Texas

Law Grad Sues Prominent Defense Lawyer to Hold Him to $1M TV Challenge

A South Texas College of Law graduate has filed a $1 million breach of contract suit against prominent Florida criminal defense lawyer Cheney Mason, claiming the lawyer’s statements—on national TV challenging anyone to show him how his client could have gunned down four people—amounted to a dare. Because Dustin Kolodziej…

Jun 24, 2009 5:59 PM CDT

High Court Narrowly Interprets Voting Rights Act: Keeps Section 5

With only one justice partially dissenting, the U.S. Supreme Court today narrowly interpreted the Voting Rights Act in a way that saves it. The high court held that a utility district in Austin, Texas, can opt out of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a key provision of the…

Jun 22, 2009 3:00 PM CDT

Atty’s DWI Arrest Causes Mistrial; I Was Sober But Tired from Trial Prep, He Says

Exhausted from preparing for a murder trial, a Texas lawyer says, he had an accident en route to court on Tuesday and was charged with driving while intoxicated even though he was sober. A mistrial resulted, and in a court hearing yesterday attorney Bryan Simmons was ordered to reimburse Bowie…

Jun 20, 2009 12:30 AM CDT

Law Firm to Pay $4.1M to Settle Suit Over Ex-Partner’s Alleged Activities

A day after a Texas grand jury indicted one of its former lawyers, Austin-based Clark Thomas & Winters agreed to pay Pedernales Electric Cooperative $4.1 million to settle a suit that alleged improper payments to relatives of former cooperative officials. Earlier this week, Blanco County grand jurors indicted the lawyer,…

Jun 19, 2009 12:41 PM CDT

Texas Judge Is Indicted for Allegedly Keying Neighbor’s Range Rover

A Texas grand jury reportedly indicted a state district judge today on a felony criminal mischief charge for allegedly keying a neighbor’s SUV in a parking dispute. Woody Ray Densen, 69, serves as a visiting judge in Harris County and elsewhere in the Houston area. He was indicted, the Houston…

Jun 18, 2009 8:25 PM CDT

House Judiciary Committee Recommends Judge’s Impeachment

A federal judge who hoped to keep his salary for another year, despite a prison sentence that begins on Monday, encountered another roadblock today. The House Judiciary Committee voted 28-0 to recommend that the full House vote to impeach Judge Sam Kent, the Houston Chronicle reports. The last time the…

Jun 10, 2009 5:58 PM CDT

House Panel Recommends Impeaching Judge Kent for Sexual Misconduct

A House Judiciary Committee task force has taken a first step that could lead to the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Sam Kent based on accusations of sexual misconduct and false statements about his actions. Kent has been sentenced to 33 months in prison following his guilty plea for obstruction…

Jun 9, 2009 5:05 PM CDT

Pro Se Lawyer Wins Order to Depose Ex-President Bush in Property Dispute

Representing himself in a property dispute over the George W. Bush presidential library at Southern Methodist University, a Texas lawyer has won a highly unusual court order requiring a former president of the United States to appear for deposition. Lawyers for ex-president George W. Bush say they expect the order…

Jun 3, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

Nearing Impeachment, Judge Kent Reveals He Will Resign—But Not Now

A federal judge sentenced to as much as 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice will resign, but his last day won’t be until next June 1. U.S. District Court Samuel Kent told President Obama of his decision in a letter, the Houston Chronicle reports. Kent’s…

Jun 2, 2009 5:57 PM CDT

‘Ladies Man’ Sentenced to 45 Years in HIV Assault Case After Berating Accusers

A Texas jury has sentenced a martial arts instructor to 45 years in prison for infecting six women with the HIV virus while having unprotected sex with them. Juror Kim Puckett said the sentence for Philippe Padieu was a compromise because some on the panel wanted him to go to…

Jun 1, 2009 6:39 PM CDT

Debt-Free J.D. Degree from NYU is Funded By Texas Law Firm

Thanks to a Texas law firm, two new graduates of New York University School of Law getting ready to start public interest jobs don’t have to worry about dealing with a crushing educational debt load. The 45-attorney Bickel & Brewer litigation boutique in Dallas paid for Thomas Fritzsche and classmate…

May 29, 2009 8:17 PM CDT

Lawyer Defends Forwarding Admirer’s Revealing Photo to Inmate

The lawyer for a Texas inmate facing a possible death sentence is defending a photo she forwarded to him from a bare-breasted admirer. Vivian King, part of the defense team for convicted killer Robert Fratta, testified Wednesday that the photo was one of dozens of e-mails and letters sent to…

May 29, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

‘Ladies Man’ with HIV Convicted of Assault for Bedding Middle-Aged Women

A Texas martial arts instructor described as a “ladies man” by defense lawyers has been convicted of six counts of aggravated assault for having unprotected sex with women without warning that he was HIV positive. Philippe Padieu of Frisco, 53, faces a sentence of five to 99 years in prison…

May 28, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

Judge Kent’s Apparent Effort to Collect Retirement Pay Meets a Roadblock

The judicial council for the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dealt a blow to Judge Samuel Kent’s apparent efforts to collect retirement pay after his admission of nonconsensual contact with two court employees. The 5th Circuit Judicial Council has recommended impeachment, the Houston Chronicle reports, and…

May 27, 2009 6:56 PM CDT

Texas Blogger Jailed for Contempt in Case Filed By Anna Nicole Smith’s Mom

A Texas real estate agent who blogged about celebrity Anna Nicole Smith’s mother spent the weekend in jail after being cited for contempt by a state-court judge. Lyndal Harrington, 53, of Houston lied when she said a computer she was ordered to produce for forensic examination in a defamation case…

May 27, 2009 4:48 PM CDT