http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-18T19:31:04-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_public_defender_gets_1_year_for_submitted_false_payment_vouchers/ A former panel attorney who worked as a public defender in multiple counties in West Virginia has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for submitting false payment vouchers for her services to the state. Lisa A. Weese, who has since been disbarred by consent, was… Criminal Justice, Public Defenders, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, West Virginia Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:46 -0500 44154.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_who_didnt_notify_insurance_carrier_of_nuisance_case_lose_coverage/ Husband-and-wife West Virginia lawyers who practiced together in the same Charleston firm initially didn't report to their insurance carrier what they subsequently described as a pro se "nuisance case" over a $290,000 check that the plaintiff said was wrongfully issued to one of the firm's attorneys. But after the plaintiff,… Appellate Practice, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Contracts, Insurance Law, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, West Virginia Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:56 -0500 44152.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/teen_14_arrested_after_refusing_to_remove_nra_t-shirt/ A West Virginia middle school student was arrested and pulled from school Thursday, accused of creating a disruption after he refused a teacher's demand that he remove a T-shirt that displayed the logo of the National Rifle Association and a rifle. Jared Marcum, 14, his stepfather and lawyer maintain the… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Education Law, States, West Virginia Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:14:57 -0500 43853.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/courthouse_on_lockdown_after_county_sheriff_is_shot_to_death_outside/ A West Virginia courthouse was on lockdown Wednesday afternoon after the county sheriff was shot to death outside. Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum liked to eat lunch in the same spot within a block of the courthouse in Williamson while sitting in his patrol vehicle, according to the Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Court Security, States, West Virginia Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:49:55 -0500 43577.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_who_shouted_shut_up_at_litigants_is_removed_top_state_court_cites_soc/ An admittedly intemperate family court judge has been suspended without pay for the remaining years of his term by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In one angry rant from the bench that has been viewed on YouTube more than 200,000 times,… Constitutional Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, West Virginia Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:02:49 -0500 43463.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_in_courthouse_fistfight_file_dueling_lawsuits/ Two lawyers involved in a January fight in a West Virginia courthouse have filed dueling lawsuits. Stephen Sean Murphy sued first, naming Scott Radman as a defendant in his Monongalia Circuit Court complaint. However, Radman fired back with a counterclaim alleging that he was the victim in the Marion County… Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Court Security, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, West Virginia Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:14:16 -0600 43149.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/1_lawyer_arrested_1_lawyer_goes_to_hospital_after_courthouse_fray/ A lawyer was arrested after a Tuesday afternoon incident at a West Virginia courthouse in which he was accused of attacking another attorney. Stephen Sean Murphy was charged with malicious wounding and released on $10,000 bail after a fray at the Marion County courthouse around 2 p.m., according to Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Court Security, States, West Virginia Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:13:15 -0600 42507.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/2_plaintiffs_lawyers_lose_civil_rico_case_re_csx_asbestos_filings_federalju/ Two Pittsburgh lawyers were found civilly liable by a federal jury in Wheeling, W.Va., along with a doctor they hired to screen asbestos cases, for helping railroad employees pursue fraudulent claims against CSX Transportation. Lawyers Robert N. Peirce Jr. and Louis A. Raimond violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt… Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, West Virginia Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:55:15 -0600 42172.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_in_video_tirade_admits_some_anger_issues_recommended_sanction_would_k/ A West Virginia judge who made headlines because of a videotaped tirade apologized and admitted some anger management issues before a judicial hearing board on Tuesday. Judge William Watkins III has admitted allegations in a misconduct complaint and agreed to recommended discipline that would allow… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, West Virginia Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:15:40 -0600 41816.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/w._va._lawyer_takes_plea_in_federal_mail_fraud_case_re_159k_in_claimed_fals/ A West Virginia private practitioner accused of defrauding the state's public defender agency of $159,000 by billing for hours she did not work has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of mail fraud. Lisa A. Weese, 43, remains free on bond pending sentencing after her Tuesday plea in U.S. District… Criminal Justice, Public Defenders, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, 4th Circuit Court, States, West Virginia Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:34:02 -0600 41518.