5th Circuit Court

Fed’l Appeals Court OKs $420K Verdict Against 2 Lawyers for Keeping Asbestos Case Info From Opponent

A divided federal appellate court has upheld a $420,000 jury verdict against two lawyers who were found to have withheld critical information from the opposing party in complex asbestos litigation in state court in Mississippi. The two lawyers, Thomas W. Brock and William Guy, represented nearly 170 individuals in the…

May 30, 2012 8:11 PM CDT

Convicted of First Offense, ‘Grandma’ Is Serving Federal Life Term Without Parole

The vast majority of individuals charged with federal drug offenses take plea deals rather than go to trial. But Elisa Castillo told a federal jury in Texas she was innocent, claiming that she was tricked by her boyfriend into helping a Mexican friend set up a bus business in Houston,…

May 10, 2012 4:37 PM CDT

Plea Deal re Extorted $1M Screenplay Gives Feds a Stake in New ‘Mary, Mother of Christ’ Biopic

In a criminal justice saga that reads like a fictional entertainment industry thriller, the feds have acquired a 10 percent ownership stake in an upcoming religious movie biopic penned by a co-screenwriter of the $610 million blockbuster The Passion of the Christ. Drug trafficker Jorge Vázquez Sánchez, 34, has agreed…

May 9, 2012 7:23 PM CDT

Texas DA Says He Won’t Step Down Despite His Indictment in Federal Racketeering Case

Urged to resign as a Texas prosecutor following his federal indictment in an unusual criminal racketeering case that accuses him of bartering prosecutorial discretion for cash, Cameron County’s District Attorney is reportedly determined to stay in office. Armando Villalobos, 44, who is also a Democratic candidate for a seat in…

May 9, 2012 3:37 PM CDT

DA Running for Congress Is Indicted; Feds Say He Ran His Office as a Criminal RICO Enterprise

A sitting district attorney in South Texas has been federally indicted, accused of working with his former law partner and others to operate the local justice system as a criminal racketeering enterprise. Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos, who is currently running for election to a seat in the…

May 7, 2012 10:15 PM CDT

Former Texas Lawmaker Agrees to Be Disbarred After Guilty Plea to Aiding Judicial Bribery Scheme

A former Texas lawmaker has agreed to be disbarred after pleading guilty last year in a federal criminal case concerning a judicial bribery scheme. Jim Solis also continues to cooperate with the ongoing federal criminal case, his lawyer, Sharon E. Conway, told the Brownsville Herald. “Mr. Solis acknowledges that his…

May 4, 2012 5:11 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Gets 15 Days; Feds Say He Tried to Bring 9mm Bullets Into Courthouse

A disbarred Kansas lawyer has been sentenced to 15 days, with credit for time served, and released, after allegedly trying to bring three 9mm bullets into the Hale Boggs Federal Courthouse in New Orleans. After the ammo was found in a bag he was trying to bring into the courthouse…

May 2, 2012 3:47 PM CDT

Man Files Federal Wiretap Suit Against Ex, Says He Found Recording Device Sewn Into Son’s Clothing

In an era in which a Texas matrimonial lawyer routinely suggests to clients that they remove the battery from their cellphones to prevent illicit surveillance during legal consultations, savvy spouses should be aware that their significant others may literally be monitoring almost their every move. But Brian R. Martin was…

Apr 30, 2012 5:40 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer Who Was a ‘Lesser Player’ in Judicial Corruption Case Gets 1 Year in Federal Prison

A Texas lawyer whose defense attorney described him as a “lesser player” in a judicial corruption case had sought probation. But a federal judge in Brownsville on Monday gave Jose Martin “Joe” Valle a prison term of one year and a day. Although U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen took…

Apr 17, 2012 4:50 PM CDT

Nightclub Owner Charged in Claimed Murder-for-Hire Scheme Targeting Mayor and Lawyer for Texas City

The owner of a Texas nightclub has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and is in federal custody after allegedly trying to get residents of Mexico to kill the mayor of Arlington and a lawyer representing the city. Ryan Walker Grant, 34, who owns the Flashdance Cabaret,…

Apr 11, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

Controversy Now Centers on 5th Circuit Judge Who Sought AG Input re Obama ‘Judicial Activism’ Remark

Judge Jerry E. Smith of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a conservative voice on what may be the nation’s most conservative federal appellate court. But the Yale Law School graduate isn’t political, and he brings an independent mind to his work on the bench, those…

Apr 6, 2012 7:44 PM CDT

AG Holder Letter to 5th Circuit Affirms Judicial Power to Strike Unconstitutional Laws, Backs Obama

In a letter Thursday to three federal appeals court judges, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has reiterated what he calls “the long-standing, historical position of the United States regarding judicial review of the constitutionality of federal legislation.” Although the judicial branch, appropriately, often opts to defer to the judgment of…

Apr 5, 2012 5:54 PM CDT

Fed’l Appeals Judge Tells DOJ to Write Memo by Thursday Explaining Obama ‘Judicial Activism’ Claim

In response to a “judicial activism” comment by President Barack Obama, since clarified, about the health care law currently being reviewed for constitutionality by the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal appeals court judge overseeing a different health-care case has called for the Department of Justice immediately to provide a three-page…

Apr 3, 2012 11:30 PM CDT

Federal Judge Nixes Suit by Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Over News Anchor’s Historic Documents

A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed a lawsuit brought against a television news anchor by the estate of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. over documents in his possession. The estate says Howard Ballou has no right to the documents, which he got from his mother, Maude.…

Mar 23, 2012 8:05 PM CDT

Better Business Bureau Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss Suit Filed by Law Firm Over F Grade

The Better Business Bureau of Central Florida is asking a federal judge to dismiss a law firm’s suit over the F grade it received from the BBB. It’s review of the Orlando-based KEL law firm was truthful, fact-based opinion, the BBB contends. And furthermore, the law firm, formally known as…

Mar 19, 2012 10:09 PM CDT