Legal History

NM Governor Considers Pardoning Billy the Kid, Angering Sheriff’s Descendants

A possible pardon for Billy the Kid has brought protests from descendants of the sheriff who may have killed the outlaw. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has said he would consider a pardon, prompting a letter from three grandchildren of lawman Pat Garrett, according to the Associated Press, the El…

Aug 3, 2010 12:37 PM CDT

A Monumental Journey

When you think of Iowa, things like corn, Big Ten sports or the political caucuses may come to mind. But this heartland state also has been influential in helping to promote diversity in the legal profession.

Aug 1, 2010 5:14 AM CDT

August 19, 1960

Soviets Convict U-2 Pilot Gary Powers

Aug 1, 2010 5:00 AM CDT

94 Indicted, 36 Arrested This Morning in Record 5-State, $251M Medicare Fraud Bust

More than 360 agents participated today in a five-state sweep that had arrested, as of this morning, 36 of the 94 people indicted in a record-breaking $251 million Medicare fraud case. The raid was announced in Miami, considered ground zero for Medicare fraud, by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health…

Jul 16, 2010 6:15 PM CDT

Goldman Sachs to Pay Record $550M to Settle SEC Suit re Claimed Mortgage-Related Fraud

Accused of misleading investors when it foresaw the mortgage meltdown and offered toxic mortgage-related securities that hedged against it, Goldman Sachs has agreed, without admitting liability, to a record payment of $550 million. The banking titan was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April. Of the $550…

Jul 15, 2010 9:08 PM CDT

Son’s DNA & Discarded Pizza Slice ID Suspect in 10 ‘Grim Sleeper’ Murders Over 25 Years

A controversial use of DNA evidence that is expressly permitted by statute in only two states has identified a suspect in at least 10 so-called “Grim Sleeper’ killings over the past 25 years. Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, was charged today with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted…

Jul 9, 2010 2:58 AM CDT

Lead Attorney in Microsoft Case Hogged Lion’s Share of $75M Legal Fee, Suit Says

A lead lawyer in a $179.5 million class action antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. shared the $75 million legal fee with attorney Richard Hagstrom and the Minneapolis-based Zelle Hoffmann law firm, the Associated Press reports. But Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, Iowa, didn’t honor an agreement to pay 20 percent…

Jul 6, 2010 10:09 PM CDT

Living History

If you’re thinking about a family vacation that would include some real-life civics lessons, you might want to consider heading to Tahlequah, Okla.

Jul 1, 2010 9:40 AM CDT

Legal Road Trip: New Orleans

The legal sites of the Big Easy

Jul 1, 2010 8:40 AM CDT

July 8, 1993

Keating Gets Federal Jail Term

Jul 1, 2010 5:40 AM CDT

Prof Charged in Fatal Faculty Shooting Is Indicted Today in Brother’s 1986 Death

After a biology professor at the University of Alabama was charged with shooting three colleagues to death and wounding three more at a faculty meeting in February, questions were raised about earlier incidents in her life. Today, nearly 25 years after her 18-year-old brother died at the family’s Massachusetts home,…

Jun 16, 2010 11:31 PM CDT

Sirhan May Have Plotted to Assassinate Ted Kennedy, Too, Says FBI

The man convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 may also have tried to put a contract out on his younger brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy, in 1977. An unidentified fellow inmate at the federal prison at Soledad, Calif., where Sirhan Sirhan was incarcerated told the Federal Bureau of…

Jun 14, 2010 7:00 PM CDT

Woman Charged with Adultery After Alleged Public Sex on Picnic Table

In a case some might have thought to be a relic of legal history, a 41-year-old woman has been charged with adultery after allegedly having sex on a picnic table in a public park in Genesee County, N.Y. It is reportedly only the 13th adultery case pursued in New York…

Jun 10, 2010 5:13 PM CDT

Seeming Case-Related Slayings This Week: 3 Judges, 2 Clerks, 1 Lawyer, 11 Others

A magistrate judge and a court clerk were shot to death today in Belgium as they were in a courtroom working on a civil case near the Palais de Justice in Brussels. It is the first time in the country’s history that a magistrate has been killed in a courtroom,…

Jun 3, 2010 7:06 PM CDT

Masters of the Game

The Passed-Over Partner

Jun 1, 2010 9:30 AM CDT