Friendlier State Legislatures Lead to a Rise in Anti-Abortion Legislation

Aug 1, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

August 6, 1930: Judge Joseph Crater Disappears

Aug 1, 2011 5:00 AM CDT

Former GC Sentenced to 15 Years for Aiding Life Settlement Fraud; Defense Argued He Was Naïve

The former general counsel of a Houston life settlement company has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for aiding a corporate scheme that defrauded investors of $100 million. Even the prosecutor described the defendant, Russell Mackert, as kind and mild-mannered, Corporate Counsel reports. Mackert’s lawyer, Carolyn Grady,…

Jul 29, 2011 3:49 PM CDT

Appeals Court Rejects Found-in-Trash Claim, Orders Davy Crockett Marriage Doc Returned to County

Calling a found-in-the-trash claim made on an Antiques Roadshow television episode a dog that won’t hunt, a Tennessee appellate panel has also agreed with a lower court that an unexecuted 1805 marriage license for Davy Crockett, the famed American frontiersman, soldier and politician, must be returned to the courthouse from…

Jul 27, 2011 7:44 PM CDT

Institute Claims Rosa Parks’ Estate Drained by Fees for Lawyers Who Also Got Licensing Rights

An institute co-founded by Rosa Parks alleges in a Michigan Supreme Court filing that two appointed lawyers who were “court cronies” were rewarded too well for their work on the estate. The biting document (PDF), seeking leave to appeal, claims the lawyers were paid $243,000 in legal fees, nearly two-thirds…

Jul 21, 2011 3:28 PM CDT

Decades Ago, I Took a Newspaper’s File of Unflattering Photos of a Federal Judge, Law Partner Says

Women, more so than men, tend to be portrayed in an unflattering manner in photos as their popularity wanes, writes former Congressman and current law firm partner Martin Frost in a Politico opinion column. And, while female politicians tend to suffer the most, others including lawyers, have also felt its…

Jul 20, 2011 10:48 PM CDT

Two New Clarence Darrow Biographies Released; One Details a ‘Callous Streak’

Two new Clarence Darrow biographies offer different takes on the famous lawyer who represented union organizer Eugene Debs, accused teen-age murderers Leopold and Loeb, and school teacher John Scopes. A New York Times review highlights the differences. In one book, Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast, Andrew Kersten focuses on Darrow’s idealism…

Jul 14, 2011 10:59 AM CDT

Legal Road Trip: Little Rock, Ark.

The legal sites of “the Rock”

Jul 1, 2011 8:20 AM CDT

July 14, 1921: Sacco and Vanzetti Convicted

Jul 1, 2011 5:10 AM CDT

John Dean: Different Lawyer Ethics Rules Might Have Changed History (and Spared Nixon)

The former White House counsel disbarred for his role in the Watergate cover-up says President Nixon might never have been forced from office if different lawyer ethics rules had been in effect. John Dean now teaches a legal ethics course about reporting changes implemented by many states. The new rules,…

Jun 30, 2011 1:59 PM CDT

Ethics Complaint Against Newly Retired Ala. Judge Seeks to Rescind Her Benefits, a First

A blistering 74-count ethics complaint accuses a newly retired Alabama judge of multiple violations of conduct rules for jurists. Among them, former Family Court Judge Patricia Warner allegedly accepted nearly $21,000 in campaign contributions from gambling-related entities, then refused to step down from a child custody case involving a casino…

Jun 22, 2011 6:33 PM CDT

Suing Wal-Mart Cost Lead Law Firm $7M

Expecting a big payoff, the lead plaintiffs law firm in a massive class action against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. invested about $5 million in attorney and staff time and $2 million in costs, much of it for discovery, to pursue the case. But after this week’s U.S. Supreme Court victory for…

Jun 22, 2011 6:09 PM CDT

Boston Lawyer Finds Abigail Adams Letter, Donates It to Historical Society

The Massachusetts Historical Society is adding to its collection a previously unknown letter written by Abigail Adams, the wife of the second president. The letter was donated by Boston lawyer Lawrence Perera, who found it in the desk of his late mother, stashed in an old manila envelope of family…

Jun 16, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Plaintiff Wins $95M in Sexual Harassment Case; Aaron’s Vows to Appeal, Blames Runaway Jury

In what may be a record-breaking award to a single plaintiff in a sexual harassment case, a federal jury in East St. Louis, Ill., yesterday awarded $95 million to a former employee of Aaron’s Inc. Of that amount, $15 million was compensatory and $80 million was punitive damages. The plaintiff…

Jun 9, 2011 10:19 PM CDT

Plessy and Ferguson Work to Promote Civil Rights Education

Filmmaker and photographer Phoebe Ferguson didn’t even know she was a descendant of Judge John Howard Ferguson until a man who bought her great-great grandfather’s house tracked her down. It was Judge Ferguson who upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine, a decision affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896.…

Jun 6, 2011 11:27 AM CDT