Judiciary

California Judge Reprimanded for Reckless Driving

A California judge who reportedly was driving south in a northbound lane of traffic when she caught the attention of police has been reprimanded for her reckless driving. Superior Judge Lisa Guy-Schall failed field sobriety tests when she was pulled over in September of last year by Escondido police, and…

Sep 17, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Ex-Okla. Appeals Judge Disbarred for False Expense Reports

A former judge on Oklahoma’s top court for criminal appeals has been disbarred for submitting false expense reports to cover the costs of visiting his jailed son and purchases made by the woman who gave birth to the boy. Steve Lile resigned from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in…

Sep 17, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

Judicial Conference Cost-Cutting Focuses on Pay, Court-Sharing

A variety of cost-cutting measures were approved today by the Judicial Conference of the United States. They include efforts to limit future compensation costs as well as several policies that encourage courtroom-sharing by some federal judges. The measures include future payroll cost-containment efforts concerning “two-thirds of the federal judiciary’s employees,”…

Sep 16, 2008 7:01 PM CDT

Bar Seeks Suspension for ‘Obstreperous’ Would-Be Judge

The Florida Bar is recommending a suspension for the “obstreperous behavior” of a lawyer accused of failing to listen to the judge presiding over his traffic case. The lawyer, William Abramson, went on to challenge the judge for election. The bar took the rare move of asking the Florida Supreme…

Sep 16, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

Judiciary Committee Leaders Call for Investigation of Judge

Leaders of the House Judiciary Committee are calling for an investigation into the conduct of U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous, accused of perjury and taking money from lawyers who appeared before him. The committee could form a task force as early as tomorrow to investigate the accusations leveled by the…

Sep 16, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Junior Bankruptcy Judge is Assigned Lehman Case

The second-most junior bankruptcy judge in Manhattan will be handling the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, but that doesn’t mean he can’t handle the job, says a lawyer who will be appearing before him. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck was randomly assigned to the $613 billion bankruptcy filing, Bloomberg News reports. Before…

Sep 16, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Trailblazing Oregon Judge Fought ‘Shockingly Overt Sexism’—and Won

When Betty Roberts attended her first judicial conference, a male judge groped her breast. And that was just one of a number of instances of what a newspaper reviewing an autobiography of Oregon’s first female supreme court justice describes as the “shockingly overt sexism she faced as recently as the…

Sep 15, 2008 10:39 PM CDT

Suspended Nevada Judge Still Hospitalized

More than a week after her husband allegedly beat her with a cast-iron frying pan, a suspended Nevada judge reportedly remains hospitalized. However, the swelling in her right eye is going down, so District Judge Elizabeth Halverson can open it a bit, and she is starting rehab, her friend Bobbi…

Sep 15, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

$54M Pant Suit Appeal Set for October

The former administrative law judge who lost a $54 million case against a dry cleaners that lost his pants will argue his appeal on Oct. 22. The judge, Roy Pearson, will argue before the D.C. Court of Appeals, Legal Times reports. He is appealing a superior court judge’s decision that…

Sep 15, 2008 3:52 PM CDT

‘Tough Hombre’ Bankruptcy Judge Sanctions Lawyers in Three Cases

A federal bankruptcy judge in Las Vegas has written three “take-no-prisoners” opinions reprimanding lawyers who appeared before him for what he perceived to be ethical missteps, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist. Judge Bruce Markell is a “tough hombre” with a reputation for being brilliant, as well as arrogant…

Sep 15, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Study Shows When Justices Use Parties’ Words in Their Own Opinions

No one is accusing federal judges of plagiarizing when they include in their own opinions language from the briefing in the cases they are deciding. But plagiarism software can provide some interesting insights on which judges most often do so, and what kind of briefs are most useful to them…

Sep 12, 2008 10:14 PM CDT

Courts, Prosecutor Offices, Law Schools Close for Hurricane Ike

As Hurricane Ike approaches the Gulf Coast of Texas, several Texas courts are closing, and the attorney general has a plan to warn shelter officials of potential sex offenders in their midst. Tex Parte Blog reports court closings in Harris County, at the 9th Court of Appeals in Beaumont and…

Sep 12, 2008 2:58 PM CDT

Texas Judge Takes Tots from ‘Too Old’ Grandparents, Age 59 and 52

Yolanda and Arnold Del Bosque have taken care of their 1- and 2-year-old grandchildren since they were infants. But a Texas judge said at a hearing last month that the state should take the tots away from them, reports the Houston Chronicle. His order put the children into foster care…

Sep 11, 2008 8:17 PM CDT

OK, Discovery’s a Problem, But What Can Be Done About It?

An interim report (reg. req.) on a recent survey of trial lawyers about the American civil justice system has confirmed what many feared: Out-of-control discovery, among other issues, is making it difficult or impossible to pursue many cases that traditionally would have been brought, as parties settle or even decide…

Sep 11, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

More Fed’l Judges Seek Law Clerks With Practice Experience

Traditionally, federal judges have hired law clerks straight out of law school or sometimes, in the case of appeals court judges, after they have completed a clerkship in a lower court. But now many are seeking law clerks with actual experience practicing law, often looking to big firms for prospects,…

Sep 11, 2008 5:49 PM CDT