Trials & Litigation

Judge: No Release from KPMG Defense

Lawyers for a defendant in the KPMG tax shelter fraud case signed on and can’t now sign off until the case reaches a final conclusion, a federal court judge says. Although he was initially paid $400,000 by the Big Four accountant, attorney Robert Fink is concerned the ongoing representation of…

Jul 24, 2007 11:08 PM CDT

Controversial MA Judge Struggling on TV

After Maria Lopez’s first courtroom gig came to an end, a second judicial career beckoned to the controversial former Massachusetts jurist. She was invited to host her own television show as “Judge Maria,” a role in which she is touted for telling it like it is. Now, however, the 53-year-old…

Jul 24, 2007 8:59 PM CDT

$21 M for Wrongful Birth Needs Fla. OK

A Florida couple has won a $21 million jury award over a misdiagnosis of their first child’s rare genetic defect that led them, they say, to have another child two years ago with the same debilitating disease. But Daniel and Amara Estrada won’t be able to collect the award unless…

Jul 24, 2007 8:30 PM CDT

Woman Sues Fidel Castro in Dad’s Death

It isn’t every day that a U.S. court has to figure out how to serve a complaint on Fidel Castro–not to mention his brother, Raul, the Republic of Cuba and the Cuban army. So Justice Nancy Mills, who sits in Waldo County Superior Court in Maine, took a little time…

Jul 24, 2007 7:47 PM CDT

No Murder Charges for Katrina Doctor

A grand jury in New Orleans has refused to indict a doctor accused of murdering four hospitalized patients by having them injected with a lethal drug cocktail in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, a prosecutor said after the announcement of the grand jury’s findings that investigators in her office…

Jul 24, 2007 6:56 PM CDT

Will U.S. Class Actions Invade Europe?

American lawyers and European politicians have discovered they have a common interest in opening the door to class action litigation. Such mass tort suits require changes in the law, to permit plaintiffs with similar claims to band together. But some politicians are interested in enacting legislation to allow European class…

Jul 24, 2007 6:30 PM CDT

Fla. Judge: No Execution; It’s Too Cruel

A Florida judge has refused to impose the death penalty on a specific prisoner, following a botched 30-minute execution of another inmate on Dec. 13. Ruling Sunday in Ocala, after an 11-day evidentiary hearing, Circuit Judge Carven D. Angel agreed with the defense, reports the Associated Press. It would be…

Jul 24, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

Code Words Disputed at Padilla Trial

A defense expert at Jose Padilla’s terrorism trial testified yesterday that government translators were wrong about purported terrorist code words. The government contended “tourism” meant jihad, “eggplants” referred to rocket-propelled grenades, and “football” meant violence. Translator Kamal Yunis disagreed, the Associated Press reports. He said “tourism” could refer to a…

Jul 24, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

Same-Sex Registry Doesn’t End Alimony

Even under California’s current domestic partnership law, same-sex couples don’t get all the same benefits as married opposite-sex couples. So they also don’t get all the same detriments, an Orange County judge has decided. Thus, the fact that Ron Garber’s ex-wife has registered as a domestic partner of another woman…

Jul 23, 2007 11:16 PM CDT

Downward Spiral for Minn. Attorney

Only a few years ago, Robert Weisberg seemingly was a successful Minneapolis personal lawyer and businessman. Now, the 45-year-old has a newly shuttered newsstand chain business and an empty law office, as of December, when other attorneys walked out. Plus, he is defending not only an attorney discipline complaint that…

Jul 23, 2007 7:30 PM CDT

Charity on Trial for Alleged Ties to Hamas

Opening statements are set to begin this week in the long-awaited and controversial trial of what once was the nation’s largest Islamic charity. Since it was shut down six years ago, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development stands accused of supplying resources the terrorist group Hamas. Charity officials,…

Jul 23, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

Mayer Brown Sued for $17 M

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is fighting a $17 million suit by a trustee for a bankrupt company. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall of Chicago refused to dismiss the suit last month, the New York Law Journal reports. The suit claims the Chicago-based firm failed to defend health care management…

Jul 23, 2007 12:43 PM CDT

NY Court Bars Broadcast of Teen’s Name

At least for now, a New York appellate court has foiled an attempt to publish the name of a then-teenage girl who was allegedly sexually abused by an actor backstage after a Broadway show, to solicit information about others she might have accused in the past. A state appeals court…

Jul 20, 2007 11:04 PM CDT

Motion to Bar Bush Mention Denied

A federal judge in Philadelphia has turned down an unusual request to bar mention of the president’s name and the Iraq war during a trial scheduled to begin on Monday. Harold Lischner, an 82-year-old physician, is suing Pennsylvania’s Upper Darby Township for violating his Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him…

Jul 20, 2007 1:08 PM CDT

Valerie Plame Suit Dismissed

A federal judge has dismissed on jurisdictional grounds the privacy and constitutional claims for damages brought by former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband against senior Bush administration officials. Because they have not exhausted their administrative remedies under the Federal Tort Claims Act, there is no subject-matter jurisdiction…

Jul 19, 2007 10:39 PM CDT