Judiciary

Death-Row Inmate Claims Trial Judge Secretly Dated Prosecutor

A Texas death-row inmate scheduled to be executed on Tuesday claims in court papers that the judge who presided at his trial was secretly dating the prosecutor. The allegation was made in an appeal filed on behalf of Charles Dean Hood, convicted of a double murder in 1990, the Austin…

Jun 13, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

9th Circuit Chief Judge Initiates Internal Review of Explicit Website Posts

After news reports that he has posted sexually explicit materials online, Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has initiated a potential investigation of his own conduct. “I have asked the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit to take steps pursuant to…

Jun 12, 2008 9:07 PM CDT

Internationally Known Lawyer Patricia Wald to Get Top ABA Honor

Patricia Wald, a lawyer internationally known for her work as a judge and on public interest projects, is this year’s recipient of the American Bar Association Medal, the ABA’s top honor. Wald, who was the first woman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, served 20…

Jun 12, 2008 8:23 PM CDT

New York Judge Orders Lawmakers to Hike Judicial Pay

A New York judge has ordered the state legislature to increase the pay of state judges, which now stands at $136,700 a year for those at the trial level. Judge Edward Lehner of Manhattan ruled the state legislature has abused its power and interfered with judicial independence by failing to…

Jun 12, 2008 12:59 PM CDT

N.C. Judge Sanctioned for Four-Year Delay in Written Judgment

A North Carolina judge has been reprimanded for failing to issue a written judgment nearly four years after holding a bench trial. Judge Henry Frye Jr. of Guilford County finally issued the judgment a week after receiving the reprimand from the Judicial Standards Commission, the News-Record of Greensboro reports. The…

Jun 12, 2008 12:36 PM CDT

TRO Issued Against Courtroom Paddlings Despite Judge’s Demonstration

A Texas judge has been temporarily barred from allowing courtroom paddlings of truant children until a lawsuit over the practice is resolved. State District Judge Abel Limas issued a temporary restraining order yesterday, the Brownsville Herald reports. Texas Judge Gustavo Garza was sued over his practice of giving parents the…

Jun 12, 2008 11:11 AM CDT

Son of 9th Circuit Chief Judge Says He Maintained Racy Website

Updated: The son of Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, says he maintained the website with sexually explicit pictures that was shared by his father. News reports of the website prompted Kozinski to issue a statement late Thursday inviting a potential…

Jun 12, 2008 10:40 AM CDT

9th Circuit Chief Judge Posted Sexually Explicit Materials Online

Updated: The chief judge of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who is currently presiding over a high-profile obscenity trial in Los Angeles, has reportedly posted sexually explicit images on a personal website. Judge Alex Kozinski, 57, acknowledged in a Tuesday-evening interview with the Los Angeles Times…

Jun 11, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

Soon to be Playing at LA Federal Courthouse: Hard-Core Porn

Jurors at an ongoing federal trial in Los Angeles will soon be asked to watch some six hours of hard-core porn movies. Their mission: to determine whether the videotapes, some of which reportedly feature bestiality and defecation, have any literary, artistic or scientific value. If not, they will be asked…

Jun 10, 2008 10:46 PM CDT

Pakistan Lawyers’ ‘Long March’ Seeks Return of Appellate Judges to Bench

For a while, it looked like a coalition of newly elected leaders of Pakistan’s parliament would restore to office this spring dozens of appellate judges removed from the bench late last year after the country’s president, Pervez Musharraf, imposed emergency rule Nov. 3. But disagreement among political factions has led…

Jun 10, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

French Judge Participating in U.S. Homicide Investigation

Stymied by the puzzling stabbing death of a 36-year-old French citizen, those in charge of the San Francisco investigation have turned for help to French authorities. A French investigator has been helping for several months, and a French judge will soon hear evidence from witnesses in federal court, reports the…

Jun 10, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Proposed Law School Shot Down, For Now, By Maine Supreme Judicial Court

A proposed law school in Maine has been shot down by the state’s highest court, which said in a ruling released today that it would not allow graduates to take the bar exam. Because Husson College doesn’t plan to seek ABA accreditation for its proposed law school and has presented…

Jun 9, 2008 10:48 PM CDT

Lawyer Bans Opponent from Hotel in Hard-Fought IP Case

Concerned that sensitive documents might be delivered to the wrong legal counsel, a corporate client in a hard-fought federal case reportedly contracted with the hotel at which its own attorney was staying not to allow lawyers or staff from the opposing side to stay there, too. Then, when heavy-hitting Los…

Jun 9, 2008 8:46 PM CDT

Judge Blames Guards, Not Inmate for Prison Bus Murder

Finding a prison inmate guilty but not criminally responsible today for strangling another inmate to death on a prison bus, a Maryland judge said the prison system should have been able to prevent the murder. Kevin Johns Jr., who was already serving time for murder, had faced a possible death…

Jun 9, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Fed’l. Judge and Mississippi AG are in Name-Calling Contest

Although recommending no civil or criminal penalties, a federal judge didn’t hold back when he criticized Mississippi’s attorney general, Jim Hood, in a written opinion issued yesterday. In no uncertain terms, he reportedly says Hood went too far when he allegedly helped Richard Scruggs, a prominent Mississippi plaintiffs attorney who…

Jun 6, 2008 7:48 PM CDT