Foreclosures Explode in South Florida; Poor, Minorities Hit Hardest

Although South Florida is still a bit below the national average for the total percentage of mortgages in foreclosure, that may not be true much longer. The number of foreclosure lawsuits filed to force non-mortgage-paying owners from their properties has doubled and tripled in some counties, compared to last year.…

Jun 15, 2007 11:20 PM CDT

Va. Tech Gets Gunman’s Mental File

Frustrated by federal privacy law that protects student mental health records from disclosure even after the subject’s death, a Virginia Tech advisory panel reviewing the on-campus massacre of more than 30 people won permission from the family of the student gunman to get his records. Seung-Hui Cho, who shot himself…

Jun 14, 2007 9:11 PM CDT

Toxic Tap Water for Years at Marine Base

At least twenty-five years after toxins were found to have seeped into the water supply at a North Carolina marine base, the situation is still being studied. A report released Tuesday, as emotional testimony began at a hearing by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee by individuals who say they…

Jun 13, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

‘Mockingbird’ Legacy: Remembrance of Racist Times Past

Although it is a novel, rather than non-fiction, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” has, perhaps more than any other book, impressed into the minds of many a consciousness of the racist justice system that characterized the segregated American south for much of the last century. An instant best-seller after…

Jun 13, 2007 9:53 PM CDT

PD Who Helped Partner Tie Sham Knot Seeks Legal Immigration Alternative

A St. Louis public defender who chose to break the law rather than lose the man he loves admits he made a serious mistake. But the lack of legally recognized marriage alternatives for same-sex couples is what tempted him to transgress, Eric Affholter says. Now facing criminal fraud charges for…

Jun 13, 2007 12:48 AM CDT

Wake-Up Call to Parents: 2 Years in Jail for Serving Teens Drinks at Party

A crime that many adults still consider equivalent to exceeding the speed limit and risking a traffic ticket has resulted in two-year jail terms for an Earlysville, Virginia, couple. Serving beer and wine to 15- and 16-year-olds at a birthday party, even though they took care to make sure the…

Jun 9, 2007 5:56 AM CDT

Celebrity Cuts No Ice with CA Judge, Who Sends Paris Hilton Back to Jail

At a scheduled hearing today about whether Paris Hilton should be sent back to jail to serve a 45-day sentence for repeatedly violating her probation in an alcohol-related traffic case, Judge Michael T. Sauer made no secret of his displeasure with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office. It had released…

Jun 8, 2007 11:37 PM CDT

Smoking Ban End of Plush Cigar Bar Era in Posh London Clubs

It’s the end of an era – in fact, the end of a more than 100-year-old tradition – in posh London clubs where members have been free to smoke Cuban cigars in leather chairs in plush surroundings. Due to new no-smoking legislation, clubs are either going to have to ban…

Jun 8, 2007 8:26 PM CDT

Hard Time for Others, But Not Hilton

There’s one obvious reason why Paris Hilton was released from a California prison, after serving only three days of a 45-day sentence for violating her probation for an alcohol-related driving offense, many believe. Celebrity clout. An undisclosed medical condition reportedly prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff to release the 26-year-old…

Jun 8, 2007 6:37 PM CDT

Onetime Gang Girl Heading to College

Even Dee Johnson doesn’t know exactly why she was able to rise above a chaotic childhood of poverty and neglect and, with the help of family members, counselors and teachers, largely leave behind the Chicago gang lifestyle she had been drawn into and graduate from a suburban high school. But…

Jun 8, 2007 5:44 PM CDT

Bar Drops Ex-Porn Star From Agenda

An ex-porn star scheduled to speak at a bar association meeting has been dropped from the agenda.

The New York State Bar Association’s Family Law Section canceled the talk after receiving complaints, according to the New York Law Journal.

Sydnee Steele retired from the porn industry in 2005 and now bills herself as an author and “sexual empowerment consultant.” She had been scheduled to speak on attorney relationships.

Jun 8, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

Same-sex Couple Splits a $3.5 M Home; New York Judge Applies ‘Divorce’ Rule

A Manhattan judge treated a same-sex couple as if they were married when deciding recently how to divide their $3.5 million home after they split up. Although the two were tenants in common, which ordinarily calls for a 50-50 share in the equity after the partners sell, the judge instead…

Jun 7, 2007 9:46 PM CDT

Law Firms Urge Gay Attys to Come Out

Not so long ago, it would have been a big problem for an attorney in many law firms to show up at a firm event with a same-sex life partner. But the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction. Rather than casting a cold eye on attorneys involved in…

Jun 7, 2007 6:41 PM CDT

Boston Lawyer Assault Case Dropped

Charges reportedly have been dropped against a Boston lawyer who had been accused of groping a museum curator at an art gallery opening, after the alleged victim declined to go forward with the case. Contention continues, however, as lawyers for both sides offered sharply different perspectives of the case, reports…

Jun 7, 2007 2:50 AM CDT

NY Lawyer Lived Happily Ever After (Sort Of), After Acid Attack on Girlfriend

Once a New York trial lawyer, Burton Pugach today is an improbable white-mink-clad movie star. Convicted in an infamous case of putting out a contract to have his girlfriend blinded with lye, after she left him for another man, the 80-year-old has made headlines ever since as the bizarre case…

Jun 7, 2007 12:37 AM CDT