States

Lawyer ‘Totally Taken Aback’ by Missing Money

A former assistant for a Virginia lawyer faces federal accusations that she embezzled thousands of dollars from an estate he was handling. Shelia Mae Boone is accused of forging checks for more than $270,000 from estate funds, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She is charged with two counts of bank…

Sep 21, 2007 11:38 AM CDT

Bias Suit Claims Cozen Promotes ‘Compliant’ Women

A former junior female partner at Cozen O’Connor has filed a sex discrimination suit against the firm that claims three partners there “prefer and promote women who fit traditional female stereotypes.” Patricia Biswanger alleges Cozen fired her for using firm resources for political activities at the same time it permitted…

Sep 21, 2007 11:14 AM CDT

Poof! ‘God’ Answers Suit, Asserts Lack of Jurisdiction

A response to a legislator’s lawsuit from “God” asserts the court lacks jurisdiction to hear a Nebraska legislator’s lawsuit against him. John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha, told the Associated Press the response was one of two filed on God’s behalf. State Sen. Ernie Chambers…

Sep 21, 2007 10:48 AM CDT

1000s Protest in Jena (and Elsewhere)

In a protest largely launched by bloggers that some are calling the dawn of a new 21st century civil rights movement, more than 15,000 people from around the country reportedly marched on a tiny town in Louisiana today. Their goal: to protest what many see as an unfair justice system…

Sep 21, 2007 3:58 AM CDT

Indicted Milberg Founder Vows to Fight

Updated: Indicted today after years of investigation, the 72-year-old co-founder of what was once unquestionably the nation’s most prominent plaintiffs securities firm is vowing to fight the federal case that has already felled three former rainmakers at Milberg Weiss and put the future of the firm at risk. Melvyn Weiss…

Sep 21, 2007 2:08 AM CDT

Simpson Sidelight: Offshore Accounts??!!

A lawyer for the family of a man O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering more than a decade ago was electrified by a minor detail in the current armed robbery case against the former football superstar. In a tape reportedly made shortly after the Las Vegas casino hotel room incident…

Sep 21, 2007 1:09 AM CDT

Chancellor: I Bungled Chemerinsky Hire

The man responsible for the on-again, off-again hiring of a prominent constitutional scholar to serve as dean of a new law school being created at the University of California at Irvine admits his handling of the matter left much to be desired. “This is certainly something that I bungled, and…

Sep 21, 2007 12:14 AM CDT

US: Milberg Weiss Firm Was ‘Racketeering Enterprise’

Updated: In a stunning series of body blows today in an ongoing battle between the government and one of the country’s most powerful plaintiff firms, federal prosecutors in California announced enhanced charges against the firm itself, the indictment of its co-founding partner and the latest plea deal with a former…

Sep 20, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Time Served, Preacher’s Widow Gets Supervised Visitation

Although her request for custody was not granted, the Tennessee preacher’s widow who served less than a year in prison for killing her husband may have supervised visitation with her three daughters, a judge has ruled. Mary Winkler may visit the children on a schedule to be worked out by…

Sep 20, 2007 7:46 PM CDT

Fundraiser Accused of $60 M Ponzi Scheme

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu is accused in a criminal complaint unsealed today of defrauding investors out of more than $60 million and breaking campaign finance laws. Among those who allegedly lost money are New York investors who thought they were investing in a clothing business, the Washington Post reports. They…

Sep 20, 2007 6:59 PM CDT

Pain-Patient Pardon Ends 25-Year Term

The wife of a disabled Florida man serving a 25-year sentence for trafficking in drugs–the medication he needs to suppress his pain–was stunned yesterday when the state pardoned him at a scheduled hearing on his request for a sentence commutation. Richard Paey, 48, who suffers from chronic fiery pain in…

Sep 20, 2007 6:43 PM CDT

Prosecutor Charged in Sex Sting Tries Suicide

A federal prosecutor arrested in a child sex sting tried to hang himself in jail early today. John David Roy Atchison was accused of flying to the Detroit area to have sex with a 5-year-old girl. His suicide attempt comes one day after he assured a judge he would not…

Sep 20, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

CA Lawyer Accused in Investment Scam

A California lawyer has been indicted on charges that he participated in an investment scam that netted more than $1 million from his clients and other victims. Lawyer Gerald M. Shaw of Newport Beach and Gregory De Lavalette of Rancho Santa Fe were indicted yesterday, the Daily Pilot reports. The…

Sep 20, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

Judge Halts TN Lethal Injection

A federal judge has halted an upcoming execution in Tennessee, ruling that the state’s lethal injection procedure presents “a substantial risk of unnecessary pain.” Judge Aleta A. Trauger of Nashville said the three-drug procedure does not ensure that inmates are unconscious when they are executed, the New York Times reports.…

Sep 20, 2007 4:06 PM CDT

Spector Judge Does About-Face

The judge in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector has agreed to revoke a jury instruction requiring prosecutors to prove the record producer held the gun that fired while in actress Lana Clarkson’s mouth. Deadlocked jurors had told Judge Larry Paul Fidler that they found the instruction confusing,…

Sep 20, 2007 2:34 PM CDT