http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-06-19T02:42:43-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/chief_justice_roberts_orders_dc_circuit_to_review_rare_public_complaint_aga/ The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court has put the wheels in motion for a review of a complaint concerning a federal appeals court judge. The June 12 letter from Chief Justice John Roberts does not name the judge or describe the complaint, but says the transfer was made… Appellate Practice, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, U.S. Supreme Court, 5th Circuit Court, States, Louisiana Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:40:29 -0500 44631.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/5th_circuit_parses_runny-egg_rule_issues_sunny-side-up_decision_for_defenda/ A Texas nursing home sizzling over severe penalties imposed after a state inspection found two residents had been served unpasteurized eggs that were inadequately cooked has presumably simmered down after the latest chapter in the runny-egg saga. Reversing an administrative law judge and the U.S. Department of Health and Human… Administrative Law, Appellate Practice, Consumer Law, Elder Law, Government Law, Health Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Tue, 28 May 2013 10:20:53 -0500 44364.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-da_testifies_in_own_defense_at_federal_criminal_trial_says/ A former Texas district attorney is expected to continue testifying Thursday in his federal trial over allegedly operating the DA's office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. However, ex-Cameron County DA Armando R. Villalobos already laid out his defense in testimony Wednesday—prosecutorial discretion, the Valley Morning Star reports. Contradicting… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, White Collar Crime, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Thu, 23 May 2013 12:10:12 -0500 44336.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/inmate_indicted_in_claimed_murder-for-hire_plot_against_federal_judge/ Phillip Monroe Ballard still hasn't been tried on the federal charges he faces for allegedly holding himself out as a lawyer and advising others that they don't have to pay income tax. But on the front burner, it appears, is the murder-solicitation prosecution the Texas inmate is facing for allegedly… Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Court Security, Tax Law, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Wed, 15 May 2013 17:40:00 -0500 44209.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/trial_begins_for_former_da_accused_in_cash-for-court-favors_case/ A convicted former judge, Abel Limas, was the first witness Monday as a trial began for a former Texas district attorney accused in a nine-count federal indictment of running the prosecutor's office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. Limas testified that he once considered himself a father figure, mentor and friend… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Mon, 13 May 2013 14:30:24 -0500 44155.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_drop_ricin_case_against_elvis_impersonator_over_letters_to_obama_lawma/ All charges were dropped Tuesday in a federal case over suspected ricin-laced letters reportedly sent to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator from Mississippi and a state-court judge. As the day began, a preliminary hearing against defendant Paul Kevin Curtis was continuing. Then he was released from custody and the… Criminal Justice, Executive Branch, Judiciary, 5th Circuit Court, States, Mississippi Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:42:34 -0500 43881.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_grants_disbarred_lawyer_scruggs_request_to_return_to_prison/ Disbarred Mississippi lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs is, at his own request, returning to federal prison after losing his latest appeal in a judicial corruption case. Scruggs has been free on $2 million bond since late last year. He asked to resume serving his seven-year sentence after losing an appeal before… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Legal Ethics, 5th Circuit Court Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:47:12 -0500 43814.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_nixes_attorneys_fees_for_lawyer_in_oil_spill_case_says_clients_signat/ Saying that he believes a plaintiff's signature on a legal representation document concerning the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was forged, a federal judge in New Orleans nixed attorney fees for a Texas lawyer. Attorney Brent Coon had sought a 25 percent share of an undisclosed settlement his claimed client,… Energy Law, Oil Spill, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Louisiana Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:25:42 -0500 43614.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/baker_botts_gets_another_5.2m_in_litgation_over_142m_fee_award_in_6b_bankru/ After years of litigation, Baker Botts was awarded another $5.2 million in legal fees on Tuesday for defending its earlier $142 million fee award for representing a copper mining operation in a bankruptcy case. The law firm's representation of Asarco LLC was part of a long-running legal battle that began… Bankruptcy Law, Corporate Law, Energy Law, Law Firms, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:13:32 -0500 43474.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-da_charged_with_running_office_as_racketeering_enterprise_faces_new_accu/ Federally indicted on corruption charges while he was still the sitting district attorney in Cameron County, Texas, a now-former prosecutor faces new allegations in a case in which he is accused of running his office as a racketeering enterprise. The case is allegedly part of a wider cash-for-court-favors and graft… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Evidence, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:15:51 -0500 43442.