States

$8.4M Pact, Seeming Cover-Up Put Nearly 12 Detroit Lawyers on Hot Seat

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is reportedly only one of nearly a dozen area lawyers whose conduct concerning a police whistle-blower case is mushrooming into a major scandal. A state court jury awarded $6.5 million last September to two police officers who said they were forced out of their jobs because…

Mar 3, 2008 8:21 PM CST

Dechert to 13 Associates: You’re Fired ... No, You’re Not

Updated: After notifying 13 real estate and finance associates last week that they were being laid off, apparently because of a slowing economy, Dechert has reportedly changed its mind. The 13, who were originally told to depart the Philadelphia-based international firm by the close of business tomorrow, as discussed in…

Mar 3, 2008 7:41 PM CST

Alleged De Anza Rape Case Unprosecuted, 1 Year Later

A year after several young women allegedly witnessed the rape of a 17-year-old girl by a De Anza College basketball player at a team party, as other team members watched, there is still no final decision about whether the case will be prosecuted. After disagreement among Santa Clara County officials…

Mar 3, 2008 7:06 PM CST

$1.7M Settlement in Case That Exposed DA’s E-Mail

A $1.7 million settlement was approved today in a federal civil rights case that led to the exposure of a Texas prosecutor’s personal e-mail and his eventual resignation. The Harris County commission unanimously OK’d the settlement with Sean Carlos Ibarra, 37, and Erik Adam Ibarra, 28, as sheriff’s deputies were…

Mar 3, 2008 6:33 PM CST

Lawyer’s Death After Shark Bite Ignites Legal Debate

The death last week of an Austrian attorney who was bitten by a shark has sparked a debate about cageless shark diving. The practice, which involves baiting the waters with chum to attract sharks, is illegal in the United States but permitted in the Bahamas, where Markus Groh was headed…

Mar 3, 2008 4:37 PM CST

Ruling on Lawyer’s Nazi Comparison Ads Expected This Week

Embattled Michigan trial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger will learn this week whether a Detroit federal judge views his television ads as prejudicial pretrial publicity. The ad getting the most scrutiny compares the Bush administration to Nazis, the National Law Journal reports. It says: “They came for the Communists … the unionists…

Mar 3, 2008 2:03 PM CST

Closely Divided Va. Supeme Court Upholds First Felony Spam Conviction

The Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the country’s first felony spam conviction in a 4-3 ruling, holding that the state’s groundbreaking anti-spam law did not violate the First Amendment. The majority rejected free speech arguments by Jeremy Jaynes, regarded as the world’s eighth most prolific spammer before he was sentenced…

Mar 3, 2008 1:29 PM CST

Scruggs Gets Contempt Prosecution Tossed

After repeated press accounts about charges that Richard “Dickie” Scruggs conspired to bribe a judge, the plaintiffs lawyer finally has some good news. A federal judge on Friday tossed a criminal contempt charge against the lawyer for failing to return documents about State Farm’s Hurricane Katrina claims practices, the Associated…

Mar 3, 2008 12:57 PM CST

Documents Produced in Major Art Case Have Created ... More Art

When officials at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art decided to litigate against artist Christoph Büchel over an incomplete commissioned piece, they probably didn’t realize what they were getting into. Although the museum won its federal court battle to display to the public a massive maze representing American culture that…

Mar 1, 2008 12:01 AM CST

Former Miami City Attorney Seeks $300K Severance Pay

After resigning as Miami’s city attorney earlier this month, at the same time that a misdemeanor plea agreement concerning his office expenses was announced, Jorge Fernandez is reportedly still hoping for a significant payday. An employment contract provision says he will be paid six months of severance, regardless of why…

Feb 29, 2008 9:52 PM CST

Jury OKs Texas Lawyer’s Focus on Media Strategy in Murder Case

A Texas lawyer who allegedly focused on media strategy rather than the best interests of the client he was defending in a high-profile murder trial in 2003 has won the sympathy of the jury in an excessive-fees case brought by his now-convicted client. By an 11-1 vote, the jury decided…

Feb 29, 2008 8:39 PM CST

Felon Pleads in YouTube AK-47 Case

A South Florida gang leader who posted a YouTube video of himself holding an AK-47 and challenging authorities to “come get some” has gotten his wish. Police arrested Rudy Villanueva, 31, who is the leader of the Bird Road Boys gang, in January, shortly after the Miami Herald ran a…

Feb 29, 2008 8:08 PM CST

Ex-Judge Reprimanded for Training Conference Remarks

A former Mississippi judge has been reprimanded for disparaging remarks about African-Americans she made at a drug court training conference. The judge, Nicki Boland of Hinds County, was defeated when she ran for re-election last fall. During the Dallas conference held in 2005, Boland became upset with the county drug…

Feb 29, 2008 7:26 PM CST

N.Y. AG’s Lawyer-Pay Probe Expands to 172 School Districts

An ongoing New York state probe of double-dipping by private lawyers representing school districts in Long Island has been expanded to Westchester County. After previously asking all 124 Long Island school districts to provide information about the way they have paid their lawyers, the state attorney general’s office is now…

Feb 29, 2008 6:53 PM CST

Bar Presidents Protest ‘Reckless’ Investigation of Mich. Judge

Twelve former presidents of the Grand Rapids Bar Association are protesting the “reckless” manner in which they say the Judicial Tenure Commission is investigating a Michigan judge. In a letter (PDF) to the commission, they say that District Judge Steven Servaas, who has been on the bench for 35 years,…

Feb 29, 2008 5:08 PM CST