Verdicts & Settlements

Widow, son and daughter of courthouse shooter get life terms in cyberstalking case

The widow, son and daughter of a man who fatally shot two women at a Delaware courthouse in 2013 have been sentenced to life terms in a first-of-its-kind federal cyberstalking case. Lenore Matusiewicz, David Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez were convicted by a Wilmington jury last year of cyberstalking causing death.…

Feb 19, 2016 10:15 AM CST

Gun comment backfires on court attendee, who is both held in contempt and criminally charged

Unhappy over the denial of his motion in a North Carolina child-support court, 51-year-old James Michael Robinette allegedly made a comment that made the situation considerably worse. “I guess I’ll just have to go get my gun,” he said, according to a news release by the Lincoln County sheriff’s department.…

Feb 18, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Bicyclist fought the law and the law didn’t win: Judge nixes $200 ticket for riding in traffic lane

A dashcam video helped persuade a Livingston County judge to void a $200 ticket issued by a Michigan state police officer last year to a bicyclist accused of riding in the traffic lane. In fact, it isn’t illegal to ride a bicycle on the side of the road, slightly within…

Feb 18, 2016 4:35 PM CST

Defective door lock helps man who mistook courthouse for hotel avoid prosecution

An Oklahoma Sooners fan who made an after-hours visit to the McLennan County Courthouse in Texas last year—mistakenly believing the facility to be the Waco Hilton—and fell asleep in a third-floor courtroom has been accepted into a pretrial intervention program. Harold Anthony Schroeder “is an Oklahoma fan and came to…

Feb 17, 2016 4:20 PM CST

Drunken driver gets enhanced sentence over her live-stream selfie video

A self-admitted drunken driver who made headlines by live-streaming video of herself behind the wheel after bar-hopping in Lakeland, Florida, last year has avoided jail time. But because of her video stream on Periscope Whitney Beall, 24, got an enhanced sentence last week after pleading no contest to driving under…

Feb 17, 2016 10:10 AM CST

Recent law grad charged with Dewey leaders will be dropped from case

A recent law graduate of Georgetown University who was criminally charged in 2014 along with three former leaders of the now-shuttered Dewey & LeBoeuf law firm has won a reprieve. Under a deferred prosecution agreement, no case will be pursued against Zachary Warren so long as he performs 350 hours…

Feb 16, 2016 4:10 PM CST

Trial judge got it right by appointing new counsel despite defendant’s objection, top NY court says

Reversing an intermediate appeals court that had granted a defendant a new trial because his lawyer was removed against his wishes, New York’s top court on Thursday unanimously ruled that a trial judge acted correctly by insisting that Lawrence Watson have new counsel. Noting that conflicts can be difficult to…

Feb 12, 2016 1:40 PM CST

Pepper Hamilton and project lawyer resolve ADA suit over sleep disorder

A project lawyer and Pepper Hamilton have resolved a suit contending the law firm violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. The lawyer, Andrew Fischer, had claimed that the law firm failed to accommodate a sleep disorder which made it difficult to arrive at work before 2 p.m. On Feb. 5,…

Feb 12, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Former Bryan Cave lawyer takes plea, admits voicemail death threat to partner

Federally charged in 2013 with transmitting a threat via interstate commerce, a former Bryan Cave lawyer pleaded guilty on Wednesday and admitted to leaving a death threat on a partner’s voicemail. Ryan Walsh, now 32, worked in the firm’s New York office for about six months before he was laid…

Feb 11, 2016 1:40 PM CST

Despite conflict, Covington can represent Minnesota in major enviro suit against 3M, judge rules

A five-year legal battle over which law firm will represent the state of Minnesota in a major environmental case against 3M Co. has put the parties back where they were when the case began in 2010. Covington & Burling will continue to represent Minnesota, despite a conflict concerning the law…

Feb 9, 2016 2:45 PM CST

Ex-BigLaw partner is convicted of insider trading; feds say he misused deal info overheard at firm

After four days of trial and less than four hours of deliberation, a former real estate partner of Fox Rothschild was convicted of insider trading Friday by a federal jury in Philadelphia. Herbert Sudfeld Jr. was also convicted of making false statements to the FBI, reports the Legal Intelligencer (sub.…

Feb 8, 2016 2:20 PM CST

Doctor gets 30 years to life in landmark prosecution over patient OD deaths

A former California physician was sentenced Friday to 30 years to life in a landmark Los Angeles drug prosecution. Dr. Hsiu-Ying “Lisa” Tseng, 46, gave up her license to practice medicine in 2012, after she was charged in three patient overdose deaths. Prosecutors say her second-degree murder case is the…

Feb 5, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Chicago plans $3.1M settlement in DOJ suit over US residency rule for foreign-born police applicants

A federal civil rights lawsuit filed Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice against the city of Chicago over a residency rule for foreign-born police job applicants reportedly will soon be settled for $3.1 million. Although the city council has not formally voted to approve the pact, a court filing…

Feb 5, 2016 11:45 AM CST

9th Circuit OKs civil rights suit by man mistakenly jailed on warrant for another man

A federal appeals court has given a green light to a civil rights suit by a man who spent several days in a Los Angeles jail after being mistakenly booked under a warrant for another man. Mario Garcia shared the same first name, last name and birth date with the…

Feb 4, 2016 10:50 AM CST

Missing boy’s parents want to toss judgment against early suspect; is it prejudicial to new suspect?

The parents of 6-year-old boy who disappeared in 1979 are asking a court to vacate a $2.7 million default judgment against the man they once believed responsible for the child’s death. Stanley Patz filed an affidavit in a Manhattan trial court on Wednesday that says he and his wife no…

Feb 4, 2016 9:38 AM CST