States

Texas Lawyer Ordered to Repay $35.7 M

A big-name Houston plaintiffs lawyer has been ordered by an arbitration panel to repay $35.7 million in improper legal fees he charged to some 3,000 plaintiffs he represented in breast implant litigation. Including interest and attorney fees to be paid to the plaintiff lawyer who brought the claim, the total…

Jul 19, 2007 10:09 PM CDT

Gang Issues Up as ‘Boston Miracle’ Fades

Back in the 1990s, Sinbad from the X-men, the Mayor from Castlegate, and Butch from Intervale were hailed as critical components of the “Boston Miracle,” an innovative crime-fighting effort featuring former gang members that was credited with an almost unbelievable 80-percent reduction in the city’s homicide rate during the ’90s.…

Jul 19, 2007 8:45 PM CDT

Ex-Madam Can’t Testify in Spector Trial

A number of potential witnesses are eager to testify for the defense in the televised murder trial of music producer Phil Spector. But they may never get their time in the spotlight because of rulings by Los Angeles Judge Larry Paul Fidler. The witnesses want to talk about actress Lana…

Jul 19, 2007 8:09 PM CDT

Lawyers Outfox Fla. Legislature—For Now

Persuaded by a lobbyist that Minouche Noel really needed the $8.5 million she had been awarded by a Florida jury for being paralyzed in a botched surgery, the state legislature this year enacted a rare claims bill agreeing to pay the medical malpractice award. Until then, the vibrant young woman…

Jul 19, 2007 7:21 PM CDT

Va. Tech Panel Urged to Assign Blame

Although the gunman who killed 32 and injured dozens more in an on-campus massacre at Virginia Tech earlier this year committed suicide at the scene, it is still important to assign blame for the shootings, parents told a review panel appointed by the state governor. Several parents said yesterday they…

Jul 19, 2007 6:09 PM CDT

Property Sales to Fund Clergy Deal

The Los Angeles archdiocese will sell stock, borrow money and sell property to help pay a record $660 million settlement with victims of priest sexual abuse. Cardinal Roger Mahony has said there are no plans to sell parish or school properties, the Los Angeles Times reports. Instead the church will…

Jul 19, 2007 5:28 PM CDT

Solo’s Suits ‘Vexatious,’ Judge Says

A Manhattan solo practitioner says an order barring her from filing new lawsuits on her own behalf is part of a judicial conspiracy against her. Eleanor Capogrosso will have to get advance permission if she wants to file any more suits, after filing 16 of them on her own behalf,…

Jul 19, 2007 3:58 PM CDT

Fla. Executions to Resume

A convicted child murderer is scheduled to be the first person put to death in Florida since the state suspended executions over concerns about its lethal injection procedure. Mark Schwab is scheduled for execution on Nov. 15, the New York Times reports. Gov. Charlie Crist signed the death warrant yesterday.…

Jul 19, 2007 2:54 PM CDT

3rd Circuit Nominee a Surprise

One of President Bush’s four recent nominees to federal appeals courts faces an uphill battle because of concerns expressed by two Democratic home-state senators. Bush nominated Shalom Stone to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals without input from New Jersey’s senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, the New Jersey…

Jul 19, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

V&E Matches N.Y. Associate Pay

Vinson & Elkins is the first Texas law firm to announce it will increase pay for new associates to $160,000 a year, matching big firms on the coasts. Associates get raises every year after that, but the amount of the pay hike will be lower after the third year if…

Jul 19, 2007 12:32 PM CDT

‘Too Short’ for Jail Ruling to Be Appealed

There were valid reasons, an appeals court says, for a Nebraska judge’s perhaps-unprecedented decision to sentence a 52-year-old man who is slightly over five feet tall to probation in a child sexual assault case. So the controversial 10-year probation term she gave Richard W. Thompson, saying that he deserves prison…

Jul 19, 2007 12:57 AM CDT

KPMG Lawyers: Unchain Us from Clients!

Representing a high-profile client in a major white-collar case can be both a blessing and a curse for a criminal defense attorney. Such cases can bring in big bucks and offer lots of free publicity. But they can also result in enormous unpaid legal bills. That nightmare scenario is apparently…

Jul 18, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

Voter ID Law Upheld in Michigan

The Michigan Supreme Court today upheld a state law requiring voters to present photo identification. The court split along partisan lines, the Detroit Free Press reports. The five justices in the majority were nominated by Republicans, and the two dissenters were nominated by Democrats. The law permitted voters who did…

Jul 18, 2007 8:36 PM CDT

Diversity Issue Heats Up in Miami Courts

A simmering controversy over a series of insensitive remarks recently made by Miami area judges has heated up further, following the resignation of a Broward County jurist chairing the court’s newly created diversity board. Elijah H. Williams, the first black to be appointed to the Broward County bench in 20…

Jul 18, 2007 8:35 PM CDT

Texas Firms Pay $447 K to Defend Judge

Law firms and attorneys in Texas donated $447,000 to help an embattled state supreme court justice defend his integrity, according to recently revealed expense reports. With the help of these contributions, Justice Nathan Hecht prevailed in his appeal of an ethics citation for allegedly misusing his judicial office to help…

Jul 18, 2007 7:47 PM CDT