California

FTC sues AT&T over claims about smartphone data plans, says ‘unlimited means unlimited’

Saying that a company’s marketing claims about “unlimited” data offered to smartphone customers should, in fact, mean that data usage is unlimited, the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced that it has filed suit against AT&T Mobility LLC. The company, contrary to its claims to consumers, “throttled” their data speeds…

Oct 28, 2014 3:55 PM CDT

DUI case dropped after arresting officer allegedly forwarded suspect’s photos to his own phone

Two months ago it looked like a woman pulled over by California Highway Patrol officers on Aug. 29 for making an unsafe lane change was going to be facing a driving-under-the-influence case after she failed field sobriety tests and was arrested. However, in a stunning reversal of fortune for the…

Oct 24, 2014 10:10 AM CDT

Actor in ‘Goodfellas’ sues Fox for $250M, says wise guy in ‘Simpsons’ cartoon is based on him

An actor known for the mob characters he played in the The Godfather Part II and Goodfellas has sued Fox Television Studios for $250 million over a wise-guy character in The Simpsons known as Louie. Plaintiff Frank Sivero says The Simpsons used both his likeness and physical characteristics and a…

Oct 22, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

More lawyers exit Bingham and Dickstein; Switching firms no longer carries stigma, says WSJ

Faced with a post-recession legal market that has been characterized by reduced demand for services and pressure by corporate clients to cut costs, some reconfiguring law firms are seeing significant lateral movement. Last month came news that 18 partners in Bingham McCutchen’s London office were leaving for Akin Gump Strauss…

Oct 20, 2014 11:30 AM CDT

DA: ‘Hit list’ shows inmate sought to kill 9 witnesses, suggesting methods and order of slayings

Already facing a 50-count indictment, a jailed defendant in a California insurance fraud prosecution is now facing 10 new charges concerning nine witnesses he is accused of targeting for murder in the Contra Costa County case. District Attorney Mark Peterson said a witness “hit list” found by investigators not only…

Oct 17, 2014 5:00 PM CDT

Lawyer gets 6 months for setting up school volunteer in faked drug case

A California lawyer convicted last month of helping his wife try to set up a volunteer at their son’s elementary school in a faked drug case has been sentenced to six months in jail. Kent Easter, 40, was taken into custody after a jury found him guilty, so that time…

Oct 17, 2014 3:10 PM CDT

Bicyclist who didn’t outfit baby with helmet says cops choked him and forcibly took the boy away

A bicyclist who took his baby along for a short trip to Trader Joe’s claims in a lawsuit that San Francisco police choked him unconscious and confiscated his infant son after he questioned the need to outfit the baby in a helmet. Prosecutors did not charge Takuro Hashitaka after his…

Oct 17, 2014 1:14 PM CDT

Judge regrets calling jail about domestic violence suspect but denies willful misconduct

A California judge is facing a legal ethics case after calling a local jail last year about an acquaintance being held in a Fresno County felony domestic violence case. However, a lawyer for Superior Court Judge James Petrucelli said Tuesday that he had not committed official misconduct in doing so…

Oct 15, 2014 12:55 PM CDT

Woman is declared innocent after spending 17 years in jail; witness was ‘habitual liar,’ judge says

A woman who spent 17 years in a California prison for the murder of a homeless man whom she had previously dated walked free on Friday after a judge declared her to be innocent of the crime. Judge Mark Arnold tossed the conviction of Susan Mellen, 59, on Friday, saying…

Oct 15, 2014 11:32 AM CDT

Strike by court clerks in San Francisco is expected to slow down operations

Clerks were on strike Tuesday at San Francisco Superior Court to protest claimed bad faith by the city in negotiating a possible wage increase with for Service Employees International Union Local 1021. Picketing during the one-day strike slowed down operations at the civil and juvenile courthouses, as officials made cases…

Oct 14, 2014 12:00 PM CDT

Lawyer is federally indicted in heroin case, had $90K seized at airport

A California lawyer has been federally indicted in a heroin trafficking case in Las Vegas and lost $90,000 in cash when authorities seized the money from him at an Ohio airport earlier this year. Glen Hunsberger, 46, and two co-defendants were charged Tuesday by a grand jury with conspiracy to…

Oct 9, 2014 9:00 AM CDT

Big money is backing California voter initiative that would send fewer criminals to prison

A well-off mix of progressive foundations and activists along with a conservative Christian businessman is putting significant money and effort into a California voter initiative that would reduce some felonies to misdemeanors, the Los Angeles Times and the Huffington Post report. Campaign finance reports filed Monday show that B. Wayne…

Oct 7, 2014 3:41 PM CDT

California judge upholds law requiring larger cages for egg-producing chickens

A Sacramento, California, federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging that state’s requirements for egg production, the Wall Street Journal reported. Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa had sued California over rules setting a minimum size for cages used in the production of all eggs sold in the state.…

Oct 6, 2014 5:32 PM CDT

Bankruptcy judge’s ruling that California city’s pensions can be cut could have big impact

A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Sacramento has ruled that the city of Stockton’s retirement-fund obligations to employees can be treated just like other debts in a proposed Chapter 9 reorganization, the Los Angeles Times reports. In previous bankruptcy cases of other California cities, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) had…

Oct 2, 2014 12:46 PM CDT

Citing prosecutor’s affair with lab technician, DA drops murder charges in 1989 slaying

A California judge has dismissed murder charges against two men accused in a 1989 slaying based on a request by the DA, who cited concerns about an affair between a prosecutor and lab technician who both worked on the case. In a press release, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen…

Oct 1, 2014 8:15 AM CDT