California

Fake Rockefeller found guilty of first-degree murder in real trial

A German native who made headlines by posing among the well-to-do in New England as a member of the Rockefeller family and kidnapping his own daughter several years ago has been found guilty of first-degree murder in a California man’s death, decades earlier. Despite missing evidence and the difficulty, for…

Apr 10, 2013 6:45 PM CDT

District attorney should be disbarred for prosecutorial misconduct, state bar court recommends

The State Bar Court of California has recommended that Del Norte County District Attorney Jon Michael Alexander, who already had been disciplined three times in the past, be disbarred, the Los Angeles Times reports. In its opinion (PDF), the bar court found that Alexander, reportedly the state’s first sitting prosecutor…

Apr 8, 2013 10:05 PM CDT

Judges can ask lawyers to lobby legislature for more court funding, state ethics panel says

California’s new Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions has issued its first formal opinion, the Los Angeles Times reports, and it gives the OK for judges to ask lawyers to lobby for sufficient court funding. The committee, created in 2007, took longer than originally expected to begin turning out opinions because…

Apr 8, 2013 8:13 PM CDT

Architect facing manslaughter case over fatal fire at his $11M home says he has been unfairly blamed

Gerhard Albert Becker understands that a firefighter died while trying to save his multi-milliondollar Los Angeles home, which he designed and built. But the 49-year-old German architect, who is facing an unusual manslaughter prosecution due to alleged design defects, says it is “disgusting” that prosecutors are blaming him for, as…

Apr 5, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Lawyer wins court order to remove explicit photo from court file

A California lawyer fighting a lawsuit claiming he made unwanted sexual advances has obtained a court order to remove a photo of his penis from the court file. Riverside lawyer Dwayne Beck and his law firm “strenuously deny the merits” of the plaintiff’s case, but did admit the photo was…

Apr 3, 2013 3:20 PM CDT

West Coast litigation boutique Markun Zusman opens office in Boston

An 18-attorney West Coast litigation boutique has opened an office in a Boston suburb. New name partner David Freniere, who focuses his practice on securities matters, will head the new Wellesley office of Markun Zusman Freniere & Compton, the Boston Business Journal reports. One other lawyer currently works there, and…

Apr 2, 2013 5:20 PM CDT

Judge OKs record municipal bankruptcy, says city can’t otherwise provide services

In what is being billed as the biggest municipal bust ever, the city of Stockton, Calif., has been given a green light, over the objection of creditors, to go ahead with a bankruptcy case after a required 90-day mediation period. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein ruled Monday that creditors did…

Apr 1, 2013 10:33 PM CDT

Firm’s job contract doesn’t require arbitration of ex-associate’s suit, appeals court says

A former associate has won a round in a disability discrimination case she filed two years ago against Bingham McCutchen. The law firm had sought to arbitrate a California complaint by Hartwell Harris that the firm didn’t do enough to accommodate her unusual sleep disorder, But a trial-level judge ruled…

Apr 1, 2013 9:24 PM CDT

DA gets $26K worth of office furniture from private donors

Seeing a need for new office furniture in a state that is struggling with a lack of tax funding, the new San Francisco district attorney came up with a creative solution. George Gascón got a new glass-topped desk, chrome-framed visitors chairs, a bookshelf and a credenza from private donors, along…

Apr 1, 2013 3:38 PM CDT

Traffic court sting results in arrest of 2 unlicensed drivers, impound of vehicles

A police sting on Wednesday at a California traffic court session resulted in the arrest of two drivers and the impound of their vehicles. San Pablo police officers attended the Richmond Superior Court call and then followed those whose licenses had been suspended out of the hearing to see how…

Mar 29, 2013 6:57 PM CDT

Man stranded on Disney’s ‘It’s a Small World’ ride wins pain and suffering damages

A disabled man trapped on a ride at Disneyland as music blared overhead has won an $8,000 damages award in federal court. The nightmare for Jose Martinez began the day after Thanksgiving in 2009 when his and his wife’s ride on “It’s a Small World” was coming to an end.…

Mar 27, 2013 6:12 PM CDT

LAPD to get tapes of defense lawyer talks with convicted ‘Charles Manson family’ killer

After months of litigation and two court rulings, it looks like the Los Angeles Police Department may be on the verge of getting hold of long-ago taped conversations between a now-deceased Texas defense lawyer and a member of the notorious Charles Manson “family” convicted in multiple 1969 murders that terrorized…

Mar 26, 2013 8:34 PM CDT

Ordered to pay $67K in legal fees, lawyer calls 9th Circuit’s sanction ‘a badge of honor’

Ordered by a federal appeals court to pay $67,495 in legal fees to the companies involved in an airline merger he contested on antitrust grounds, a longtime San Francisco lawyer says he will have to pay the money of his own pocket. But Joseph Alioto said the sanction by the…

Mar 26, 2013 3:28 PM CDT

Attorney and law firm must pay $67K in legal fees for ‘vexatious’ suit challenging airline merger

In an unusual move, a federal appeals court has sanctioned a prominent San Francisco plaintiffs law firm and its name partner by ordering reimbursement of $67,495 in opponent legal fees for pursuing what opponents called “unreasonable and vexatious” litigation over an airline merger. Joseph Alioto and the Alioto Law Firm…

Mar 25, 2013 5:53 PM CDT

Who gets $1.2M reward for capture of former LAPD officer sought in slayings?

A switch from one stolen vehicle to another could be key in a battle for $1.2 million in reward money for the capture of a former Los Angeles Police Department officer thought to have been involved in several slayings. Suspect Christopher Dorner at first invaded the cabin of Karen and…

Mar 25, 2013 3:30 PM CDT