Ethics

Judge Warns Lawyers About Appeals of His Rulings

A federal judge overseeing a racial discrimination suit filed by five black police officers against the city of Minneapolis warned lawyers they need to display the “right attitude” during a hearing on Thursday. David told the lawyers they could face sanctions if the case becomes too litigious by repeated appeals…

Feb 1, 2008 1:16 PM CST

Judge Reprimanded for Calling Three Black Female PDs ‘The Supremes’

A Maryland judge has been reprimanded for calling three black female public defenders “The Supremes” and telling a defendant to get “an experienced male attorney.” The Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities said the remarks by Judge W. Kennedy Boone III were “undignified and disparaging,” the Hagerstown Herald-Mail reports. Boone made…

Feb 1, 2008 12:38 PM CST

Texas DA to Testify About Deleted E-Mail

A Texas district attorney goes to court today to answer questions about the deletion of more than 2,500 subpoenaed e-mails in a civil rights suit. Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal could be fined or jailed if he is held in contempt of court for destroying the documents, the Associated…

Jan 31, 2008 4:59 PM CST

N.J. Supremes to Weigh Law Firm Liability for Client’s Improper Suit

The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a law firm can be liable for representing a nightclub that improperly sued neighbors who publicly opposed the business’s expansion. David Bauman represents the law firm sued for malicious use of process, Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla of Middletown, N.J. He…

Jan 31, 2008 2:45 PM CST

Jury Rules for Morgan Lewis, Deliberates Fewer Than Four Hours

Morgan Lewis & Bockius has won a $20 million breach of contract case that claimed the law firm gave clients bad advice about sales to Cuba in violation of a U.S. trade embargo. Philadelphia jurors found that the suit had been filed within the four-year statute of limitations, but the…

Jan 31, 2008 12:05 PM CST

Judge Recuses From Courthouse Shooting Case Due to New Yorker Quotes

The Atlanta judge overseeing the prosecution of alleged courthouse shooter Brian Nichols has stepped aside from the case after he was quoted as saying, “Everyone in the world knows he did it.” Judge Hilton Fuller weathered a storm of criticism after he halted the Nichols prosecution due to the state’s…

Jan 31, 2008 11:42 AM CST

Judge Has Lawyer Handcuffed to Client, Jailed

An Oklahoma judge jailed an attorney after accusing him of lying about his client hiding a witness in a domestic violence case. Oklahoma County District Judge Twyla Mason Gray sentenced lawyer Derek Smith to four days in jail for contempt, the Oklahoman reports. The 36-year-old lawyer was handcuffed to his…

Jan 30, 2008 10:03 PM CST

Judge Dismisses Nifong From Duke Player’s Civil Suit, For Now

A federal judge in North Carolina has kicked a disgraced former prosecutor from a lawsuit brought by three wrongly accused Duke lacrosse players. U.S. District Judge James A. Beaty ordered that former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong be dropped from the litigation, at least until his bankruptcy proceedings are resolved,…

Jan 30, 2008 8:58 PM CST

Pregnant Lawyer ‘Resigns’ from Law Practice

The pregnant Toledo lawyer who pleaded guilty to faking her own kidnapping is admitting to misusing client funds and plans to give up her law license. Karyn McConnell Hancock, who is seven months pregnant and went missing for three days in December, pleaded guilty Tuesday in probate court to embezzling…

Jan 30, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Las Vegas Judge Denies Misconduct Allegations, Cites ADA

Suspended Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson, accused of mistreating staff and sleeping during trials, denies misconduct allegations in a formal response filed yesterday. Halverson claims the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission fails to identify sufficient grounds of judicial misconduct, and does not point to a judicial canon or state law that…

Jan 30, 2008 1:59 PM CST

Molester Seeks to Renew Law License, Admits to More Victims

A former Stamford, Conn., lawyer pleaded for his law license to be renewed. But under questioning from members of the state’s Standing Committee on Admission, Jonathan Rapoport, 54, acknowledged that in addition to the children he was convicted of molesting in the 1990s, there are three to four other victims,…

Jan 29, 2008 8:47 PM CST

Pregnant Lawyer Pleads to Faking Abduction; May Face More Charges

A pregnant Ohio lawyer who claimed she was kidnapped pleaded guilty today to one count of making false alarms. Karyn McConnell Hancock, 35, was missing for three days in December. When she surfaced, she told authorities that a man abducted her outside the juvenile court in Toledo, Ohio, and drove…

Jan 29, 2008 8:29 PM CST

Mass. Reviewing Speech Limits on Judges

Citing a “genuine confusion” about what judges can say publicly about cases, Massachusetts’ highest court has assembled a committee to consider revising judicial conduct rules. The move by the Supreme Judicial Court comes in part because of publicity after the arrest of Daniel Tavares Jr., who was arrested in the…

Jan 29, 2008 6:10 PM CST

Study Says La. Supreme Court Justices Apparently Swayed by Campaign Cash

A Tulane University law professor has conducted a study of the Louisiana Supreme Court that finds campaign contributions appear to influence the justices’ votes. The study found that, on average, justices vote in favor of their contributors 65 percent of the time, and that the larger the contribution, the more…

Jan 29, 2008 5:02 PM CST

Lawyer Sentenced to Home Detention for Taking Cash to Be a Plaintiff

A retired lawyer and client of Milberg Weiss has received a sentence of six months of home detention and two years of probation after his guilty plea to taking kickbacks from the firm. Seymour Lazar, 80, was the first to be sentenced in the case, the Los Angeles Times reports.…

Jan 29, 2008 3:38 PM CST