http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-18T17:20:17-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/courthouse_screeners_enforce_ban_on_cellphones_..._and_a_pet_duck/ In Chicago on Monday, security guards at the criminal courthouse at 26th Street and California Avenue, billed as the nation's busiest, were implementing a new policy against cellphones and other electronic devices. The ban was imposed because of concerns that individuals taking cellphone photos were intimidating witnesses, according to the… Animal Law, Judiciary, Court Security, States, Hawaii, Illinois Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:27:07 -0500 43734.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sen._daniel_inouye_decorated_war_veteran_law_grad_and_civil_rights_leader/ Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a respected leading lawmaker and the longest-serving Democrat in the U.S. Senate, died Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 88 years old. Inouye, a highly decorated combat veteran of World War II, was the first Japanese-American to… Careers, Obituaries, Civil Rights, Legislation & Lobbying, States, Hawaii Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:28:53 -0600 42082.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_tackles_unruly_man_who_jumped_up_on_the_bench/ A Honolulu judge tackled a man who caused a ruckus in his courtroom on Monday, according to bystanders and a police spokeswoman. Judge Lono Lee acted after the man entered Lee’s courtroom, jumped on the bench and broke a flagpole, according to Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz. The… Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Court Security, States, Hawaii Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:31:35 -0500 37915.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/15.4m_in_hiking_deaths_of_gibson_dunn_partner_and_cousin_may_be_hawaiis_big/ Having already been found liable in the 2006 hiking accident deaths of a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner and her cousin, the state of Hawaii has agreed to pay a settlement of $15.4 million. One lawyer in the case says it's the highest personal injury settlement in state history, reports… Careers, Obituaries, Government Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Hawaii Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:39:20 -0500 37883.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/convicted_of_money_laundering_after_falling_victim_to_bad_check_scam/ Things have apparently gone from bad to worse for a Saipan lawyer who reportedly fell victim to an international fraud scheme operated from Hong Kong that targeted lawyers. Charged with money-laundering in U.S. District Court in Guam after he withdrew nearly $185,000 credited to his account from what turned out… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Legal Ethics, 9th Circuit Court, States, Hawaii Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:10:13 -0500 35510.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/santa_cruz_lawyer_is_killed_in_hawaii_companion_who_leapt_from_cliff_is_rep/ A Santa Cruz deputy city attorney was found dead along a Maui cliff last week following a reported domestic dispute. Her companion, who leapt from a nearby cliff as police approached, is hospitalized and in custody. Maui police refused to identify the woman, but news reports say she is Celestial… Careers, Obituaries, Criminal Justice, States, California, Hawaii Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:45:10 -0500 34835.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/tv_producer_sues_isp_and_its_fired_employee_saying_hack_destroyed_season_of/ A new lawsuit alleges a fired employee hacked into his former company’s networked computers and deliberately destroyed an entire season of a syndicated children’s TV show. The suit (PDF posted by Courthouse News Service), filed last week in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, claims Michael… Criminal Justice, Internet Law, Labor & Employment, Privacy Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Hawaii, Wisconsin Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:13:18 -0500 32023.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/mistakenly_believing_immunity_applied_ex-diplomats_son_stole_300k_from_law_/ In a new twist on an all-too-familiar crime, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that a former office manager stole $300,000 from a local law firm because he believed, as a former diplomat's son, that he was immune from prosecution. Nigel Salmingo, 31, pleaded guilty in state court… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Law Firms, States, Hawaii Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:49:23 -0600 30020.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_oks_suit_re_manufacturers_claimed_failure_to_disclose_addictive_natur/ A federal judge in Hawaii has given a green light to part of a pro se plaintiff's lawsuit contending that he wasted some 20,000 hours playing Lineage II between 2004 and 2009, due to the maker's failure to warn him in advance of the addictive nature of the Internet game.… Consumer Law, Corporate Law, Entertainment & Sports Law, Internet Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 9th Circuit Court, States, Hawaii Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:15:21 -0500 27915.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/honolulu_law_firms_swindled_out_of_500k_in_e-mail_scam/ Two law firms in Honolulu were scammed out of $500,000 in an e-mail scheme that's apparently targeting the legal community. During the past six weeks, six different law firms have been targeted, according to the FBI, which issued a warning today (PDF). Two of the six fell for the… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Law Firms, States, Hawaii Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:17:21 -0600 24758.