law school is apologizing to the Louisiana Supreme Court for errors in a professor’s study that had found campaign contributions appear to influence the justices’ votes. Dean Lawrence Ponoroff said “miscalculation in the underlying data” had called into question the reliability of some or all of…

Sep 18, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

US House Gears Up for Possible Impeachment of Federal Judge

Getting into gear to consider possible impeachment proceedings against a federal judge, the House Judiciary Committee formed a task force today to consider the case against U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous. “The move begins a congressional inquiry into allegations against Porteous that include bankruptcy fraud and perjury,” explains the New…

Sep 17, 2008 9:44 PM CDT