California

Lawyer is accused of persuading client to invest $120K in his cat litter box invention

A California lawyer has been charged with financial elder abuse, grand theft and securities fraud for allegedly persuading a client to invest in his cat litter box invention. The lawyer, 63-year-old Delbert Joe Modlin of Sacramento, was arrested on Tuesday, the Sacramento Bee reports. The charges stem from representation of…

Aug 29, 2014 12:02 PM CDT

Deputy distracted by patrol car’s computer won’t be charged in fatal collision with bicycling lawyer

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was distracted by his patrol car’s mobile computer when the vehicle fatally struck a well-known entertainment attorney bicycling in a designated lane last year, an investigation has determined. But Deputy Andrew Wood won’t be criminally charged in the Dec. 8 accident that killed attorney…

Aug 28, 2014 7:14 PM CDT

Federal gun ban applies even if domestic violence victim isn’t injured, state appeals court says

A federal gun-possession ban for those with state-law misdemeanor domestic violence convictions will be applied broadly in California, a state appeals court has ruled. Petitioner Scott R. James, who had applied to be a reserve deputy sheriff and wanted to buy a gun, sought a writ of mandate arguing that…

Aug 28, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

‘Seismic’ 9th Cir. rulings nix FedEx claim its drivers aren’t employees, could cost company millions

In a significant victory for FedEx drivers who contend they have been misclassified as independent contractors, a federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed a finding in multidistrict litigation in Indiana and held that nearly 2,700 plaintiffs in California and Oregon are in fact employees. In separate decisions concerning the California…

Aug 27, 2014 9:55 PM CDT

Serial airline stowaway attempter is now in Arizona, where she has been arrested again

A 62-year-old woman who has repeatedly made headlines this month by attempting to stow away on airline flights is in trouble again. Marilyn Jean Hartman was arrested Tuesday at an airport in Phoenix on suspicion of criminal trespass. Earlier this month, Hartman received a months-long sentence in California for violating…

Aug 27, 2014 3:25 PM CDT

9th Circuit revives pro se habeas petition, says trial court erred in applying ‘prison mailbox’ rule

A federal judge in California dismissed a prison inmate’s pro se habeas petition on statute-of-limitations grounds. But the district court erred in doing so because it didn’t properly apply the “prison mailbox” rule, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, reviving the habeas petition of Eduardo Hernandez. The rule, which says…

Aug 25, 2014 8:05 PM CDT

Owners of 100-pound dogs charged with 2nd-degree murder in fatal attack on jogger

A history of allegedly allowing two aggressive 100-pound dogs to run loose resulted in second-degree murder charges for a Michigan couple after a jogger reportedly was killed by the dogs last month. If convicted, Valbona Lucaj, 44, and Sebastiano Quagliata, 45, could get as much as life in prison. The…

Aug 25, 2014 5:57 PM CDT

Worst quake in decades hits San Francisco Bay area; law firms, at least one courthouse damaged

It wasn’t just wineries that suffered damage Sunday from an earthquake in California’s Napa Valley. The magnitude 6.0 temblor was the worst the area has seen in 25 years and left law firms and at least one courthouse with cracked and crumbling walls. Hundreds were injured by the 3:20 a.m.…

Aug 25, 2014 2:25 PM CDT

Selfie sent to burglary victim’s cloud account put couple at forefront of investigation

At the end of July, someone broke into a California woman’s home in the Santa Clarita area and stole jewelry, cash and electronic devices. Then the investigation got on a fast track when, after the burglary, the victim discovered selfies of an unknown couple on her cloud account, days later.…

Aug 21, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Teens charged in alleged school shooting plot; probe included Internet surveillance

Two South Pasadena, California, teens are facing juvenile charges of making criminal threats in connection with an alleged plot for a mass shooting at their school. The youths, ages 16 and 17, were arraigned in a closed hearing on Wednesday, report the Los Angeles Times and the Pasadena Star-News. After…

Aug 21, 2014 1:41 PM CDT

Federal judge likens Anna Nicole Smith case to ‘Bleak House,’ says 20 years of litigation is enough

After nearly 20 years of litigation, it appears that efforts by the late Anna Nicole Smith and her estate to get millions from her late husband’s estate may be nearing a conclusion. Comparing the case to the multigenerational estate litigation described in the classic Charles Dickens novel Bleak House, a…

Aug 20, 2014 5:55 PM CDT

Bomb squad detonates apparent explosive device near federal courthouse; no one is injured

After a passerby reported seeing a stick of dynamite in a sports-utility vehicle parked near a federal courthouse in San Francisco on Monday around 8 p.m., authorities responded and determined that the vehicle did contain an apparent explosive device. However, San Francisco police closed off streets near the San Francisco…

Aug 19, 2014 8:05 PM CDT

Solar power towers are igniting birds in midair; wildlife protection groups are concerned

In the quest for clean energy, some birds are feeling the heat. Because of the concentration of sunlight by garage-door-size mirrors that reflect solar rays onto boiler towers as high as 40 feet, birds are igniting in midair at a $2.2 billion plant on the California-Nevada border. Observations suggest birds…

Aug 18, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

On probation after serial stowaway attempts, woman gets 177 days for returning to airport

Ten days ago, Marilyn Jean Hartman managed to sneak onto a flight from San Jose, California, to Los Angeles without a ticket. Discovered once she arrived in LA on Aug. 4, the 62-year-old San Francisco Bay area resident was arrested, charged with a misdemeanor and released on probation two days…

Aug 14, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Prosecutor is accused of adding admission of guilt to transcript; he said it was a joke

A California prosecutor is facing an ethics complaint that alleges he added an admission of guilt to a transcript provided to the suspect’s public defender. Deputy District Attorney Robert Murray of Kern County has said he was joking when he sent the altered transcript to a deputy public defender, and…

Aug 12, 2014 12:18 PM CDT