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/could_seal_be_homicidal_worried_officials_plan_ban_of_growing_baby/ A baby monk seal swimming around the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, seems to love people. But he could love them to death as he gets bigger, perhaps by playfully holding them underwater too long, officials fear. So the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is making plans to move KP2… Animal Law, States, Hawaii Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:35:08 -0500 22083.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/there_ought_to_be_a_law_..._against_body_odor_and_being_loaded_while_loaded/ Despite a plethora of laws already on the books, there's still plenty of bad behavior that hasn't yet been banned. But officials in New York and Hawaii are proposing laws to close two such loopholes. Noting that there is no law making it criminal to carry a loaded weapon while… Consumer Law, Criminal Justice, Government Law, Legislation & Lobbying, States, Hawaii, New York Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:24:25 -0500 21740.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/man_charged_in_lawyers_murder_domestic_situation_alleged/ Craig Kimsel had reportedly built a tall fence with a locked gate around his home in Kailua, Hawaii, and sought a restraining order. But Daniel Kahanaoi allegedly got through and shot the Honolulu criminal defense attorney to death last week. Kahanaoi, 45, has been charged with murder and other offenses… Criminal Justice, Personal Lives, States, Hawaii Mon, 04 May 2009 13:43:35 -0500 19427.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_wont_hear_challenge_to_obamas_citizenship/ The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal challenging Barack Obama’s citizenship. The emergency appeal turned down today had contended Obama could not be president because his father was from Kenya, giving the president-elect dual citizenship, report the Washington Post and the Constitutional Law, Executive Branch, U.S. Supreme Court, States, Hawaii Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:31:06 -0600 16311.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/obamas_grandmas_early_ballot_still_counts_despite_her_death/ An absentee ballot cast by Barack Obama's grandmother prior to her death Sunday still counts in her home state of Hawaii. However, some states, including South Dakota, have a different rule and would have voided the vote by the Democratic presidential nominee's grandmother, had she voted there, reports Election Law, Government Law, States, Hawaii, South Dakota Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:20:00 -0600 15714.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_tosses_doomsday_lawsuit_for_lack_of_jurisdiction/ A federal judge in Honolulu has tossed a lawsuit that had contended a Swiss particle accelerator could produce a black hole and swallow the Earth. U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor ruled the court had no jurisdiction in the case, the Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Hawaii Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:53:00 -0500 15072.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/how_la_lawyer_dropped_90_pounds_became_iron_man/ His demanding job as an in-house general counsel, difficulties with his marriage and adjusting to being a father made it easy for Steven Spitz to pack on the pounds. Luckily, his job is at a nutrition-oriented company. With the help of a dietitian at Los Angeles-based Natrol, which… Careers, Work/Life Balance, In-house Counsel, Personal Lives, States, California, Hawaii Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:43:00 -0500 14712.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawsuits_doomsday_allegations_proven_wrong_so_far_in_collider_test/ Allegations in a lawsuit that a Swiss subatomic particle accelerator could produce a black hole and swallow the Earth proved untrue in a first test of the device today. Scientists conducted the test by firing two beams of protons in opposite directions, the Associated Press reports. However,… Environmental Law, Trials & Litigation, International, Europe, States, Hawaii Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:29:00 -0500 14629.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_corporate_lawyer_creates_virtual_law_firm_in_hawaii/ After 16 years as a partner at Hawaii's largest law firm, Greg Kim was ready for a change. Even though he had developed a technique of doing much of his work outside the office at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, as his reputation as a top corporate attorney helped him… Corporate Law, Law Firms, Partners, Law Practice Management, States, Hawaii Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:27:00 -0500 14221.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/hawaiis_fix_for_the_crime_problem_flash_incarceration/ Hawaii has developed an innovative probation program that seems to be significantly more effective than the standard approach in scaring offenders straight. Dubbed "flash incarceration," it focuses on immediate, short-term punishment--in the form of a brief jail term--for virtually any probation violation. Once offenders begin following the rules regularly, supervisors… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, States, Hawaii Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:19:00 -0500 13646.abajournal.com