Appellate Practice

Lawyer’s suicide may void his judicial bribery case conviction

Convicted last year in a judicial bribery case and sentenced to three and a half years, a South Texas lawyer may have cleared his conviction by committing suicide Feb. 28 as he was due to report to federal prison. Because Ray R. Marchan, 56, had an appeal pending at the…

Mar 25, 2013 7:16 PM CDT

‘Romeo Killer’ back on Lifetime TV weekend lineup after NY appeals court steps in

A New York appeals court has effectively reversed a trial judge’s prior restraint of a true-crime television movie scheduled to air on Saturday about a murder committed by Christopher Porco. In a rule to show cause order (PDF) issued Thursday, the Appellate Division, 3rd Department, stayed an earlier order banning…

Mar 22, 2013 7:42 PM CDT

‘Landmark’ NY appeals court ruling voids prenup due to millionaire’s oral promises to wife-to-be

In what lawyers are calling a landmark ruling, a New York appeals court has upheld a Long Island judge’s decision to void an prenuptial agreement that the wife of a millionaire says she was tricked into signing by false promises made by her husband-to-be, days before the wedding. Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis…

Mar 11, 2013 7:20 PM CDT

Law prof sees ‘huge uptick’ in Supreme Court opinions mentioning floods of litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court appears increasingly worried about opening the litigation floodgates, judging by an analysis of the metaphor in its decisions. Duke University law professor Marin Levy found about 60 cases using the term “floodgates” or similar words, the first in 1908, the New York Times reports. Almost half,…

Mar 6, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Did Jones Day’s new SCOTUS clerk hire set a record?

Jones Day may have set a record when it hired Rachel Bloomekatz, a former law clerk for Justice Stephen G. Breyer. Bloomekatz is the sixth former Supreme Court law clerk from last term hired by the firm, the National Law Journal reports. Is that a record for the most clerks…

Mar 5, 2013 5:10 PM CST

DOMA violates equal protection with ‘discriminatory burdens’ on same-sex spouses, says ABA brief

In an amicus brief (PDF) filed Friday, the American Bar Association asks the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the “unprecedented and discriminatory burdens” placed on legally married same-sex couples by Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. As an ABA press release sums up, the brief, which was…

Mar 4, 2013 3:43 PM CST

‘Inside the Law School Scam’ blogger signs off; Should appellate briefs have corporate sponsors?

‘I’ve said what I have to say, at least in this format.’ University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos says he has filed his last post at Inside the Law School Scam. Campos started his blog (anoymously, but revealed his identity within a couple of weeks) in August of 2011,…

Mar 1, 2013 2:29 PM CST

State’s top court tosses $1B punitives award against Exxon in community gas-spill case

Maryland’s top court has nixed a $1 billion punitive damages award against ExxonMobil Corp. in an environmental case brought over a 2006 gasoline spill in Jacksonville, finding that the fraud claims on which the 2011 verdict was based were not proven. In a 129-page opinion (PDF), the Maryland Court of…

Feb 27, 2013 10:29 PM CST

Does judge’s moonlighting as stand-up comic put judiciary in bad light? State’s top court to decide

Vince A. Sicari is a municipal judge in South Hackensack, N.J. He’s also a stand-up comic who performed Monday night at Carolines on Broadway in New York and recently warmed up the crowd before a taping of The Colbert Report and cracked jokes before an appearance by U.S. Supreme Court…

Feb 26, 2013 6:05 PM CST

Lawyer, who’s also a part-time judge, faces judicial discipline case over conduct with jailed client

A part-time Indiana judge and practicing attorney is facing a disciplinary case concerning her recent work as a public defender. While representing an unidentified imprisoned client on appeal, Lisa Traylor-Wolff became sexually involved with the man and participated in inappropriate behavior in a visiting room at the Miami Correctional Facility,…

Feb 25, 2013 10:10 PM CST

Bombshell tape found during cop-murder trial sparks plea deal, but both defendants balk

Updated: Dennis Escobar got an unexpected reprieve last week for the second time in a first-degree murder case for the slaying of a Miami police officer in 1988. An unlabeled audiotape, found Feb. 17 by a retired city homicide detective going through an evidence box as he prepared to testify,…

Feb 25, 2013 5:00 PM CST

Appellate decision striking Illinois concealed-carry law won’t be reviewed by full 7th Circuit

In another step toward a likely relaxation of a strict Illinois state law banning concealed-carry firearms under most circumstances, a divided federal appeals court on Friday denied a request for en banc review of an earlier appellate court decision finding the law unconstitutional. The 5-4 order (PDF) by the 7th…

Feb 25, 2013 2:55 PM CST

Lawyer loses license for 2 years because his bookkeeper brother stole $4M from firm

A New York matrimonial attorney is apparently going to be forced to take a two-year leave from law practice after the state’s top appellate court declined Tuesday to review an intermediate appeals court’s OK of a two-year law license suspension. Peter Galasso was disciplined for failing to safeguard some $4…

Feb 20, 2013 6:05 PM CST

Did ‘troubled’ appeals court err by nixing suit over New York Law School job stats?

Updated: In what may be a harbinger of a new round of litigation against law schools accused by their own graduates of luring them to enroll with misleading legal job placement information, an appeal to the state’s highest court has been filed by the losing plaintiffs in a suit against…

Feb 20, 2013 5:29 PM CST

3 lawyers facing theft and RICO cases over private investigation work for Glock get reprieve

Three lawyers facing criminal charges over $3 million in private investigation work they did for gun maker Glock Inc. got a reprieve Monday from the Georgia Supreme Court. Suggesting the 4-year statute of limitations had run on theft and attempted theft charges against Jerry Chapman, former federal prosecutor Jim Harper…

Feb 19, 2013 10:10 PM CST