States

No Celebrity Breaks for OJ Simpson

Updated: As the day progressed, it didn’t improve for former football superstar O.J. Simpson. Simpson, who is being held without bail due to a claimed risk that he will flee the jurisdiction, was charged today with eight felonies, including kidnapping, along with three co-defendants, according to the Associated Press. As…

Sep 18, 2007 11:53 PM CDT

Chicago 7 Trial Sketches Spark Memories

With his feet propped up, 1960s activist Abbie Hoffman reads a book. Blue-jeans-clad cohorts munch snacks and catch up on their sleep. No, this wasn’t some student-lounge gathering but one of Chicago’s most famous trials, at which at least one celebrity poet testified in Sanskrit. Arrested after a violent confrontation…

Sep 18, 2007 10:14 PM CDT

Stanford Class for Laity: Think Like Lawyer

An all-star faculty lineup at Stanford Law School is offering an ambitious and perhaps unprecedented course for nonattorneys. In a single quarter, 12 professors will attempt to teach graduate students in other disciplines to think like a lawyer, reports the Stanford Daily. The whirlwind tour of the legal profession is…

Sep 18, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

PI Lawyer Plea: $1.3 M, Up to 15 Years, in $13 M Fraud Case

A federal judge has approved a plea deal that calls for a once-prominent Miami personal injury lawyer to serve up to 15 years in prison. Louis Robles, who has been disbarred, must also repay former clients $1.3 million of the more than $13 million he defrauded them of in asbestos…

Sep 18, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

Judge’s Noise Punishment Fits Crime

When Judge Paul Sacco deals with violators of the Fort Lupton, Colo., noise ordinance, he fights fire with fire. Those who transgress are required to listen for one hour to music calculated to get on their nerves. A recent punishment session featured tunes by Karen Carpenter, Barry Manilow, Dolly Parton…

Sep 18, 2007 4:03 PM CDT

Judge’s ‘Incessant’ Questions Cited in Reversal

A New York appeals court has cited a judge’s excessive questions as a reason for overturning a felony conviction for drug possession. The court has criticized Judge Arlene Silverman for excessive questions in at least nine other decisions, but this is the first time her interruptions have been used as…

Sep 18, 2007 2:31 PM CDT

Lawmaker Sues God

A Nebraska state senator has sued God in an effort to make a point about frivolous lawsuits. The suit by State Sen. Ernie Chambers says God has called “fearsome floods … horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes” and requests a permanent injunction, the Associated Press reports. Chambers says his suit makes the…

Sep 18, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Possible O.J. Legal Fee is Half a Million

If O.J. Simpson hires a Las Vegas lawyer to defend him on armed robbery charges, he’ll likely have to pony up about $500,000. That’s the going rate in the city, according to one lawyer, the New York Post reports in a story that relies on wire reports. “Hopefully, he has…

Sep 18, 2007 1:51 PM CDT

U.S. Prosecutor Arrested in Child Sex Sting

A federal prosecutor has been arrested on suspicion of flying to metropolitan Detroit with the intention of having sex with a 5-year-old girl. John David Roy Atchison was arrested in an undercover Internet sex sting, the Detroit Free Press reports. Police told the newspaper he flew with a Dora the…

Sep 18, 2007 1:26 PM CDT

Perkins Coie Settles Malpractice Suit

Perkins Coie has agreed to settle a malpractice suit in a deal that will pay a former client $19 million, Legal Times reports. Terms of the settlement are confidential. But the ex-client, Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho, has announced it will receive $19 million in a malpractice settlement. Robert Giles, managing partner…

Sep 18, 2007 1:06 PM CDT

Car Public Nuisance Suit Tossed

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the California attorney general that contends six car companies created a public nuisance by making vehicles that produce greenhouse gases. U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins of San Francisco said the suit would have required him to balance the interest in reducing…

Sep 18, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Lerach to Plead Guilty

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in a criminal case that contends his former law firm, Milberg Weiss, paid kickbacks to lead plaintiffs. Lerach will ask for a sentence of one year and prosecutors will ask for two years, the Recorder reports.…

Sep 18, 2007 10:31 AM CDT

ACLU Backs Craig in Restroom Case

The ACLU has filed a supporting brief in Sen. Larry Craig’s effort to revoke his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge in a restroom sex sting. The conviction violates Craig’s right of free speech under the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague, the American Civil Liberties Union says says…

Sep 18, 2007 12:29 AM CDT

New Firm Resolves ‘Sunday Stomach’

Kevin Broyles once wanted to be a partner at a big-name law firm. But today he counts himself lucky to be able to leave his law office in time to coach Pee Wee football at 6:30 p.m. “It’s a matter of getting your priorities in order,” Broyles, 36, tells the…

Sep 17, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

Fuss Over Firm’s $1.8 M ‘Pro Bono’ Fee

A major Seattle-based law firm’s effort to collect $1.8 million from taxpayers in a pro bono case has ignited a firestorm of controversy. As provided for by statute, Davis Wright Tremaine wants to collect for seven years of work for a prevailing plaintiff in a reverse-race-discrimination case that went to…

Sep 17, 2007 9:35 PM CDT