Verdicts & Settlements

‘Fashion Police’ Put Fla. Teen in Jail Over Saggy Pants

A Florida judge has found a saggy pants ban unconstitutional, as it was applied in the case of one Riviera Beach teen. Because 17-year-old Julius Hart was on probation in a marijuana possession case, his arrest on the saggy pants charge put him in jail overnight, reports the Palm Beach…

Sep 16, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Are More Law Firms in IRS Sights in Ongoing Tax Shelter Probe?

A former Arnold & Porter partner’s guilty plea yesterday in a criminal case over the opinion letters he wrote about Ernst & Young tax shelters concludes the matter as far as he and the firm—which paid an undisclosed fine to avoid prosecution—are concerned. But there may well be more action…

Sep 13, 2008 12:02 AM CDT

Texas Judge Takes Tots from ‘Too Old’ Grandparents, Age 59 and 52

Yolanda and Arnold Del Bosque have taken care of their 1- and 2-year-old grandchildren since they were infants. But a Texas judge said at a hearing last month that the state should take the tots away from them, reports the Houston Chronicle. His order put the children into foster care…

Sep 11, 2008 8:17 PM CDT

Immigration Lawyer Gets 1 Year for Falsifying Documents

A Connecticut lawyer was sentenced yesterday to a year and a day in federal prison for falsifying documents to help a client along the path toward legal residency. Jose del Castillo, 49, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of federal document fraud, reports the Hartford Courant. In addition…

Sep 11, 2008 4:52 PM CDT

Once-Prominent Illinois Lawyer to Plead in Cocaine Case

A former southern Illinois lawyer and Democratic power broker has accepted a plea deal in a cocaine case that calls for a six-year federal prison sentence and $525,000 in financial penalties and restitution. Additionally, U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert indicated that he is likely to charge Thomas Lakin, 68,…

Sep 10, 2008 8:40 PM CDT

2 Colorado Judges Censured for Prosecutorial Work Years Ago

Two former Colorado prosecutors who didn’t turn over potentially exculpatory information to the defense in a first-degree murder case have been censured for their role in sending a man who says he is innocent to prison for almost a decade. That man, Timothy Masters, was released earlier this year, after…

Sep 10, 2008 7:42 PM CDT

‘Borat’ Filmmakers Win Legal Battle

The makers of Borat didn’t deceive a driving instructor and two etiquette teachers into appearing in the goofy comedy, a federal judge in New York has ruled. Because the three signed a release agreeing to appear in a “documentary-style” film and accepted compensation, they have no cause for complaint about…

Sep 10, 2008 6:01 PM CDT

Trial Judge in Fla. Strikes State-Law Ban on ‘Gay Adoption’

A 31-year-old prohibition against adoptions of children by same-sex couples in Florida has been held unconstitutional by a trial judge in Monroe County. The ruling, which allows a 52-year-old openly gay foster parent in Key West to adopt the disabled teenager he has been raising since 2001, held that the…

Sep 10, 2008 4:52 PM CDT

Hood Execution Halted; Defense Alleged Judge-Prosecutor Affair

There’s no word about what was said at depositions yesterday and today of a former prosecutor and a retired judge accused of having had an affair more than a decade ago during a convicted murderer’s trial. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has called a halt to tomorrow’s scheduled…

Sep 9, 2008 10:09 PM CDT

‘Rush’ From $1.4M Law Firm Thefts Followed By Jail Term

A former legal assistant who pleaded guilty earlier this year to fraud and forgery in connection with the misappropriation of $1.4 million from a major Canadian law firm’s accounts was sentenced today to 42 months in prison. A forensic psychiatrist told the court earlier in a pre-sentencing report that Penny…

Sep 9, 2008 6:39 PM CDT

Judge Approves Record $688M Attorney Fees in Enron Securities Case

Securities class action law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins is among the plaintiffs law firms awarded a record $688 million in fees in Enron shareholder litigation. U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon approved the award, the largest ever in a securities fraud case, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.).…

Sep 9, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

Depositions Ordered re Alleged Long-Ago Affair Between Judge & Prosecutor

Charles Dean Hood is scheduled to be executed Wednesday. But first his lawyers will be allowed to depose a former prosecutor and retired judge accused of having an affair during his Texas murder trial, a state court judge decided today. A deposition of former former Collin County District Attorney Tom…

Sep 8, 2008 10:57 PM CDT

How Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Struck a Deal in Detroit

Faced with mounting legal bills and a deluge of unfavorable publicity as he fought a perjury and obstruction of justice case, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick decided he had to try to strike a deal with prosecutors. And to do so, he turned not to Dan Webb, the high-profile Chicago lawyer…

Sep 8, 2008 6:56 PM CDT

‘Harry Potter’ Author Wins Case Over Fan’s Harry Potter Encyclopedia

The author of the best-selling Harry Potter books has won her lawsuit over a fan’s effort to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia. Author J.K. Rowling has persuaded a federal judge in the Southern District of New York that Steven Vander Ark’s Harry Potter Lexicon would cause her irreparable harm, reports…

Sep 8, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

Retired N.Y. Judge Pleads in Federal Prostitution Case

A New York trial court judge who had a reputation for handing out tough sentences is now potentially facing one himself. Ronald Tills, 73, admitted in court yesterday that he had recruited prostitutes for a national men’s fraternal club of which he is a member, the Royal Order of Jesters,…

Sep 5, 2008 8:52 PM CDT