5th Circuit Court

Law Firm Sues Harvard Law Grad Ex-Intern Over Article About Her Capital Murder Defense Work There

When a Harvard Law School student worked at Louisiana Capital Assistance Center as a summer intern in 2003, she presumably expected to practice law. But now she is pursuing a career as a writer instead, and has made one of the nonprofit law firm’s clients a focus of a “creative…

Aug 29, 2011 11:44 PM CDT

Federal Judge Invites Lawyers to Court ‘Kindergarten Party’ Focusing on Remedial Discovery Skills

Updated: A federal judge in Austin, Texas, has served notice on local lawyers that they would be well-advised to try harder to get along. In a Friday court order, he issues a mandatory invitation to two apparently squabbling members of the bar to attend what is described as a “kindergarten…

Aug 29, 2011 11:13 PM CDT

Another Attorney Charged in RICO Case, Accused of Paying Texas Judge for Rulings

An Austin attorney has been federally indicted concerning his alleged role in a Texas court corruption scheme in which a former state district judge and two other lawyers have already taken pleas. Marc Garrett Rosenthal, 49, is accused in a 13-count indictment unsealed yesterday of paying ex-Judge Abel Corral Limas…

Aug 23, 2011 5:51 PM CDT

‘Casket Cartel’ Asks 5th Circuit to OK Statute Barring Benedictine Monks’ Cottage Coffin Industry

A group of Benedictine monks’ victory in a case over their cottage coffin-making industry was short-lived. After a federal judge last month struck down a Louisiana state law requiring those who sell caskets to be licensed funeral directors, the so-called casket cartel has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Aug 17, 2011 8:08 PM CDT

US Seeks to Deport Wife, Son of Man It Agreed to Protect

A decade ago, Edmond Demiraj, an Albanian citizen who was in this country illegally, made a deal with the federal government: Testify against an Albanian mobster charged with human smuggling, and he and his family would be protected. But the mobster was allowed to post bail and fled the country…

Aug 9, 2011 11:13 PM CDT

School District May Be Liable for 4th Grade Student’s Sexual Assault, Court Rules

A school district may be liable for failing to protect a fourth-grade student from a sexual assault by a man who checked her out of school without authorization, a federal appeals court has held. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an Aug. 5 ruling (PDF), said…

Aug 9, 2011 9:59 PM CDT

College Affirmative Action Could Be Back Before Supreme Court

Two federal appeals decisions this year involving affirmative action and college admissions could bring the issue back before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Washington Post takes a look at the two cases. In one, Fisher v. University of Texas, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a…

Aug 2, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

5th Circuit Tosses Cheerleading Suit, Hits Law Firm for Grammar and Spelling Errors

A federal appeals panel has tossed a Section 1983 suit by a former Texas cheerleader who didn’t make the varsity squad amid conflicts with another cheerleader who called her a “ho.” The onetime cheerleader had claimed the school was indifferent to sexual harassment by her rival, but the New Orleans-based…

Jul 18, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Texas Executes Mexican National Despite White House Concerns About Foreign Treaty Violations

Humberto Leal Garcia was executed today in Texas for the 1994 murder and sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl, despite White House concerns about violations of international law and damage to American interests. Similar concerns were also cited in a U.S. Supreme Court petition for a stay last week, which…

Jul 8, 2011 12:51 AM CDT

Woman, 52, Says She Was Fired Over Her Gray Hair; CEO Points Out He Has Gray Hair, Too

A former branch manager and escrow officer says in a federal lawsuit that she was fired from her job at a Texas title company because of her refusal to dye her gray hair and wear “younger fancy suits” and lots of jewelry. But CEO Bill Shaddock scoffs at Sandra Rawline’s…

Jul 7, 2011 7:57 PM CDT

Stanford Law Grad Is Federally Indicted, Allegedly Paid Texas Judge $11K in Bribes

A graduate of Stanford Law School has been federally indicted for allegedly bribing a former Texas district court judge. Attorney Ray Marchan, 54, is accused of paying more than $11,000 in bribes in 2008 to the now-former judge, Abel Limas, of the 404th judicial district, according to Associated Press and…

Jun 22, 2011 8:44 PM CDT

Thousands Who Lost Money on CDs from Stanford’s Offshore Bank Are Likely to Be Repaid by SIPC

Investors who purchased worthless certificates of deposit from a brokerage unit of alleged Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford’s offshore bank are likely to have at least some of their losses covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corp. Although the SIPC earlier denied such claims, contending that the CDs are still…

Jun 15, 2011 9:58 PM CDT

Court Gives Green Light to Stephen Baldwin Suit Against Kevin Costner Over Oil Spill Cleanup Machine

In happier days, actor Kevin Costner was winning acclaim for his reported efforts, with the help of a trial attorney, to develop a vaccum-cleaner-like machine to clean up oil spills threatening to do serious environmental damage. But news that BP was putting over $50 million into the project after the…

Jun 7, 2011 8:34 PM CDT

‘Beverly Hillbillies’ Actress Files Suit Against Mattel Over ‘Elly May Barbie’

Actress Donna Douglas, who played buxom, none-too-bright Elly May Clampett on the 1960s television hit The Beverly Hillbillies, has filed a federal lawsuit against Mattel Inc., over the toymaker’s new “Elly May Barbie” doll. Although she never gave permission, the packaging for the doll uses a photo of her in…

May 5, 2011 10:35 PM CDT

Mark Lanier ... Movie Star? Lawyer Plays Himself in Film Based on Antitrust Case

A Houston lawyer is getting positive reviews in a new movie in which he pretty much plays himself. Although based on an actual case, Puncture is “a loose conglomeration of several cases with plenty of Hollywood mixed in,” the trial lawyer tells the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, which links…

Apr 26, 2011 7:44 PM CDT