States

Jury finds real estate agents conspired to keep commissions high, awards $1.78B

Federal jurors in Kansas City, Missouri, awarded $1.78 billion in damages Tuesday to home sellers who alleged that the National Association of Realtors and residential brokerages conspired to inflate commissions paid to brokers representing buyers.

Nov 1, 2023 12:50 PM CDT

‘Bump’ operation led to phone calls, restaurant meeting, jurors told in trial for murder of law prof Markel

Jurors in the murder trial of dentist Charlie Adelson heard Tuesday that he was the first person his mother called after an undercover FBI agent posing as a blackmailer approached her in a “bump" operation.

Nov 1, 2023 11:14 AM CDT

9th Circuit allows challenge to law banning abortions based on genetic abnormality

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that two reproductive health doctors have standing to challenge an abortion law that bans abortions conducted solely because of a genetic abnormality of a fetus.

Nov 1, 2023 8:52 AM CDT

Law firm of bankruptcy judge’s girlfriend did not make standard disclosure in at least 27 cases, report says

An analysis by Reuters has concluded that Texas bankruptcy law firm Jackson Walker failed to disclose whether it had checked for connections between its lawyers and judges in at least 27 cases.

Oct 31, 2023 3:40 PM CDT

Judges ‘do not do double duty as sheriffs,’ 4th Circuit says in denying judicial immunity for home search

A West Virginia judge who led a warrantless search of a divorce litigant’s home is not entitled to judicial immunity because she engaged in a nonjudicial act, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Oct 31, 2023 1:29 PM CDT

May death row inmate reopen habeas case if lawyer abandons him? ABA urges SCOTUS to decide

The ABA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of a death row inmate whose appointed habeas lawyer "functionally" abandoned him.

Oct 31, 2023 11:28 AM CDT

Former partner’s lawsuit claims are ‘legally and factually deficient,’ Polsinelli says

Polsinelli asserts that a former partner didn’t make allegations of sexual harassment until after the law firm decided to fire her for “lackluster performance.”

Oct 30, 2023 2:03 PM CDT

Slain law prof’s former brother-in-law was murder mastermind, alleged go-between testifies

The alleged go-between in the murder of Florida law professor Dan Markel testified Monday that Markel’s former brother-in-law was the mastermind of the murder plot.

Oct 30, 2023 12:47 PM CDT

Evidentiary hearing begins in suit to block Trump from Colorado ballot under 14th Amendment

A weeklong evidentiary hearing begins Monday in Denver to determine whether former President Donald Trump should be banned from the ballot in Colorado for engaging in insurrection.

Oct 30, 2023 10:42 AM CDT

Defense blames law prof’s murder on extortion plot; lawyer ex-wife denies family involvement

Lawyer Wendi Adelson, the ex-wife of murdered law professor Dan Markel, testified Thursday in her brother’s trial that it’s “completely untrue” that her family was responsible for the slaying.

Oct 27, 2023 1:45 PM CDT

Suspect in fatal shooting of judge found dead 1 mile from abandoned vehicle

Updated: A divorce litigant named as the suspect in the fatal shooting of a Maryland judge was found dead in a wooded area Thursday.

Oct 26, 2023 2:05 PM CDT

Was Ted Nugent country singer? 4th Circuit judges clueless

Two federal appeals judges confessed during oral arguments Tuesday that they weren’t familiar with a rock musician known for the 1977 song “Cat Scratch Fever.”

Oct 26, 2023 1:29 PM CDT

Lawyer accused of submitting fake news article isn’t sure whether judge signed $268K sanction order

A Seattle lawyer is suggesting that a federal judge didn’t sign an order requiring him to pay more than $268,000 as a sanction for trying to file a fake “Saudi Sun” news article with a federal appeals court.

Oct 26, 2023 11:00 AM CDT

Finding Trump’s explanation ‘not credible,’ judge fines him $10K for second gag order violation

The judge presiding in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial fined him $10,000 on Wednesday for a second violation of a gag order banning remarks about court staff members.

Oct 25, 2023 3:37 PM CDT

Lawyer’s antisemitic rant leads to ouster from bar post and government job

An Illinois government lawyer is out of a job after she allegedly called an Instagram user a “Zionist pig” and wrote that “Hitler should have eradicated all of you.”

Oct 25, 2023 2:41 PM CDT