States

Would Hearsay Rule Bar Pastor’s Drew Peterson Revelation?

A Chicago-area minister says Drew Peterson’s wife blurted out that her husband killed a former wife, raising questions about whether the hearsay rule would permit such testimony in court. Rev. Neil Schori told Greta Van Susteren of Fox TV that Stacy Peterson said her husband Drew killed third wife Kathleen…

Dec 11, 2007 4:04 PM CST

Michael Flatley Awarded $11M for False Rape Accusation

“Lord of the Dance” star Michael Flatley has been awarded an $11 million default judgment against a woman for falsely accusing him of rape. Flatley’s lawyer, Ricardo Cestero told KNBC.com that a Los Angeles judge awarded the amount in the dancer’s lawsuit against Tyna Marie Robertson, an exotic dancer-turned-real estate…

Dec 11, 2007 3:20 PM CST

Reyes Should Get No More than 21 Months for Backdating, Judge Says

A federal judge has recommended a sentence of 15 to 21 months in prison for former Brocade Communications CEO Gregory Reyes, convicted of fraud for stock options backdating. The recommendation was in an opinion by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that was unsealed last week, Financial Times reports. Federal prosecutors…

Dec 11, 2007 2:00 PM CST

N.J. Lawmakers Nix Death Penalty

New Jersey is on the verge of becoming the first state in the country to repeal the death penalty by a legislative vote. The toughest hurdle, a state senate vote, was cleared yesterday, and both the state house and New Jersey’s governor are expected to approve putting an end to…

Dec 11, 2007 12:47 AM CST

Isiah Thomas Settles Sex-Harass Suit

A settlement in an undisclosed amount was reached today by Madison Square Garden and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas with a former female team executive in a sexual harassment and retaliation case. One apparent impetus for the pact: additional compensatory damages beyond the $11.6 million in punitives previously awarded…

Dec 11, 2007 12:06 AM CST

Chitwood Wins Motley Face-Off; Former Lawyers Spin Off Again

A year-and-a-half after Chitwood Harley Harnes settled claims against four former lawyers who set up a rival securities litigation shop at a new Atlanta office of Motley Rice, the Chitwood firm apparently has prevailed in a head-to-head battle for clients. Motley is closing its Atlanta office, and the four former…

Dec 10, 2007 11:27 PM CST

Prominent Partner Beaten in Street

The chairman of Dilworth Paxson’s labor and employment practice was found at around 8 p.m. Thursday in a southwest Philadelphia street near his Acura, badly beaten. Police think that Gino Benedetti, who has chest and severe head injuries, may have been the victim of a botched robbery, reports the Legal…

Dec 10, 2007 9:56 PM CST

Judge Helped Spouse Shield Assets

Lawyers recommended to a disciplinary panel at a hearing today that a New Hampshire judge be publicly reprimanded for helping her husband shield assets from creditors as he was being disbarred several years ago. Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey says she didn’t realize at the time that she was doing…

Dec 10, 2007 9:37 PM CST

FBI Agents Search Offices of Lawyer for Richard ‘Dickie’ Scruggs

FBI agents this morning searched the office of a lawyer for indicted personal injury lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, who is accused in a federal indictment of conspiring to bribe a judge. Agents executed a search warrant for the office of lawyer Joey Langston of Booneville, Miss., according to the Clarion-Ledger.…

Dec 10, 2007 7:41 PM CST

Did Megan’s Law Website Target Rapist for Murder?

One common argument against publicly listing home addresses and other identifying information for convicted sex criminals is that it might put them in danger. But proving such cause and effect in real-life cases is difficult, to say the least. Now, however, officials in California say they might have the first-ever…

Dec 10, 2007 7:27 PM CST

Judge Talks Himself into Trouble

A routine training session led to another, in-depth program for a Washington state judge censured for his “demeaning, offensive and shocking” behavior at a Los Angeles conference last summer. Judge John Wulle, 57, who sits in Clark County Superior Court, made a number of ill-advised comments at the training program,…

Dec 10, 2007 6:37 PM CST

Pregnant Lawyer May Have Been Kidnapped Due to Dad’s Case

A pregnant Ohio lawyer’s kidnapping and release may have involved a case involving her father, who is a municipal court judge, the lawyer’s husband said. Karyn McConnell Hancock was released unharmed Saturday morning, three days after her abduction near Six Flags Over Georgia, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported. She said she…

Dec 10, 2007 4:47 PM CST

Widow of City Attorney to File Suit Blaming DA for Suicide

The widow of former Denver city attorney Larry Manzanares plans to sue the district attorney who investigated her husband, saying the investigation and a press conference contributed to his suicide. Peggy Montaño has filed a letter of intent to sue District Attorney Scott Storey, the Denver Post reports. Storey filed…

Dec 10, 2007 2:28 PM CST

R.I. Gay Couple Can’t Divorce There, State High Court Rules

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has refused to allow the state’s courts to grant a divorce to a lesbian couple married in Massachusetts. The 3-2 ruling (PDF) released Friday said Rhode Island defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and the legislature would have to change…

Dec 10, 2007 1:49 PM CST

Detainees Ask Court for Probe Into Destroyed CIA Tapes

Lawyers for 11 Yemeni detainees yesterday asked a federal judge to begin a formal inquiry into whether the CIA violated a preservation order when it destroyed two videotapes of interrogations of al-Qaida suspects. The detainees’ motion (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) was filed with U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy of Washington,…

Dec 10, 2007 12:43 PM CST