Trials & Litigation

Money Mattered in Spector Trial

Money can buy a lot of things, including a top-notch defense that helped produce a deadlocked jury in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector. “Whether you are buying a car, a boat or a defense, the bigger the budget, the better the ride,” Houston jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn…

Sep 27, 2007 11:47 AM CDT

State Backs Down in Jena 6 Case

The prosecution in a controversial case against one of the so-called Jena Six defendants has accepted a Louisiana appellate court ruling that he should be tried as a juvenile. Mychal Bell, who was 16 at the time that he and five other black high school students allegedly attacked a white…

Sep 27, 2007 12:50 AM CDT

Top Med Mag: No Vaccine-Autism Link

Although thousands of cases are being pursued alleging a link between childhood vaccines and autism (see “No Longer Immune” in the July 2006 ABA Journal), it’s doubtful that causation can be proven. In fact, a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes there is no causal…

Sep 26, 2007 10:33 PM CDT

Court: Lawyer Lied in Firm Fight ... But Which One?

A recent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal offers a startling view of the hard-hitting office politics at a venerable Toronto law firm. When attorney Benjamin Moss trudged back to Pinkofskys from a criminal trial on May 14, 2004 and reported to his colleagues that the firm’s client had…

Sep 26, 2007 9:35 PM CDT

Mistrial as Phil Spector Jury Deadlocks

Updated: A mistrial has been declared in the second-degree murder trial of Phil Spector, after the judge polled the jury, who all agreed they were deadlocked. The foreman said the panel was split 10-2, in a live broadcast of the trial. But, at the judge’s request, he did not say…

Sep 26, 2007 8:46 PM CDT

No Ruling on Craig Restroom Plea Issue

After a hearing today over Sen. Larry Craig’s request to withdraw his guilty plea in a Minnesota restroom sex sting case, the judge is not expected to rule until next month. Demonstrators—a few equipped with toilets on which to sit—gathered outside the suburban Minneapolis courthouse as lawyers argued about whether…

Sep 26, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

5th Circuit OKs Super-Long Enron Brief

Ordinarily, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals looks with “great disfavor,” according to its own rules, on long-winded briefs. But the appellate court should make an exception in the unusually complex case of former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s appeal of his conviction in a securities fraud…

Sep 26, 2007 7:29 PM CDT

Chicago Cop Charged in Alleged Gang Plot to Kill Former Cop

A Chicago police officer has been arrested by federal authorities in an alleged plot to murder a former officer expected to testify against him in a police corruption case. Officer Jerome Finnigan was arrested at home this morning and charged with planning to hire a street gang member to murder…

Sep 26, 2007 5:41 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Suit Over R-Word Ban

Updated: A Nebraska federal judge says he doesn’t like a state judge’s ban on the word “rape” in an upcoming trial, but he’s not going to do anything about it. U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln, Neb., dismissed a suit challenging the ban yesterday, the Associated Press reports. Plaintiff…

Sep 26, 2007 5:25 PM CDT

If Getty Returns Art, Italy Drops Suit

As the J. Paul Getty Museum reconfirmed an earlier pledge to return allegedly stolen works of art, the Italian government promised to drop civil claims against a former museum antiquities curator. However, an Italian criminal case continues against Marion True, who is now on trial in Rome on charges that…

Sep 26, 2007 12:37 AM CDT

Sprint’s 30-Day Settlement Total Nears $150 M

With a $57.5 million Kansas class action settlement just announced by Sprint-Nextel Corp., the company’s settlement agreements in three cases during the past month now total nearly $150 million. If approved by the judge in the case, the latest settlement would amount to only a small fraction of the $1.3…

Sep 25, 2007 11:41 PM CDT

Guilty Verdict in Church Leader Trial

Updated: A Utah jury has reached a guilty verdict in the case of a controversial church leader accused of accomplice rape for using his religious influence to pressure a 14-year-old into a marriage she didn’t want. Despite the removal of one juror and the addition of an alternate earlier today,…

Sep 25, 2007 9:47 PM CDT

Nice Job: World’s Richest Representation

Ten years ago, Steven Selsberg left the Houston office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges because he didn’t make partner. Today, his professional future is looking a lot brighter. Although has racked up a number of professional accomplishments in the meantime, including partnerships at two major law firms, one in particular…

Sep 25, 2007 8:51 PM CDT

Judge Makes ‘Bear-Baiting’ Case Against TV Show Producers

A British judge castigated the producers of the nation’s most popular daytime talk show yesterday as he imposed a hefty fine on a participant who reportedly was provoked into a physical attack, in front of a studio audience, on his wife’s lover. The producers of the Jeremy Kyle Show—which, as…

Sep 25, 2007 7:11 PM CDT

Phil Spector Jury Still Deliberating

The jury in the Phil Spector case is still deliberating, more than two weeks after it began considering a second-degree murder charge against the famed music producer. The nine-man, three-woman panel asked for a VCR yesterday, but it isn’t clear why, reports the Associated Press. In an unusual move after…

Sep 25, 2007 6:51 PM CDT