Appellate Practice

Fighting Extradition in Child-Sex Case, Polanski Claims More Long-Ago Judicial Misconduct

Fighting to keep famed film director Roman Polanski from being extradited from Switzerland to face sentencing in a decades-old California child-sex case from which he fled following conviction, his lawyers are now making new allegations of long-ago judicial misconduct. Among them: That the now-deceased judge in the case met in…

Mar 18, 2010 11:14 PM CDT

9th Cir. Panel Refuses En Banc Rehearing of Ruling Ex-AG Ashcroft Can Be Sued by Witness

Refusing an en banc rehearing of an earlier 2-1 ruling by an appellate panel, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has effectively held once more that former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft can be sued for civil damages by a man who says he was unconstitutionally jailed…

Mar 18, 2010 9:36 PM CDT

Appeals Court OKs Cyberbullying Suit, Says Threats Nixed SLAPP Law

Ruling on a defendant’s argument that a so-called SLAPP law precluded a tort claim for alleged cyberbullying, a divided California appeals court has given the green light to the defamation and civil rights suit by the unidentified teen victim and his family. In a written opinion (PDF) on Monday, a…

Mar 18, 2010 12:09 AM CDT

11th Circuit Grants En Banc Hearing Sua Sponte in Sex Harassment Case

Plaintiffs attorney Edward Hawkins and law professor Eric Schnapper of the University of Washington had petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a sexual harassment case brought by two men against Home Depot USA Inc. But they had made such no request of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Mar 17, 2010 10:25 PM CDT

Phil Spector Appeals Murder Rap, Citing Error, Misconduct

Lawyers for Phil Spector, who was convicted and sentenced to 19 years to life for the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson, asked the California Second District Court of Appeal this week to reverse the verdict and order a new trial. The appeal focused on Judge Larry Paul Fidler’s decision…

Mar 12, 2010 8:29 PM CST

A Judge’s Unusual Request: Don’t Print This in Westlaw or Lexis

Unpublished opinions often show up in online databases, but one federal judge in Los Angeles is apparently trying to do something about it. Judge A. Howard Matz has added this line to at least 15 recent orders: “This order is not intended for publication or for inclusion in the databases…

Mar 11, 2010 11:30 AM CST

‘Slayer’s Statute’ Indictments Dismissed Against Defense Lawyers

The Georgia Supreme court dismissed indictments last week against two lawyers who accepted payment from their client. The trouble was that their defense client, Debra Post, eventually pleaded guilty to murdering her husband but paid them with proceeds from his estate and life insurance policy. And under Georgia’s “Slayer’s Statute,”…

Mar 11, 2010 1:57 AM CST

70-Year-Old Lawyer Hits One-Year Mark in Jail in Contempt Case

A year ago, a Los Angeles County superior court judge sentenced lawyer Richard Fine to jail indefinitely after he refused to provide personal financial information in an attorney fee dispute. Now? He is still in jail, Dan Walters writes in a column for the Sacramento Bee, if not still a…

Mar 10, 2010 7:03 PM CST

Juror’s Comment About Defense Lawyers Justified Mistrial, Appeals Court Says

A juror’s reported comment that “defense attorneys can be a––holes” is reason enough to vacate a cocaine conviction, according to a New Jersey appeals court. The appeals court upheld Judge John Almeida’s decision to declare a mistrial, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. A police officer who was a prosecution…

Mar 10, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Oral Dissents Are on the Upswing at the High Court, Researchers Find

Researchers studying oral dissents by Supreme Court justices have tallied the numbers (they are on the upswing) and divined the meaning (it indicates polarity). Oral dissents are being dissected by three sets of researchers, the New York Times reports. Among their findings: The average number of dissents per term is…

Mar 9, 2010 11:30 AM CST

‘West Coast Ralph Nader’ Dies at 91, Kept Justice Frankfurter Note on Desk

After growing up during the Great Depression, William Bennett dropped out of law school to serve as a bomber pilot in World War II, flying 35 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe and returning with the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Bronze Star medals. By the time he graduated from University of…

Mar 5, 2010 8:17 PM CST

Lawyer Wins New Trial for Client Because Judge Didn’t Put Jury Under Oath

Sentenced to 15 to 40 years after being convicted of assault with intent to commit murder by stabbing an acquaintance in his apartment in what the prosecution described as a drunken frenzy, Timothy Lawrence Becktel has won a new trial. Because the judge in his case apparently forgot to put…

Mar 5, 2010 7:29 PM CST

Burned Ex-Reed Smith Associate Back on Track for Trial After Appellate Win

An ex-associate who said her use of her dominant hand was impaired after it was burned during a Reed Smith trial training program is back in the litigation ballgame against her former employer. A trial court in 2007 had dismissed the 2003 disability discrimination case that Danielle Cesarano brought against…

Mar 4, 2010 10:31 PM CST

Judge Accused, Prosecutor Cleared re 3,388 Calls & Texts During & After Death-Penalty Case

It isn’t just in Texas that a judge is accused of having presided over a capital murder trial while simultaneously having an inappropriate relationship with the prosecutor. In Florida, Broward Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner was charged in a legal ethics complaint yesterday with having exchanged hundreds of phone calls and…

Mar 4, 2010 9:54 PM CST

Chief Justice Lets Oral Arguments Run Past Red Light

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. isn’t as strict as his predecessor when the red light goes on indicating it’s time for lawyers to end their oral arguments. Former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist often cut off lawyers mid-syllable when their time was up, although he occasionally allowed a few…

Mar 4, 2010 5:25 PM CST