9th Circuit Court

Lawyer Who Took Plea in Las Vegas HOA Case Found Beaten, Is Hospitalized in Undisclosed Facility

A Nevada lawyer who recently took a plea in an ongoing federal case focused on Las Vegas homeowner associations and litigation over construction work was found badly beaten today and has been hospitalized in an undisclosed facility in Henderson. David Amesbury, 57, is expected to recover, reports the Las Vegas…

Nov 17, 2011 1:48 AM CST

Federal Mandate to Reduce Calif. Prison Overcrowding Could Mean Early Release for Thousands in LA

An expected influx of 8,000 prisoners who previously would have been held in state facilities may force Los Angeles County to release thousands of inmates awaiting trial as early as next month. The state prison system is required by federal court order to reduce overcrowding, reports the Los Angeles Times.…

Nov 11, 2011 9:56 PM CST

Ex-US Attorney Admits Leaking Memo Intended to Make ‘Fast and Furious’ Whistle-Blower Look Bad

A former U.S. Attorney for Arizona who resigned in August after a botched federal probe of gun-running for Mexican drug cartels came to light has admitted leaking a memo intended to cast aspersions on a whistle-blower who went to Congress about Operation Fast and Furious. In the probe, agents of…

Nov 9, 2011 9:12 PM CST

Lawyer Guilty in Failed Contract Hit on Wife Gets 50 Years; They Both Say Feds Framed Him

Federal prosecutors were seeking a 50-year sentence today for a lawyer in northern Idaho who was convicted of trying to arrange a contract hit on his wife, and they got it. Both Edgar J. Steele, 65, and his wife, Cyndi, who survived the failed attempt when an undetonated pipe bomb…

Nov 9, 2011 6:05 PM CST

Federal Prosecutor’s ‘Inflammatory’ Remarks in Closing Get Drug Trafficking Conviction Reversed

A federal appeals court has overturned the drug trafficking conviction of a California man because of a prosecutor’s “inflammatory” remarks during his closing arguments. In a ruling (PDF) Tuesday, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the prosecutor’s remarks were both “improper and prejudicial,” the Recorder reports.…

Nov 4, 2011 5:37 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Keeping Up with the Joneses—How Far Does the ‘Reasonable Expectation of Privacy’ Go?

One of the most difficult, and potentially most important cases of the U.S. Supreme Court term will be argued on Nov. 8. United States v. Jones involves the question of whether it is a search or seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when the police plant a GPS…

Nov 1, 2011 1:55 PM CDT

Doubts About Guilt in Shaken Baby Case Don’t Justify Reversal, U.S. Supreme Court Says

Doubts about a grandmother’s guilt didn’t merit overturning a jury verdict based on prosecutors’ theory that an infant died from shaken baby syndrome, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The Supreme Court granted cert and reversed the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today in a summary reversal.…

Oct 31, 2011 3:10 PM CDT

9th Cir. Nixes $63K Sanction, Says Attorney Who Admitted Error and Apologized Actually Did No Wrong

You can’t have chicken parmesan without chicken. And you can’t have a sanction for violating a motion in limine in bad faith unless there’s an actual violation, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday as it nixed a $63,687.50 fine imposed on a deputy Los Angeles city attorney. Richard Arias admitted…

Oct 28, 2011 9:45 PM CDT

With Same Lead Plaintiff at Helm, Lawyers Launch New Class Action ‘Armada’ Against Wal-Mart

Earlier this year, a 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court sank a massive would-be class action against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., finding that the suit by some 1.5 million current and former women employees was simply too big, with too many different claims, to be pursued as a single case.…

Oct 27, 2011 9:12 PM CDT

Set to Move Ahead on Possible MERS Suit, Texas County Instead Looks to State AG to Take Lead Role

Seemingly on the verge of retaining counsel to follow the lead of another Texas county and file suit against a national electronic mortgage recording entity, officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, instead decided to look to the state attorney general to take a potential leading role. “If this is…

Oct 26, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

GOP Contenders Campaign Against the Federal Judiciary; One Candidate Wants to Ax the 9th Circuit

Six out of eight candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are backing limits on the federal judiciary, ranging from an end to lifetime tenure to impeachment to curbs on jurisdiction. The candidates are criticizing the judiciary even though a majority of judges, including those on the Supreme Court, have been…

Oct 24, 2011 4:58 PM CDT

Latham’s Work Defending 9th Circuit Judge on ‘Torture Memo’ Allegations Valued at $3.2M

Latham & Watkins has performed $3.2 million in free legal work for a federal appeals judge, according to his financial disclosure forms. Appellate litigator Maureen Mahoney of Latham took on the defense of Jay Bybee as the U.S. Justice Department considered ethics allegations stemming from his work on so-called “torture…

Oct 24, 2011 1:30 PM CDT

Poker Players File Clawback Claim Against Cozen O’Connor, Seek $2M in Legal Fees

Some 200,000 poker players are seeking $2 million that Cozen O’Connor allegedly earned in legal fees from clients related to an online company now said by the feds to have been involved in a Ponzi scheme. The plaintiffs contend the law firm should disgorge the money because it knew or…

Oct 20, 2011 10:50 PM CDT

Convicted of Money Laundering, Lawyer Victimized in $300K Bad Check Scam Is Now Disbarred

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…

Oct 18, 2011 7:10 PM CDT

Lawyer Sued Over Shooting by Elderly Client; Complaint Alleges He Should Have Warned Authorities

A Florida lawyer has been named as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit seeking damages over a shooting in another state by an elderly client. Attorney David Gilmore should have anticipated that his client, Thomas Kyros, 81, posed a danger to Georgia Smith and her young adult daughter, Promethea…

Oct 18, 2011 6:21 PM CDT