Appellate Practice

Judge Orders Newspaper to ID Claimed Juror Who Commented Online During Trial Over Attorney’s Murder

A Kansas newspaper has been ordered to identify to a local court an anonymous website poster who claimed to be a juror in a high-profile felony murder trial in which an attorney was the victim. The Topeka Capital-Journal will not contest the Shawnee County District Court order requiring it to…

Nov 1, 2012 5:44 PM CDT

Granted a Trial After Taking a 20-Year Plea, Man Is Again Convicted of Murder, Gets 45 Years

An Illinois man who won a new first-degree murder trial after taking a plea by pointing out to an appellate court that state law required him to get a substantially higher sentence, has now been tried, reconvicted and resentenced. And, just as a state appeals court warned Brian W. Pinkas…

Oct 31, 2012 9:14 PM CDT

5th Circuit Revives Lawyer’s Suit Against Texas re Demand to Remove ‘Workers’ Comp’ from Domain Name

A federal appeals court has revived a Texas attorney’s suit against the state, over an agency’s demand that he stop using the words “Texas” and “Workers’ Comp” in the domain name of his law blog. However, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also partially affirmed a lower court’s dismissal…

Oct 31, 2012 4:24 PM CDT

After Unusual Dispute Over Who Represents Drew Peterson, New Lawyer Takes Over Ex-Cop’s Murder Case

After an unusual public dispute earlier this month over who is representing Drew Peterson in post-conviction matters concerning the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a new lawyer has stepped up to the plate in the high-profile suburban Chicago case. Lead lawyer Joel Brodsky has announced that he is…

Oct 30, 2012 7:30 PM CDT

Inventive Kozinski Gives New Label to a Possibly Concurring Opinion

It’s not a dissent. It’s not a concurrence. It’s “Chief Judge Kozinski, disagreeing with everyone.” Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave that label to his opinion in an en banc immigration case on Friday, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog,…

Oct 24, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

After Appeals Court Nixes Reversed Conviction of Anna Nicole Smith’s Boyfriend-Lawyer, What Next?

Confusion reigned following news that a California appellate court has determined that a trial judge erroneously reversed the conviction of Anna Nicole Smith’s onetime boyfriend and lawyer, in a relatively minor criminal conspiracy case concerning prescription drugs supplied to the now-deceased celebrity and former Playboy bunny. Lawyers said they aren’t…

Oct 19, 2012 7:08 PM CDT

Covington Appeals Law Firm’s Disqualification in Major Minn. Enviro Case Against Ex-Client 3M

Covington & Burling has filed an appeal of a Minnesota judge’s determination that the law firm is conflicted out of representing the state against 3M Co. in a major environmental case. In its Tuesday filing (PDF) in the state court of appeals, the firm adopts an argument made by its…

Oct 17, 2012 7:50 PM CDT

Lawyer Blasted by Ky. Judge Who Called Case ‘Ridiculous,’ Client a ‘Carcass’ Now Seeks His Removal

A lawyer who was blasted by a senior Kentucky judge during a videotaped hearing that has generated much comment from observers has now filed a removal motion seeking a new jurist to oversee his client’s motion for a new trial in a capital murder case. “It is my opinion that…

Oct 16, 2012 9:58 PM CDT

Class Action Seeks Hearings for ‘Forgotten’ Chicago Police Torture Victims

In what is being billed as a first-of-its-kind filing in Cook County, two legal clinics supported by big-name members of the legal community are pursuing a criminal court class action seeking hearings for all imprisoned individuals with “credible claims” of having been tortured into confessing to murder by Chicago police.…

Oct 16, 2012 9:23 PM CDT

Lead Drew Peterson Defense Lawyer Stays on Case, Calls Competing Attorneys ‘Bottom Feeders’

A court hearing Friday in suburban Chicago seemingly provided at least a temporary answer to a question that has been hotly debated in news articles lately: Is lead defense lawyer Joel Brodsky still representing now-convicted murderer Drew Peterson? Or has Brodsky been axed, in favor of the outside lawyers who…

Oct 12, 2012 8:38 PM CDT

Chief US District Judge Says Mass. Crime Lab Problems Impact at Least 100 to 200 Federal Cases

It isn’t just thousands of state court cases that have been thrown into a state of uncertainty by problems at a Massachusetts facility that tests drug samples used to prosecute criminal cases. Federal courts in Massachusetts also relied on the state’s crime laboratory to provide accurate information about evidence used…

Oct 11, 2012 8:22 PM CDT

Lead Drew Peterson Lawyer Seeks Court Nix re ‘Completely Unauthorized’ Motion, Contempt for Filers

In the latest salvo in a bizarre battle to determine which attorneys represent the recently convicted defendant in a high-profile murder trial, the lead defense counsel for Drew Peterson on Thursday asked a suburban Chicago judge to strike a post-trial motion filed by two other lawyers who hitherto have not…

Oct 11, 2012 7:24 PM CDT

Outside Lawyer Files Motion for New Murder Trial for Drew Peterson; Lead Counsel Calls It ‘Insanity’

Updated: In the latest bizarre twist in a high-profile murder conviction against a former suburban Chicago police officer for the death of his third wife, a lawyer not previously involved in the case has filed a motion seeking a new trial for Drew Peterson. Attorney John Paul Carroll said in…

Oct 10, 2012 3:59 PM CDT

See the Video: Angry Judge Blasts ‘Backseat Driver’ Appellate Counsel in High-Profile Murder Case

Updated: In an action-packed Sept. 28 hearing, a Kentucky senior judge blasts an appellate lawyer seeking a new trial for his client in a high-profile murder case. As the camera rolls, retired Jefferson Circuit Judge Martin McDonald repeatedly criticizes assistant public advocate David Barron and cuts him off as he…

Oct 9, 2012 7:37 PM CDT

As Lawsuits Swirl, Judge Tells Lawyer to Take Down RipoffReport Comment re Ex-Client Law Student

Apparently angry about what he perceived as unfairly critical online comments on RipoffReport by an anonymous former client, a New York lawyer allegedly responded publicly to the posts last year, making reference to the ex-client’s criminal case history and calling him “emotionally disturbed.” The former client, a Brooklyn law student,…

Oct 5, 2012 3:30 PM CDT