Judiciary

Magistrate Recommends Discipline for Talkative Defense Lawyer

A federal magistrate has recommended discipline for a Knoxville defense lawyer who continued to talk after a federal judge ordered him to keep quiet. Magistrate Susan Kerr Lee recommended “appropriate discipline” for lawyer Herbert Moncier because of his conduct in November 2006, the Chattanoogan.com reports. She said he has had…

Apr 10, 2008 1:23 PM CDT

Mich. Supreme Court Sides With Embattled Judge

The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled against the state’s Judicial Tenure Commission, holding that Steven Servaas, a judge the commission had sought to remove from the state’s 63rd District bench following a controversial investigation, should continue hearing cases for now. “The state Judicial Tenure Commission in February sought an interim…

Apr 9, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Scalia’s ‘Nixon-Goes-to-China Moment’

Justice Antonin Scalia, who at times has appeared indifferent and nearly hostile to the media, is set to appear on the prime time Sunday news program 60 Minutes later this month. The Blog of Legal Times characterized the news of Scalia’s appearance as “extraordinary” and called it the justice’s “Nixon-goes-to-China…

Apr 9, 2008 1:12 PM CDT

Lawyers Attack Former Pakistan Official, Bar President Resigns in Protest

In the latest development in a series of extraordinary, lawyer-led protests in Pakistan over the past year, attorneys clad in black business suits were reportedly involved in a physical attack on a former cabinet minister. Although the victim, former parliamentary affairs minister Sher Afgan Niazi, was not seriously injured, Aitzaz…

Apr 8, 2008 11:27 PM CDT

Evicted by Library, Ark. Judge Holds Court in Hallway

A judge in Pine Bluff, Ark., has faced one of the biggest challenges of his career in recent weeks: hearing misdemeanor cases without a courtroom. Concerned about safety issues and citing a problem with police parking in prime spaces, the local library terminated at the end of 2007 a lease…

Apr 7, 2008 8:14 PM CDT

Appeals Court Dismisses Suit Over Judge’s R-Word Ban in Rape Trial

The lawyer for a woman who was banned from using the word “rape” in the trial of her alleged sexual assailant says she will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week dismissed a lawsuit that had…

Apr 7, 2008 2:22 PM CDT

Big Coal Co. Wins in Recusal Dustup; ABC Claims CEO Scuffled With Producer

The West Virginia Supreme Court has once again overturned a $50 million verdict against the nation’s fourth largest coal company, but that apparently didn’t stop the winning company’s chief executive officer from getting into a parking lot scuffle with an ABC producer. The state high court decided to rehear the…

Apr 4, 2008 1:28 PM CDT

Eugene Pincham: ‘Giant’ of Chicago Legal Community Dies

Chicago-area legal legend R. Eugene Pincham, who served as a state appellate judge but proved too confrontational for political office, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 82. Chief Cook County Judge Timothy Evans confirmed the news for the Chicago Tribune, saying, “He was one of the best and…

Apr 3, 2008 8:23 PM CDT

Judge Decides ‘Media Frenzy’ After Arrest Doesn’t Require Him to Quit

A well-respected Boston bankruptcy judge is reconsidering his decision to resign after a flurry of publicity about the circumstances of his arrest for drunken driving. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Somma had submitted his resignation after media reports that he was wearing a cocktail dress and high heels at the time…

Apr 3, 2008 10:55 AM CDT

Judge Says Kicking White Lawyers Out of Courtroom Was ‘Mistake’

An Atlanta judge who told white lawyers to leave his courtroom so he could lecture African-American defendants last week now says he regrets the move. “In retrospect, it was a mistake,” Judge Marvin Arrington told CNN. “Because my sheriff said to me, ‘Judge, that message should be given to everybody’—‘Don’t…

Apr 2, 2008 7:04 PM CDT

Nasty Race for Wisconsin Supreme Court Ends With Upset

An expensive, bitter supreme court race in Wisconsin ended Tuesday with the first unseating of a justice since 1967, when Chief Justice George Currie was ousted after he allowed the Milwaukee Braves to relocate to Atlanta. Burnett County Circuit Judge Michael Gableman succeeded in his bid for the high court,…

Apr 2, 2008 6:25 PM CDT

Ohio Offers Free Legal Services for Homeowners Facing Forclosure

As home foreclosure rates continue to reach record levels, Ohio’s political leaders are supporting a program that offers free legal representation to Ohioans making below $54,000 a year for a family of four and are in danger of losing their homes. The Save the Dream program involves a network of…

Apr 2, 2008 6:09 PM CDT

Dallas Courts Consider Sealing Records to Protect Witnesses, Agents

Dallas may become the next jurisdiction to seal some or all of its plea deal data to protect identities of cooperating witnesses and undercover agents. Federal officials in Dallas will review their public records and decide by June what steps to take. The move comes after the U.S. Judicial Conference…

Apr 2, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

Ethics Group Recommends $25K Fine for Judge’s ‘Bizarre’ Letters

A judicial ethics commission has recommended a $25,000 fine and 30-day suspension for a judge who sent two “bizarre” and “threatening” letters to the publisher of the Boston Herald. The Commission on Judicial Conduct said in its report (PDF) that the conduct by Judge Ernest Murphy was intentional and therefore…

Apr 2, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

So. Fla. Judge Barred From Courthouse Calls it Quits

Updated: A Broward County, Fla., judge abruptly resigned Monday after the chief judge inexplicably barred him from the courthouse. The Miami Herald reports that Chief Judge Victor Tobin had reassigned Judge Jay Spechler last week. Spechler, a former administrative chief of the county court, was handling traffic and parking matters…

Apr 1, 2008 9:52 PM CDT