States

Girl, 11, in DUI Case, Clocks 100 in Chase

An 11-year-old Florida girl has been charged with drunken driving after a high-speed chase in Alabama in which she clocked more than 100 mph before sideswiping another vehicle and crashing her family’s car. The girl, whose name wasn’t released because she is a juvenile, also faces charges of speeding, leaving…

Jul 6, 2007 8:45 PM CDT

Armed Attorney Forced Off Murder Case

A Florida attorney who allegedly carried a loaded gun into a Broward County courthouse in his briefcase has been removed as defense counsel in a murder case and charged with carrying a concealed firearm. Stephen Finta, 59, told the judge in the case that he was carrying the .357 Ruger…

Jul 6, 2007 8:15 PM CDT

Musical Chairs in El Paso as Firm Folds

One of the largest law firms in El Paso is dissolving, as roughly a third of its lawyers merge with an Austin, Texas, law firm and other attorneys go elsewhere. Delgado, Acosta, Braden and Jones is breaking up, as partners Alejandro Acosta Jr., Hector Delgado and John Jones, along with…

Jul 6, 2007 6:48 PM CDT

Dry Cleaners Seeks Fees

Owners of a dry cleaners that successfully defended a $54 million lost-pants lawsuit claim the plaintiff was out to destroy their lives and should pay their legal fees. The cleaners seeks nearly $83,000 in fees in a motion filed yesterday. It alleges that plaintiff Roy Pearson submitted “outrageous demands for…

Jul 6, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

Children Kidnap Tot, Mom Foils Plot

Two girls, age 10 and 12, are being held by Enid, Okla., authorities for allegedly breaking into a neighboring home as Sheila Wells slept, kidnapping her 1-year-old son, Brandon, at 5:30 a.m. yesterday and holding him for ransom. The two girls, whose names were not revealed because they are juveniles,…

Jul 6, 2007 5:11 PM CDT

First S.D. Execution in 60 Years Set

An inmate who has asked to die is set to become the first person to be executed in South Dakota in 60 years. Elijah Page, 25, received the death sentence for murdering a robbery victim with two accomplices in March 2000, the Associated Press reports. Prosecutors claimed the two men…

Jul 6, 2007 3:41 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused in Escape Plot

A Georgia lawyer is accused of giving a 14-inch pruning saw blade to a jailed client. The indictment charges William Keenan with furnishing a dangerous weapon to an inmate and conspiracy to commit escape, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. The client, Dareon Varner, was later convicted of armed…

Jul 6, 2007 2:40 PM CDT

Older Partner Gets Trial on Pay

A New York appeals court is permitting a trial on whether a lawyer’s partnership agreement with Winston & Strawn entitled him to be paid the same amount after he reached retirement age. The New York Appellate Division, First Department, ruled that the compensation agreement for rainmaking partner Anthony LoFrisco was…

Jul 6, 2007 12:50 PM CDT

Katrina Hospital Death Charges Dropped

Charges have been dropped against two nurses accused of having helped murder four patients, aged 61 to 90, allegedly given a lethal drug cocktail by a physician during the chaos created by Hurricane Katrina. The unusual case involved second-degree murder charges filed last summer against nurses Lori Budo and Cheri…

Jul 6, 2007 1:59 AM CDT

Sept 11 Lawyer to Run VA Tech Fund

How to spend some $7 million donated to Virginia Tech after a student killed 32 and injured dozens more in an on-campus shooting massacre in April will be determined, at least in part, by a Washington, D.C., lawyer. Kenneth R. Feinberg, who was in charge of disbursing a $7 billion…

Jul 6, 2007 12:32 AM CDT

Disaster Rule Speeds Legal Help

A proposal by the New York State Bar Association would allow out-of-state lawyers to offer free help to disaster victims without getting special court permission. The proposal would allow outside lawyers to offer pro bono help to New York victims after officials declare a state of emergency, Associated Press reports.…

Jul 5, 2007 9:06 PM CDT

Ballard’s New Phoenix Office Growing

When Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll’s plan to merge with a Phoenix powerhouse failed several years ago, the then-325-lawyer Philadelphia firm was not deterred. It waited a year, until a promise not to recruit from then-150-lawyer Fennemore Craig expired, and cherry-picked two of the Phoenix firm’s best-known attorneys. Last summer,…

Jul 5, 2007 8:32 PM CDT

London Firms Earn #1 Billing in World

Record profits for the biggest London law firms reportedly make them the dominant players in the world legal market. Three London firms, headed by Clifford Chance, are at the top of the earnings list, with annual billings close to or exceeding $2 billion. For each, that represents an increase of…

Jul 5, 2007 7:25 PM CDT

Prosecutor Riding in DUI Car Disciplined

After a suburban Chicago prosecutor drank, drove and died May 11 in an auto accident that seriously injured another motorist, the top prosecutor in a neighboring county announced a strict new policy on drinking and driving. Even if they are not charged, Kane County Prosecutor John Barsanti told his staff,…

Jul 5, 2007 5:21 PM CDT

Three Accused of Enslaving Acrobats

Three men have been arrested on charges they enslaved more than 20 members of a Chinese acrobatic team that performed around the country. Police said the accused men confiscated the acrobats’ passports and visas, and paid and fed them little, Associated Press reports. A court-appointed attorney for one of the…

Jul 5, 2007 3:49 PM CDT