1st Circuit Court

Did Ropes & Gray retaliate by giving info to Above the Law about ex-associate’s discrimination case?

A discrimination case brought by a former associate against Ropes & Gray is headed to trial next month. Among the questions to be answered by a federal court in Boston, the National Law Journal reports: Did the law firm retaliate against John Ray III by providing information about his Equal…

Oct 16, 2013 9:05 PM CDT

First openly gay federal appeals judge confirmed; Obama names 3 nominees for district, circuit bench

September has been a noteworthy month as far as the federal judiciary is concerned. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Tuesday, in a 98-0 vote, former Department of Justice lawyer Todd Hughes for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is the highest-ranking openly gay…

Sep 24, 2013 9:55 PM CDT

Hospital tech takes plea in hep C case, may get 30 to 40 years

A traveling hospital lab technician accused of infecting 46 patients in multiple states with hepatitis C through injections with tainted needles has taken a plea that calls for him to spend decades in prison. David Kwiatkowski, 34, has agreed to plead guilty to 16 federal drug counts in New Hampshire…

Aug 14, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

Whitey Bulger guilty of multiple counts in split verdict, likely will spend rest of life in prison

After 30 hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Boston has reached a split verdict in the case of accused gangland murderer James J. “Whitey” Bulger, who reportedly escaped criminal consequences for decades with the help of cash gifts and helpful relationships with authorities. He was found guilty of conspiracy,…

Aug 12, 2013 7:15 PM CDT

SCOTUS should decide if cops need warrant to search cellphones at arrest, two appeals judges say

Two federal appeals judges are explaining why they voted to deny an en banc rehearing of a decision requiring police to get a warrant before searching cellphones incident to arrest. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the rehearing in an order (PDF) released Monday, the Wall Street…

Jul 31, 2013 11:25 AM CDT

1st Circuit upholds man’s conviction for soiling courthouse bathroom

In a 57-page opinion, a federal appeals court has upheld a man’s conviction for soiling the bathroom of a federal courthouse in Portland, Maine. Ronald Strong was convicted for the damage done to federal property in May 2011—willfully damaging the property, creating a nuisance on it, and creating a hazard…

Jul 25, 2013 1:26 PM CDT

Federal grand jury indicts Boston Marathon bomb suspect on 30 counts

The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 has been federally indicted by a grand jury, officials said at a Thursday press conference. Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev could face the death penalty if convicted on 17 of the charges if convicted, the…

Jun 27, 2013 9:09 PM CDT

1st Circuit upholds $675K award against Tenenbaum in long-running RIAA file-sharing case

Still fighting a $675,000 verdict awarded in 2009 in a copyright suit spearheaded by the Recording Industry Association of America, onetime Boston University graduate student Joel Tenenbaum asked a federal appeals court to find that the hefty sum—which amounted, he said, to $22,500 for each illegally downloaded song—violated his due-process…

Jun 26, 2013 8:40 PM CDT

Federal judge jails estate lawyer as flight risk, nixes ‘bizarre’ effort to revoke plea

A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer’s effort to revoke his guilty plea in a controversial $30 million elder insurance fraud case was a “bizarre” and unjustified “hatchet job” on Joseph Caramadre’s former counsel, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge William Smith not only nixed Caramadre’s bid for a…

May 21, 2013 11:09 AM CDT

College pals of Boston Marathon suspect face criminal charges over claimed post-bombing activities

Three college students who are friends of the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect have been arrested and face federal criminal charges concerning their activities after explosive devices near the finish line killed three and injured approximately 250 people on April 15, authorities say. The Boston police department confirmed the arrest…

May 1, 2013 4:55 PM CDT

Unabomber lawyer Judy Clarke is appointed to represent Boston Marathon bombing suspect

At the request of Boston’s federal public defender, a judge has appointed Judy Clarke, a top death-penalty defense lawyer, to represent accused Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Bloomberg reports. Prosecutors haven’t said whether they will seek the death penalty in Tsarnaev’s case, but “in light of the circumstances in…

Apr 30, 2013 8:29 PM CDT

Top federal defender is representing accused Boston Marathon bomber

Being unable to afford an attorney, ironically, has helped the surviving suspect in last week’s Boston Marathon bombings get one of the country’s top federal defenders assigned to his case. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, will be represented by Miriam Conrad, who is in charge of the Federal Public Defender Office in…

Apr 24, 2013 10:53 PM CDT

Judge is tossed from Whitey Bulger case in appellate opinion by Souter

A federal appeals court has removed a judge from the trial of reputed gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, who is accused of committing 19 murders as part of a racketeering conspiracy. Retired Justice David Souter, sitting on the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote the panel opinion removing U.S.…

Mar 15, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

Federal jury awards $50.9M to crime writer Patricia Cornwell

In a plot twist worthy of one of her Kay Scarpetta crime novels, best-selling author Patricia Cornwell was awarded $50.9 million Tuesday by a federal jury in Boston. She had sought tens of millions, contending that her former financial manager, Anchin, Block & Anchin, and its former principal, Evan H.…

Feb 19, 2013 10:35 PM CST

Estate lawyer asks to revoke plea, now wants trial in $30M elder insurance fraud case

A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer is seeking to revoke the plea agreement he made last year near the outset of what was expected to be a lengthy trial in a controversial $30 million fraud case. Supporters said attorney Joseph Caramadre did nothing wrong by using the identities of elderly…

Jan 14, 2013 7:51 PM CST