Texas

As Clock Ticks, Defendant Seeks Evidence of Judge’s Alleged Affair

Having escaped the death penalty at almost the last minute in June, Charles Dean Hood has a good chance of actually meeting his maker on his next scheduled execution date in September. However, lawyers for the convicted murderer, who insists he is innocent, are trying an unusual tactic to attempt…

Aug 19, 2008 10:51 PM CDT

Pastor’s Wife Didn’t Assault Flight Attendant, Houston Jury Decides

Defended by a high-profile Houston trial lawyer in the trial of a Continental Airlines flight attendant’s lawsuit claiming that she had been assaulted by the wife of a well-known televangelist, Victoria Osteen exclaimed “Thank you Jesus!” yesterday as she learned that the jury had believed her side of the story.…

Aug 15, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

Texas Judge is Convicted of Perjury, Gets 30-Day Jail Term in Groping Case

A Texas judge accused of fondling a temporary worker and exposing himself to her has been convicted of perjuring himself in a related investigation. A Kleberg County jury found Willacy County Judge Eliseo Barnhart guilty yesterday of two counts of aggravated perjury, and the judge in the case sentenced the…

Aug 15, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

Outcry By Family Lawyers, Solos Nixes Self-Help Clinic

There may be a trend nationally to establish more self-help centers in courthouses and public spaces to aid those who are choosing the pro se route in court. But not in Texas. A pilot program meant to test the self-help waters in San Antonio is sunk. The center, which in…

Aug 12, 2008 4:57 PM CDT

50 Lawyers Pack Court to Support Solo Whose Office Was Searched

Lawyers in Texas upset about a judge-authorized search of a solo practitioner who is representing an alleged contract killer filed into a Collin County court last week in a show of support for lawyer Keith Gore. In February, with the OK of 401st District Judge Mark Rusch, Texas Rangers and…

Aug 12, 2008 11:59 AM CDT

Death Row Inmate: I’m Guilty and Deserve to be Executed

A death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed this week in Texas says he is guilty and the punishment is fair. Convicted along with other “Texas 7” inmates in the murder of a police officer responding to a robbery at a store in Dallas after they escaped from…

Aug 11, 2008 4:51 PM CDT

Dallas Trial Lawyer Paid John Edwards’ Mistress to Relocate

Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron says he paid John Edwards’ mistress to leave North Carolina so she could stop being hounded by the tabloids. Baron was the chairman of Edwards’ presidential campaign finance committee, but he said he used his own money to finance the move, the Dallas Morning News…

Aug 11, 2008 2:25 PM CDT

Police Probe Elusive Snake’s 2nd Disappearance from Texas Exhibit

All possible leads reportedly are being pursued in a venomous snake’s second disappearance in a month from a Moody Gardens exhibit in Galveston, Texas. The missing snake, a 10-inch bush viper, went missing last month, too, and was subsequently found on a screen next to a light fixture outside the…

Aug 11, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court Permits Execution of Killer in International Law Dispute

A convicted killer whose appeal over treaty obligations sparked several international law rulings has been put to death. Jose Medellin was executed after the U.S. Supreme Court said in a 5-4 opinion that it would not impose a stay, the Houston Chronicle reports. He had been convicted in the strangulation…

Aug 6, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

Supreme Court Debt Collection Ruling Means More Work for Lawyers

Lawyers are preparing for an onslaught of collections lawsuits after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing plaintiffs to sue to recover unpaid debt, even if they don’t have a financial stake in the outcome. Dallas lawyer Craig Jordan told the Houston Chronicle he is already seeing about 10 times the…

Aug 4, 2008 2:39 PM CDT

Texas Court Refuses to Stay Execution Despite World Court Ruling

A Texas court has refused to stop the impending execution of a man whose case has spurred two rulings by the International Court of Justice requiring further review of his case. The defendant, Jose Medellin, was convicted in the rape and strangulation deaths of two girls, ages 14 and 16,…

Aug 4, 2008 11:53 AM CDT

Ex-Staffer’s ‘Sexual Predator’ Suit ‘Ridiculous,’ Says Big PI Lawyer

A former paralegal’s allegation that he is a “sexual predator” is but one of many “untrue” and “ridiculous” claims in her lawsuit against him and two law firms at which he worked, a prominent Houston plaintiffs attorney says. Likewise, Angela Robinson’s claims that he cheated clients on some fees “make…

Aug 1, 2008 10:39 PM CDT

Appeals Court Vacates Ruling for Duane Morris in Malpractice Case

A ruling by a federal appeals court clears the way for a plaintiff to pursue a malpractice suit against Duane Morris in state court. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal judge lacked jurisdiction to grant summary judgment to the law firm, since a…

Aug 1, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Big PI Lawyer a ‘Sexual Predator’ Who Cheated Clients, Ex-Staffer Says

A former paralegal for a well-known Texas plaintiffs lawyer has reportedly dropped a bombshell in the form of a wrongful termination suit. Angela Robinson, who was fired in April, contends in the Harris County lawsuit (PDF) that Richard Laminack demanded sexual favors from employees of both sexes and once encouraged…

Jul 29, 2008 7:44 PM CDT

Motion Seeks Removal of Judge Who Approved Search of Law Office

A Texas judge’s decision to approve a search warrant of a law office is being cited in a motion to force his removal from a homicide case. Judge Mark Rusch approved prosecutors’ request for a warrant to search the office of lawyer Keith Gore, who is defending an accused contract…

Jul 29, 2008 4:31 PM CDT