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_calls_former_law_firm_employees_apology_for_stealing_400k_shallow_giv/ Teri Kay Workman was sentenced Tuesday to six consecutive one- to 10-year prison terms for embezzling nearly $400,000 from a West Virginia law firm for which she formerly worked as a business manager for seven years. However, Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom suspended four of the six sentences, after saying… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Law Firms, States, West Virginia Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:45:42 -0500 40873.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/attorney_gives_up_license_after_conviction_in_law_office_arson_case/ An attorney has voluntarily given up her West Virginia license after being convicted of arson concerning a small fire at the law firm at which she then worked. Ashley R. Shreve, 30, was sentenced earlier this year to five years of probation, with conditions, concerning a box of files set… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Legal Ethics, States, West Virginia Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:36:07 -0500 40727.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-worker_blames_marriage_issues_for_400k_law_firm_theft_says_she_didnt_kno/ A former office manager has pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $400,000 from a West Virginia personal injury law firm, saying that she had no idea she'd taken so much. The law firm Bucci, Bailey & Javins didn't either until after they terminated Terry Workman after seven years of employment, the… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Law Firms, States, West Virginia Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:47:04 -0500 40448.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/angry_judge_in_youtube_video_calls_unrelated_ethics_case_re_overwhelmi1/ A West Virginia family court judge who became widely known after a YouTube video of his angry comments from the bench to a matrimonial party went viral is now reportedly outraged about an unrelated legal ethics case. The expedited state supreme court action, which was made public last week, charges… Family Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, West Virginia Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:37:56 -0500 40145.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/restored_factory_sees_shift_from_tin_works_and_kerosene_lamps/ More than a hundred years ago, the sprawling building in Wheeling, W.Va.'s once-thriving coal and steel area, housed factory workers making tin products and kerosene lanterns. Now, after a top-to-bottom restoration that pays homage to the building's industrial past, the building is home to a busy back-office-support operation for San… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Outsourcing, Law Firms, Large Firm, States, West Virginia Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:16:27 -0500 40142.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/more_trouble_for_angry_judge_in_youtube_video_threatened_with_contempt_he/ A West Virginia judge whose angry comments to a pastor litigating a divorce case gained widespread publicity after a YouTube video of the hearing went viral last month has complied with a state supreme court order to issue a ruling in an unrelated divorce case or be held in contempt.… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, West Virginia Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:00:15 -0500 39683.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/state_supreme_court_administrator_wont_pile_another_complaint_on_judge_in_y/ A pastor who publicized a now-viral video of a West Virginia jurist shouting "shut up" during a family court hearing says he has filed numerous complaints against Putnam Circuit Judge William Watkins. But the administrator of the state's top court says he himself has no reason to add another complaint… Family Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, West Virginia Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:49:19 -0500 39538.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/court_hearing_video_of_angry_jurist_shouting_shut_up_gains_youtube_traction/ Updated: An official recording of a May family court hearing in West Virginia is becoming an unexpected YouTube hit. It quickly topped more than 10,000 views, after a pastor who is a party in the divorce case at issue got hold of it and conveyed it to a… Family Law, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, West Virginia Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:32:44 -0500 39525.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_who_narrowly_lost_ag_race_is_charged_in_shooting_case_cites_castle/ A West Virginia lawyer who narrowly lost a race to become the state attorney general in 2008 has been charged with malicious wounding and wanton endangerment with a firearm in the Wednesday shooting of a man at the lawyer's home in Procious. State police say attorney Hiram Lewis, 41, claimed… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, States, West Virginia Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:40:55 -0500 39274.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-lawyer_faces_felony_charges_for_allegedly_failing_to_complete_promised/ A former West Virginia lawyer was arraigned Monday on five felony charges of obtaining money by false pretenses, as well as forgery and uttering of a public record. Kenneth J. Ford, 37, is accused in the Berkeley County Circuit Court case of accepting money from multiple clients to perform legal… Business of Law, Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Legal Ethics, States, West Virginia Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:58:41 -0500 39088.abajournal.com