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lapd_to_get_long-ago_tapes_of_defense_lawyer_talks_with_convicted_charles_m/ After months of litigation and two court rulings, it looks like the Los Angeles Police Department may be on the verge of getting hold of long-ago taped conversations between a now-deceased Texas defense lawyer and a member of the notorious Charles Manson "family" convicted in multiple 1969 murders that terrorized… Bankruptcy Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Media & Communications Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, California, Texas Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:34:07 -0500 43444.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_suicide_may_void_his_racketeering_case_conviction/ Convicted last year in a judicial bribery case and sentenced to three and a half years, a South Texas lawyer may have cleared his conviction by committing suicide Feb. 28 as he was due to report to federal prison. Because Ray R. Marchan, 56, had an appeal pending at the… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:16:49 -0500 43426.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/5th_circuit_nixes_state_regs_banning_casket_sales_by_monks_finds_they_lack_/ In the latest win for the Institute of Justice in a "rational basis" economic regulation case, a federal appeals court has agreed with a trial judge that the state of Louisiana overreached by preventing Benedictine monks from selling simple wooden caskets because they are not funeral directors. Finding that "mere… Constitutional Law, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Louisiana Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:41:23 -0500 43379.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_sides_with_whooping_cranes_in_water_rights_case/ A federal judge has ordered Texas officials to put the needs of an endangered flock of whooping cranes first when determining whether to grant water-use permits to new users. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times provides a link to Monday's 124-page opinion (PDF) by Senior U.S.… Environmental Law, Government Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:00:36 -0500 43236.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_indictment_accuses_jailed_lawyer_of_defrauding_utility_of_32m/ Jailed since November, when federal prosecutors accused him of a role in a claimed conspiracy to launder $600 million in Mexican drug cartel money, a once-prominent South Texas lawyer is now facing a new indictment issued Wednesday by a federal grand jury in El Paso. Marco Delgado, 46, also known… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:49:22 -0600 43063.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_bench_trial_begins_to_apportion_fault_for_gulf_oil_spill_among_bp_a/ A federal judge in New Orleans began hearing opening statements Monday in a trial to determine how to apportion blame between BP Plc and its subcontractors for the massive oil spill that began April 20, 2010 with a blowout of an undersea well after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded… Admiralty & Maritime Law, Corporate Law, Criminal Justice, Environmental Law, Government Law, Oil Spill, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 5th Circuit Court, States, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:16:31 -0600 42993.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/defendant_attorney_takes_stand_in_latest_corruption_trial_linked_to_convict/ An Austin lawyer being tried in a criminal corruption case linked to a South Texas judge who has already been convicted of racketeering has taken the stand in his own defense in federal court in Corpus Christi. Marc G. Rosenthal, who is charged with conspiring to bribe then-404th District Judge… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Judiciary, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Trials & Litigation, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:59:42 -0600 42976.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/racism_complaint_filed_against_federal_judge_by_civil_rights_group/ A long-time federal judge in Houston known for outspokenness has been called out by a Texas civil rights group for making allegedly racist statements, the Houston Chronicle reports. The Texas Civil Rights Project’s formal complaint to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals comes on the heels… Civil Rights, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, 5th Circuit Court Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:45:22 -0600 42740.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_wine_and_dine_event_with_client_led_to_insider-trading_case_agains/ The husband of a partner at a well-known law firm is facing an insider-trading case, after allegedly using information he obtained in connection with a planned "wine and dine" event with a Silicon Valley client. James Balchan, an information technology specialist in Houston, is accused in a federal complaint filed… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Corporate Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Legal Ethics, Securities Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:20:08 -0600 42735.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-associate_admits_scheme_to_divert_453k_in_law_firm_funds_takes_federal_w/ An ex-associate of a Louisiana law firm pleaded guilty to a wire fraud count Wednesday in federal court in Baton Rouge and admitted a scheme to get $453,123 of Crawford Lewis funds for his own use. James M. “Tres” Bernhard III, 36, settled last summer a civil lawsuit brought against… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Law Firms, Associates, Midsize Firm, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, 5th Circuit Court, States, Louisiana Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:49:29 -0600 42632.abajournal.com