Mississippi

5th Circuit Upholds Conviction of Lawyer, Two Judges in Miss. Corruption Case

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the sentences of two Mississippi judges and a former lawyer who prosecutors said backed loans for the judges in exchange for favorable rulings. In an opinion released Wednesday (PDF), the New Orleans-based court affirmed sentences for one-time plaintiff’s lawyer Paul Minor…

Aug 16, 2012 12:16 PM CDT

Sued by Lawyer He Is Charged with Conspiring to Murder, Doctor Counterclaims for Emotional Distress

Sued by a Mississippi lawyer he is criminally charged with conspiring to do away with, a local doctor has counterclaimed in the civil action for emotional distress. Dr. Arnold Smith, 70, contends that attorney Lee Abraham, with others, schemed in secret to make him suffer “severe mental and emotional distress,”…

Aug 7, 2012 11:06 AM CDT

Lawyer Sues Doc re Claimed Murder-for-Hire Plot, Seeks Damages for Loss of Enjoyment of Life

A Mississippi lawyer has sued a physician over a claimed murder-for-hire plot that already has the 70-year-old doctor facing criminal charges concerning an April shootout with law enforcement agents in the attorney’s office across from the Leflore County courthouse. Attorney Lee Abraham says in the civil conspiracy suit that he…

Jul 23, 2012 6:25 PM CDT

Baker & McKenzie Seeks to Overturn $103M Malpractice Verdict

Corrected: A lawyer for Baker & McKenzie argued before the Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday in an effort to overturn a $103 million malpractice verdict against the firm. Businessman Lavon Evans Jr. won the jury award in October 2010 based on claims that the law firm represented him at the…

Jul 19, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Adding 37 Lawyers in Nashville Is ‘Just the Start’ Says Butler Snow Chair; More Growth Planned

A Mississippi law firm that earlier this month announced the addition of 37 lawyers to its Nashville, Tenn., office isn’t done growing there yet. The 39 attorneys now working in Nashville for Butler Snow O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada may soon have more colleagues, the Nashville Ledger reports. “From what I’ve…

Jun 14, 2012 10:21 PM CDT

Two In-House Lawyers Are Let Go After Judge Demands Explanation of Belated Email Production

Updated: A Mississippi lawsuit filed by Eaton Corp. in 2004 resulted in fireworks earlier this month when a judge overseeing the Hinds County circuit court case ordered a number of executives and lawyers to explain why controversial email related to the litigation wasn’t timely produced. Now two in-house lawyers have…

May 31, 2012 7:49 PM CDT

Fed’l Appeals Court OKs $420K Verdict Against 2 Lawyers for Keeping Asbestos Case Info From Opponent

A divided federal appellate court has upheld a $420,000 jury verdict against two lawyers who were found to have withheld critical information from the opposing party in complex asbestos litigation in state court in Mississippi. The two lawyers, Thomas W. Brock and William Guy, represented nearly 170 individuals in the…

May 30, 2012 8:11 PM CDT

Did Suspect Physician’s Obsession with Attorney in Claimed Murder Conspiracy Go Beyond Divorce Case?

A 64-year-old Mississippi lawyer might seem an unlikely target for a 70-year-old physician’s claimed obsession. However, individuals who know attorney Lee Abraham Jr. and Dr. Arnold Smith Jr. said they weren’t surprised when the physician was criminally charged after an April 28 shootout between an alleged hit man and law…

May 29, 2012 10:54 PM CDT

Testimony: Doc Said He Wanted to See Photo of Ex’s Divorce Lawyer with ‘Bullet Between His Eyes’

A doctor accused of trying to arrange a contract hit on the divorce attorney who had represented his former wife in their divorce, years earlier, kept a hidden camera in his office, a police detective testified Wednesday at a preliminary hearing in Mississippi. And on video from that camera Dr.…

May 16, 2012 10:41 PM CDT

Miss. Regulators Impose Record $945K Fine on Calif. Telemarketer, But Will State Be Able to Collect?

Utility regulators in Mississippi have imposed a record $945,000 fine on a California telemarketer for violating state law about contacting those on the “do not call” list. The fine, which is by far the largest ever imposed by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, represents a maximum $5,000 penalty for each…

May 9, 2012 4:26 PM CDT

Mississippi Supreme Court Wallops Court Clerk with Another $10K Personal Fine

The circuit clerk of Hinds County, Miss., can’t catch a break from the Mississippi Supreme Court, which appears increasingly irritated with the way she runs her office and responds to court orders. In a Thursday opinion (PDF), the court fined Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn $10,000 and ordered her to pay…

May 1, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Alleged Hit Man Killed in Shootout in Lawyer’s Office; Doc Is Accused in Plot

Two agents of the Mississippi Attorney General’s office were meeting with a lawyer about an alleged murder plot against him on Saturday evening when two men allegedly hired to do the job burst into the law office. In the gunfight that followed, one alleged hit man, Keaira Byrd, was killed…

Apr 30, 2012 11:20 AM CDT

Criminal Defense Lawyer Plays Role of Killer in Award-Winning Independent Film

If criminal defense attorney Kevin Broughton was ordering his final meal on Earth, he’d want it to include frog legs. But when asked to order on behalf of his character, a twisted Mississippi killer headed to execution in Old Oak, he opted for fried chicken, pork chops, black-eyed peas, cornbread…

Apr 10, 2012 3:43 PM CDT

Federal Judge Nixes Suit by Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Over News Anchor’s Historic Documents

A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed a lawsuit brought against a television news anchor by the estate of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. over documents in his possession. The estate says Howard Ballou has no right to the documents, which he got from his mother, Maude.…

Mar 23, 2012 8:05 PM CDT

Some Prisons Rely Less on Solitary Confinement; the Benefits Aren’t Just Economic

More inmates are held in solitary confinement in the United States than any other nation, but in some states, attitudes toward the practice are changing. At least 25,000 prisoners are in solitary confinement, the lingering effects of a get-tough approach that began 30 years ago, the New York Times reports.…

Mar 12, 2012 6:28 PM CDT