Texas

Texas State Bar Releases 63,000 Lawyer E-Mail Addresses to Law Student

The State Bar of Texas is feeling some heat after officials released the public e-mail addresses of nearly 63,000 lawyers to a law student. Marni von Wilpert, a student at Fordham University School of Law in New York City, requested the e-mail addresses while a summer law clerk at the…

Aug 20, 2010 5:58 PM CDT

Immigration Lawyer Is a Hero in ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ Movie to Open Friday

Taken from his family in China at age 11 to be trained as a ballet dancer, Li Cunxin worked hard and became a star. In the 1980s, having traveled to Texas, as part of a cultural exchange program, he fell in love and decided to stay in the United States.…

Aug 19, 2010 11:29 PM CDT

City’s Graffiti Suit Seeks to Force Parent to Pay for Damage Done by Son

In a lawsuit that may be the first of its kind in Texas, a town is suing to try to force the parent of a teenager to pay for damage done by his son’s graffiti. The suit by the city of Corpus Christi seeks to obtain $7,000, plus attorney’s fees…

Aug 19, 2010 11:09 PM CDT

Paralegal Rejects 40-Year Plea Deal in Alleged $1M Law Firm Theft

A paralegal and her husband have been indicted on charges of embezzling more than $1 million from the Texas law firm where she also served as office manager. Rosanne Stogner was accused of making out law firm checks to herself, her husband Michael, his fence company and even her daughter’s…

Aug 17, 2010 2:34 PM CDT

‘Massive Amorphous Blob’ of Evidence Slows Case Against Alleged Madoff Cohorts

What one defense lawyer described as a “massive amorphous blob” of evidence seized from Bernard Madoff is slowing down a criminal prosecution of three of the convicted Ponzi schemer’s alleged cohorts. But prosecutors told a federal judge in Manhattan today that they have a database of documents and would be…

Aug 16, 2010 8:00 PM CDT

Emergency Relief Denied for Judge Who Closed Courthouse to Late Execution Appeal

The Texas Supreme Court today refused to intervene and overturn a reprimand issued against Judge Sharon Keller for refusing to accept a late-hours appeal before an inmate’s execution. The court denied Keller’s petition for mandamus seeking a unilateral reversal of the reprimand, according to the Texas Tribune, the Austin American-Statesman…

Aug 16, 2010 4:33 PM CDT

Four Texas Lawyers Sue TV Station for Defendant List that Included Their Names

A Lubbock television station apologized when a list of 25 criminal defendants published online included their lawyers’ names, possibly leaving the impression that the lawyers had also been charged. That’s not good enough for four lawyers who have sued TV station KCBD-TV, its general manager and its Web provider, Texas…

Aug 11, 2010 6:20 PM CDT

State Lawyer’s Job Available After His Employer Tips Ended Up in Article

A lawyer who oversaw appeals of decisions involving employment benefits has been reassigned after his tips to employers ended up in a newspaper article. Jonathan Babiak, deputy director of appellate services for the Texas Workforce Commission, advised employers at a June 25 conference that employers should give employees the option…

Aug 11, 2010 3:22 PM CDT

Convicted Ex-Federal Judge Complains He’s Being Treated Like Sex Offender, Seeks New Sentence

A former federal judge in Texas who admitted to nonconsensual sexual contact with court employees, although he pleaded guilty last year only to a related federal obstruction of justice charge, is now challenging prison conditions and seeking a new sentence. Samuel Kent says he is being treated like a sex…

Aug 3, 2010 8:34 PM CDT

Innocent ‘Rapist’ Exonerated After 27 Years, Too Late to Pursue New Suspects ID’d By DNA

For the second time in a week, Texas prosecutors are calling for the release of a convicted rapist exonerated by DNA evidence after serving a lengthy prison term. After serving 27 years, Michael Anthony Green has put in more time than any other exonerated inmate convicted of rape, reports the…

Jul 28, 2010 9:54 PM CDT

Trial Set in Land-Swindle Case Involving Lawyers as Defendants, Judge as Alleged Conspirator

A trial is set for December in a Texas land-swindle case that includes two lawyers among the defendants and accuses a local judge of helping them fleece owners of millions in property and mineral rights. Attorneys Brian Russ, Jr. and James McCullough are among 18 defendants originally named in the…

Jul 22, 2010 6:03 PM CDT

Ex-AG Gonzales Subleases Office Space at Texas Law Firm

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales teaches a political science class at Texas Tech University and is apparently still working on a book about his years in the nation’s capital. He also makes money giving speeches around the country. But the new law firm address he recently listed with the…

Jul 19, 2010 5:05 PM CDT

A ‘Disappointed & Shocked’ Top Judge Is Reprimanded for Refusing Execution-Eve Appeal

The top criminal appeals court judge in Texas was reprimanded today for refusing to accept a late appeal hours before an inmate was executed and hence failing in her duty to maintain open access to the courts. The Commission on Judicial Conduct found that Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of the…

Jul 17, 2010 3:14 AM CDT

Battered By Months in Jail, Onetime Billionaire Stanford Says His Defense Is Suffering

Blind in one eye after a jail fight, suffering from other ailments and taking anti-depressants, onetime billionaire R. Allen Stanford is finding it tough to defend the criminal case he is facing over an alleged $7 billion fraud from his cell at the federal detention center in Houston. Denied bond…

Jul 16, 2010 5:26 PM CDT

Law Prof’s Article Not Just a ‘Pebble’ as UT Drops Klansman’s Name from Dorm

The University of Texas will remove the name of a dead law professor from one of its dorms because he was once a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The university’s governing board voted today to change the name of Simkins Residence Hall, according to the Houston Chronicle and the…

Jul 15, 2010 3:14 PM CDT