States

Bad Advice a Matter of Degree in Death Penalty Case

The state of Idaho is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to require a death-row inmate to show gross negligence by his lawyer in order to get his conviction overturned because of bad plea bargain advice. The state claims a high standard is needed to prevent courts from relying on “impermissible…

Nov 6, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Eager Job Hoppers May Face Suit for Taking Clients, Co-Workers

Those who switch jobs are increasingly facing lawsuits for trying to poach co-workers or clients before moving to a new employer. And sometimes the plaintiff is a law firm. The suits typically allege breach of fiduciary duty and do not necessarily rely on noncompete agreements, the Wall Street Journal reports…

Nov 6, 2007 3:47 PM CST

Apple Gives New GC $25M in Stock

Apple has granted its new general counsel Daniel Cooperman 133,000 shares of restricted stock valued at about $25 million. Cooperman was general counsel of Oracle before moving to Apple on Sept. 28. To lure Cooperman to Apple, the company not only offered him the sweet stock deal, it also recruited…

Nov 6, 2007 3:16 PM CST

System Has No Place for Violent, Aging Mental Patient

A Chicago-area man whose mental illness and dementia have made him more violent as he ages can’t get the help he needs without a conviction. But charges were never filed in connection with past violent incidents because he was deemed incompetent. That is the dilemma facing family members seeking help…

Nov 6, 2007 3:02 PM CST

Spurned Dad Files Suit for Alienation of Affection

A Canadian millionaire who contends the mother of his children turned his children against him has sued her for alienation of affection. Moses Segal contends in the New Jersey lawsuit that his former common-law wife, Cynthia Lynch, cut off all contact between him and his two children, the New Jersey…

Nov 6, 2007 2:22 PM CST

Joseph Jamail Denies Feud With John O’Quinn

Houston plaintiffs lawyer Joseph Jamail says any talk of a feud between him and the lawyer he sued on behalf of breast implant plaintiffs is a lot of rubbish. Jamail and Houston litigator Ronald Krist sued Houston lawyer John O’Quinn on behalf of former breast implant clients who claim he…

Nov 6, 2007 12:46 PM CST

Reno Courthouse Shooting Suspect Pleads Guilty

A Nevada man accused of killing his wife and shooting a Reno judge handling their divorce has entered a guilty plea in the middle of his trial. Darren Mack pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree murder for killing his wife, Charla, before the defense was scheduled to begin presenting its case,…

Nov 6, 2007 11:26 AM CST

CA Jury Gives 6 Banana Workers $3.3M

A California jury has awarded $3.3 million to six Central American laborers who say they suffered health problems as a result of a pesticide used by the American company in the 1970s on the banana plantation on which they worked. However, another six laborers among the plaintiffs in the groundbreaking…

Nov 6, 2007 12:30 AM CST

Nice Work: DOJ Lawyer’s Alleged Beach Gig

As a hearing loomed in a voting rights case against the city of Boston last summer, Susana Lorenzo-Giguere, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, came up from Washington, D.C., to oversee it personally. But then she allegedly spent much of the summer with her family on the beach…

Nov 5, 2007 11:51 PM CST

BigLaw Relaxing Bank Suit Standards?

As the subprime mortgage meltdown and a resulting global credit crunch have created a surge of litigation against lenders, some of the world’s major law firms are caught in a quandary. Traditionally, they have represented banks. But now that litigating against banks is a hot practice area, many are relaxing,…

Nov 5, 2007 11:18 PM CST

Court Notes Snipers’ ‘Reign of Terror,’ Calls Appeal Ironic

A Maryland appeals court has upheld the conviction of John Allen Muhammad, convicted of six sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area, in a biting opinion that said his claims of injustice were ironic. The Court of Special Appeals referred twice to the “reign of terror” perpetrated by Muhammad and…

Nov 5, 2007 7:52 PM CST

Plaintiffs Win Right to Lawyers’ Championship Horse

More than 400 plaintiffs who claimed their lawyers defrauded them out of money due in a pharmaceutical settlement have been awarded a 20 percent stake in champion race horse Curlin. Judge William Wehr of Kentucky awarded the plaintiffs a right to 20 percent of the proceeds from the future sale…

Nov 5, 2007 5:03 PM CST

Big Salander Bankruptcy: $50M, Art at Stake

Besieged by creditor claims for $50 million, Lawrence Salander, a well-known art dealer, and his wife have filed for personal bankruptcy. Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities in Manhattan searched an art gallery in which he has an ownership interest and the couple’s Upper East Side home last week, in a criminal…

Nov 5, 2007 4:50 PM CST

Prosecutor Seeks to Oust Judge in Courthouse Shooting Case

The Atlanta prosecutor who is pursuing charges against alleged courthouse gunman Brian Nichols is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to remove the judge who is presiding in the case. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. argues that Judge Hilton Fuller Jr. exceeded his authority in regard to lawyer funding…

Nov 5, 2007 4:14 PM CST

Lawyer’s Trial Boycott Strategy Worked

Texas’ highest criminal appeals court has handed a lawyer who boycotted his client’s trial the ruling he desired. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in a 5-4 decision Oct. 17 that lawyer Christopher Hoover provided ineffective assistance of counsel, Texas Lawyer reports. The court ordered a new trial for…

Nov 5, 2007 3:45 PM CST