The separation of the State Bar of California, created in 1927, did not come without fierce internal and legislative battles, though bar leaders and outside groups said the first year of de-unification produced the positive changes they envisioned. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision has played a key role in sparking more urgent nationwide discussions about the long-term future of mandatory state bars.
California millionaire Peter Chadwick—free on $1.5 million bail while awaiting trial for the murder of his wife—failed to show up for a court hearing in January 2015. With no new leads, Newport Beach Police Department produced a podcast in hopes of engaging the public in its search for one of the country’s most-wanted fugitives.
In what’s known as a “gay panic defense,” defendants say victims provoked the crime by revealing their sexuality or making a nonviolent sexual pass. The criminal defense strategy has been used since at least the 1960s.
Lawyers who switched careers to represent authors are looking for the next blockbuster—and loving it. Their legal training helped them turn the page in a challenging profession.
Read the winner of the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.
Read the winner of the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.
A public defender navigates her opioid-addicted clients through drug treatment court. Durham, North Carolina, lawyer Aleaha Jones was named runner-up in the sixth annual ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.
Some states use local jail cells to hold mental health patients. New Hampshire stands alone in its legal treatment of mental health patients within state prison walls.
A U.S. district judge in Florida ruled in June that a dentist’s before-and-after photos didn’t contain enough of a “creative spark” to merit protection. Some lawyers worry the decision, which is being appealed, could have detrimental effects on other images used in advertising.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires anyone lobbying or doing public relations for a foreign government, company or other entity to register with the Department of Justice and file detailed reports about their work every six months. Violations carry penalties of up to $10,000 and five years in prison.
