Ethics

Lawyer accused of threat to release judge’s nude photos can be sued for punitive damages, court rules

A Florida judge can seek punitive damages against a lawyer she accused of threatening to release her nude photos unless she acquiesced to his demands in her child custody case, according to a Dec. 9 decision.

Dec 14, 2021 2:20 PM CST

Lawyers in Illinois experienced this type of incivility most often, new survey says

Sarcasm, misrepresentations, inflammatory writings and hardball tactics were the most common type of incivility reported by Illinois lawyers surveyed in August and September.

Dec 14, 2021 12:10 PM CST

Lawyer is suspended after claiming he feared ‘untimely death’ if he appeared at police officers’ deposition

A Florida lawyer has been suspended for two years for unfounded accusations of racial bias, including his assertion that appearing at a deposition with police officers could lead to bodily injury or his “untimely death.”

Dec 13, 2021 3:31 PM CST

Lawyer is censured after he’s accused of shoplifting groceries worth less than $500

The New Jersey Supreme Court has censured a Morristown, New Jersey, lawyer and ordered psychological counseling after he was accused of shoplifting items at a ShopRite grocery store.

Dec 13, 2021 12:05 PM CST

Judge called staffer a ‘heifer’ and a judge an ‘Uncle Tom,’ according to order removing her from bench

A Birmingham, Alabama, domestic relations judge has been removed from the bench based on findings that she used Facebook aliases to communicate with litigants and “engaged in a pattern of abuse of staff, attorneys and litigants.”

Dec 13, 2021 9:52 AM CST

Ex-lawyer convicted on espionage charges seeks reinstatement to bar, says her ‘contrition is real’

A disbarred lawyer convicted on espionage charges in 1998 sought to regain her law license during a hearing in Washington, D.C., this week.

Dec 9, 2021 3:11 PM CST

Alabama judge who criticized death penalty appeals as ‘ceremonial’ is suspended without pay for 90 days

An Alabama judge who criticized the state’s death penalty sentencing system has been suspended for 90 days without pay for abandoning her role as a neutral arbiter, making inappropriate comments and disregarding appellate decisions.

Dec 9, 2021 11:47 AM CST

‘The Practice’ vs. ‘Boston Legal’: How the original stacks up to the spinoff, part 3

Over my past two columns, I’ve focused on reviewing two related television series, The Practice and Boston Legal, with the ultimate goal of comparing them. To conduct my review, I utilized the top-rated episode from each series as calculated by episodeninja.com. So, which series came out victorious? The Practice? Boston Legal? Not so fast.

Dec 9, 2021 8:55 AM CST

New database tracks gender-based violence sentencing decisions in the Pacific

“The training not only showed us information about the trends in sentencing decisions, but it definitely got us thinking about a lot of things,” said Loukinikini Vili, a lawyer and the director of human rights at Samoa’s Office of the Ombudsman/National Human Rights Institution.

Dec 9, 2021 8:49 AM CST

Judge is accused of wrongly using coercive detention to get misdemeanor defendants to pay fees, costs

An Ohio municipal judge has been accused of ignoring state law by jailing unrepresented defendants for failure to pay fees and fines without holding a hearing to determine their ability to pay.

Dec 8, 2021 4:08 PM CST

7th Circuit reprimands lawyer for skipping oral arguments, relying on opposing counsel

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago has reprimanded a New York lawyer for skipping oral arguments in a late-settled case and relying on opposing counsel to represent the parties’ joint views on costs.

Dec 8, 2021 12:36 PM CST

Real estate lawyer will plead guilty in case accusing him of stealing millions in client escrow cash

New York City real estate lawyer Mitchell Kossoff is expected to plead guilty as soon as this week to allegations that he stole millions of dollars in clients’ escrow money.

Dec 7, 2021 3:00 PM CST

NY lawyer receives nearly 5-year prison sentence for defrauding 9-year-old

A federal judge has sentenced a New York lawyer to 57 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to commit mail and wire fraud against a 9-year-old girl.

Dec 3, 2021 3:30 PM CST

Federal judge orders pro-Trump lawyers to pay $175,000 penalty after sanctions

A federal judge has ordered Sidney Powell, L. Lin Wood and other lawyers aligned with former President Donald Trump to pay $175,000 in sanctions for their conduct in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan election results.

Dec 3, 2021 10:00 AM CST

Prosecutorial ethics are getting a fresh look from criminal justice reformers

With the renewed focus on criminal justice reform, ethics complaints involving prosecutors are making the news and taking center stage. Prosecutorial decision-making is often less scrutinized or punished by courts and professional conduct boards. But the stakes are high in criminal cases, and ethics experts say whether they are intentional or negligent, there isn’t enough focus on behind-the-scenes actions in DA offices.

Dec 1, 2021 12:50 AM CST