California

Judge mulls possible sanctions for Samsung and counsel over Apple info disclosure

A federal magistrate judge in California is mulling potential sanctions against Samsung Electronics and its counsel over the possible violation of a protective order concerning discovery in a hard-fought, big-bucks patent-infringement case. Apple provided confidential information to Samsung’s law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which was supposed to be…

Nov 11, 2013 9:30 PM CST

Law clerk who advocated for safer streets for the disabled is killed in crash

When Kenneth “Bryan” Goodwin was injured in a 2011 accident, his wheelchair was stolen while he was being treated at a San Francisco hospital. He made a claim against the city, resulting in a new policy requiring emergency responders to safeguard patients’ mobility devices. Early Monday morning, the 31-year-old legal…

Nov 8, 2013 7:02 PM CST

Disgraced as journalist, Stephen Glass faces skeptical Calif. supreme court in law-license bid

Disgraced as a journalist when he was revealed to have fabricated all or part of over 40 articles for The New Republic and other publications 15 years ago, Stephen Glass wound up as the subject of a critically acclaimed 2003 movie that helped make him something of a household name.…

Nov 6, 2013 11:30 PM CST

Did mom-and-dad law grads frame volunteer at son’s school? Husband blames wife at trial

Two married law school graduates are nearing a conclusion in the California criminal case they faced after allegedly framing a volunteer at their son’s elementary school in a drug set-up. Jill Bjorkholm Easter, 40, pleaded guilty last month to false imprisonment of the volunteer. But Kent Wycliff Easter, 40, is…

Nov 6, 2013 9:50 PM CST

University sued in drunk-driving deaths because housing officer didn’t report alleged domestic abuse

The parents of a young woman who died in a one-car crash soon after earning a bachelor’s degree last year have sued the University of California at Berkeley over the accident. Their daughter, Milanca Lopez, 22, and her 6-year-old son might have survived, the suit contends, if a university housing…

Nov 5, 2013 10:10 PM CST

‘Chaos & fear’ at LA airport as TSA agent is slain; suspect in custody

The Los Angeles airport looked like a set for a movie on Friday morning as a gunman who may have been a ticketed passenger fatally shot a Transportation Security Agent in one of the terminals and onlookers scrambled to avoid gunshots fired from an assault rifle. “An individual came into…

Nov 1, 2013 8:49 PM CDT

Driver ticketed for wearing Google Glass behind wheel

Pulled over Tuesday night on suspicion of speeding by a state highway patrol officer, a California driver wound up with a second, highly unusual, citation. Cecilia Abadie was also ticketed for wearing Google Glass behind the wheel, allegedly violating a state law against driving while a monitor is visible to…

Nov 1, 2013 3:35 PM CDT

Judge is asked to apologize to victim’s family for officiating at killer’s wedding after sentencing

A California judge is under fire for marrying a criminal defendant to his longtime girlfriend minutes after sentencing him to 53 years to life for murder. An attorney for the victim’s family has asked Superior Court Judge Patricia Cookson to apologize. Paul Kamenar says in a letter to the judge…

Oct 29, 2013 5:50 PM CDT

ACLU asks ICE to stop making ‘abusive arrests’ at courthouse

Immigration agents avoid looking for suspects at “sensitive locations” including hospitals, schools and places of worship. But courthouses aren’t on the list of such sites, and they should be, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California says in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It asks…

Oct 28, 2013 9:55 PM CDT

Reports: Orrick and Pillsbury on verge of mega-merger, deal could be announced as soon as next week

A new megafirm may be about to be born: Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman are in advanced merger talks, and an agreement to combine the two law firms could be reached as early as next week, the New York Times’ DealBook blog reports. Reuters was the…

Oct 25, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

No class certification in job stats suit against Thomas Jefferson Law School, judge rules

A judge has denied a motion for class certification by a group of Thomas Jefferson School of Law graduates who claimed they were tricked into attending the school by misleading post-graduate job statistics. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Joel M. Pressman, in an order (PDF) Monday, said the predominance…

Oct 23, 2013 7:58 PM CDT

Lawyer agrees to disbarment for abdicating law firm to nonlawyers

A San Diego lawyer has agreed to be disbarred for allowing a nonlawyer to open and operate a law firm in his name that offered credit-repair services. Ernest George Georggin, 68, agreed to give up his law license and to pay $90,000 in restitution, plus interest, to 25 former clients…

Oct 23, 2013 5:00 PM CDT

Judge charged with battery over dog-waste dispute near his home

A California judge is facing a misdemeanor battery charge after allegedly pushing a woman from behind and knocking her to the ground during a dispute over dog waste near his Chatsworth home. However, a lawyer for Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Richman says his client did nothing wrong…

Oct 23, 2013 4:20 PM CDT

Ex-judge gets 5 years of probation in theft from elderly neighbor

Initially, authorities accused a California judge of using a durable power of attorney to steal an elderly neighbor’s life savings of $1.6 milion or more, charging him with dozens of felony counts. However, former Alameda County Superior Court Judge Paul Seeman entered no-contest pleas in August to just two—perjury and…

Oct 21, 2013 6:55 PM CDT

9th Circuit mulls high school’s ban on US flag T-shirts to avoid Cinco de Mayo trouble

In a case that pits First Amendment rights of young Americans to display pride in their country against the power of high school administrators to take reasonable measures to promote student safety, a federal appellate panel heard oral arguments Thursday about whether to revive a lawsuit brought by former students…

Oct 17, 2013 9:20 PM CDT