Verdicts & Settlements

Man gets 15- to 19-year prison term in nonfatal shooting on courthouse steps

A man accused of opening fire on two individuals he knew on the steps outside a North Carolina courthouse in 2014 entered an Alford plea Monday to two counts of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to about 15 to 19 years in prison. Brandon Morris, 33, had previously himself…

Jun 7, 2016 4:30 PM CDT

Court awards over $500K in wrongful dismissal case to rogue trader who cost bank nearly $7B

A rogue trader who cost the French bank that employed him some $7 billion has been awarded over $500,000 in a wrongful dismissal case. A French labor court said Société Générale must have known what Jerome Kerviel was doing, so blaming him for the adverse consequences that ensued and firing…

Jun 7, 2016 4:00 PM CDT

Man should not have been shackled at trial, top state court says, but his conviction still stands

There was some good news, some bad news and a little bit more good news from Connecticut’s top court Monday for a man convicted of burglary and assault in a 2009 trial over a violent home invasion and sentenced to 30 years. The good news was that the Connecticut Supreme…

Jun 6, 2016 5:22 PM CDT

Man hurt by SWAT team as he tried to cash check can seek another $3.3M award from Bank of America

When Rodolfo Valladares went to a Florida branch of the Bank of America in 2008, he was just trying to cash a $100 check. But after he was mistaken for a robber by a teller, a SWAT team was called, and Valladares was kicked in the head by responding law…

Jun 3, 2016 3:53 PM CDT

Angry at killer’s lack of remorse, dad sprints across courtroom and makes flying leap, video shows

A wild courtroom scene was captured by a television news camera on Thursday, after the father of one of the victims of convicted Ohio serial killer Michael Madison turned to stare at the defendant during a victim impact statement at a sentencing hearing. “Right now, I guess we’re supposed to,…

Jun 3, 2016 9:10 AM CDT

Fired by feds over critical op-eds, former Gitmo chief prosecutor settles free-speech case for $100K

In a mixed victory over free-speech rights, a former chief prosecutor at the military tribunals at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has agreed to accept a $100,000 settlement from his subsequent employer, because he was fired based on his critical op-eds about Gitmo. However, the settlement…

Jun 2, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Trial lawyer is retiring after 54-year career, in wake of $1.1M jury verdict

After 54 years of law practice, a Virginia trial attorney is getting ready to retire next month. Known for his unfailing courtesy as well as his successful representation of underdog clients, G. Marshall Mundy is about to celebrate his 82nd birthday. And, following one of his most successful years ever…

Jun 2, 2016 12:25 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: These two decisions highlight how Scalia’s absence has affected the court

As the U.S. Supreme Court enters the last month of its term, the impact of having only eight justices already is clear. Some of the most high-profile cases of the year are not being decided, or perhaps even worse, are being resolved on narrow grounds that create more confusion than…

Jun 2, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer at first avoided prison in $700K client thefts, but gets time for not paying restitution

Once a top commercial litigator in Miami, Guy Bailey avoided prison after he was convicted in 2014 of stealing $700,000 from his clients. Jailing the disbarred attorney—who was then 76 and physically impaired—would have served no useful purpose, the trial judge said at the time, and Bailey’s six-year probation sentence…

Jun 1, 2016 4:10 PM CDT

Lawyer and paralegal convicted of bribery for paying court worker to refer arrestees to them

A New York criminal defense lawyer and his paralegal were convicted of bribery and conspiracy Tuesday, concerning a scheme to pay an employee of the New York Criminal Justice Agency to provide them information about selected defendants in lockup, and to steer those defendants to hire them. Prosecutors said paralegal…

Jun 1, 2016 3:00 PM CDT

Drew Peterson guilty of seeking contract hit on prosecutor in murder case

Already serving a 38-year prison term after his 2012 conviction for the murder of his third wife, Drew Peterson now faces an additional sentence that could add decades to his time behind bars. A downstate Illinois jury deliberated for less than an hour on Tuesday before finding the former suburban…

May 31, 2016 3:30 PM CDT

Longtime lawyer pleads guilty in $33.6M real-estate fraud involving bogus court filings

In recent years, a number of real estate lawyers have been embroiled in mortgage fraud cases. But Arizona attorney Jeffrey Greenberg went farther than most, federal prosecutors say: He not only used his legal expertise to help co-conspirators get dubious loans on multi-million dollar Southern California homes but also to…

May 27, 2016 11:45 AM CDT

Top state court vacates murder conviction, based on now-discredited bite-mark evidence and new law

Corrected: It took a state law. But on Thursday the California Supreme Court granted a habeas petition and vacated the 1997 conviction of a man convicted of murdering his wife, in which bite-mark evidence played a significant role. The dentist who testified against William Richards at trial, Dr. Norman Sperber,…

May 27, 2016 10:00 AM CDT

Lawyer banned by fitness club had no standing to complain about retaliation, says appeals court

A New York lawyer who says he was banned from his fitness club after filing a wage-and-hour suit on behalf of a client had no standing to complain of the ouster under state labor law, an appeals court has ruled. Douglas Wigdor had contended that the SoulCycle ban violated anti-retaliation…

May 27, 2016 9:10 AM CDT

Woman who faced 6-year term for court lockup kick that caused no injury gets 1 year after plea deal

Tina Hunt was last convicted of a violent crime—robbery—some 20 years ago. But, because of that conviction, under sentencing laws in Illinois, she faced a minimum six-year prison term for kicking a Cook County sheriff’s deputy, essentially without leaving a mark on him. Now 49, she had been in the…

May 26, 2016 5:18 PM CDT