California

More Charles Manson Family Murders? Authorities Dig at Remote Calif. Site

Authorities began digging for possible human remains today at a remote ranch in the California portion of Death Valley National Park. Convicted spree killer Charles Manson and several of his followers were captured there nearly 30 years ago, shortly after the infamous 1969 killings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and…

May 20, 2008 7:51 PM CDT

Prosecutor Explains Possible Case Against JuicyCampus

Only a few of Chelsea Gorman’s closest friends knew she had been raped one night as the freshman was walking back to Vanderbilt University. Yet, months after the attack, the attack became a topic of anonymous gossip—and vicious criticism of Gorman—on the JuicyCampus Internet site. The anonymous campus gossip site—which…

May 19, 2008 11:49 PM CDT

Joint Phishing Operation Nets 38 Arrests

A joint investigation by U.S. and Romanian authorities has resulted the indictment of 38 people accused of taking part in a complicated Internet phishing scheme to steal thousands of credit and debit card numbers. In the two indictments unsealed Monday and filed in the Central District of California and the…

May 19, 2008 7:27 PM CDT

California Chief Justice: Doing the Right Thing Means Not Playing It Safe

Ronald George, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, is known as a moderate Republican who heads a cautious court. Yet he made history Thursday when he wrote the majority opinion striking down a ban on gay marriages in the state. George told the Los Angeles Times in an…

May 19, 2008 12:09 PM CDT

ABA President to Replace Magowan as Managing Partner of San Francisco Giants

Peter Magowan is stepping down and ABA President William H. Neukom is stepping up as managing partner and chief executive officer of the San Francisco Giants, it was announced this afternoon. Magowan will retire at the end of the season, and Neukom will take over his management role of the…

May 16, 2008 10:38 PM CDT

Hacker Gets 5 Years for Prank 911 Calls Resulting in SWAT Team Raids

The leader of a group of hackers who reportedly sent police SWAT teams to fictitious hostage situations in the homes of some 250 innocent people in 60 cities between 2002 and 2006 was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge in Texas to five years in prison. Describing the pranks, in…

May 16, 2008 7:04 PM CDT

New Law Dean at UC Davis is First Latino in the Position

Kevin Johnson was confirmed today as the new law school dean at the University of California at Davis by the school’s board of regents. He is the first Latino to be appointed dean of any of the law schools in the UC system, according to a press release. Johnson, 49,…

May 16, 2008 12:30 AM CDT

California Supreme Court Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban

Updated: The California Supreme Court has struck down the state’s ban on gay marriages in a 4-3 ruling. The court ruled the California Constitution gives gay couples the right to marry, making the state the second to permit such unions, the Associated Press reports. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has also…

May 15, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

California Supreme Court to Rule on Gay Marriage Today

The California Supreme Court will issue a ruling today in a series of lawsuits that seek to overturn a law banning gay marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Court is the only top state court that has found a right to same-sex marriages, the Associated Press reports. When the California Supreme Court…

May 15, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Countrywide Shareholder Suit

A California federal judge has refused to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit against directors and officers of Countrywide Financial Corp. Judge Mariana Pfaelzer ruled Tuesday that confidential witness accounts cited in the complaint were credible and suggested “a widespread company culture that encouraged employees to push mortgages through without regard to…

May 15, 2008 10:58 AM CDT

New Tests in 1908 Murder Mystery: Did ‘Lady Bluebeard’ Kill Children, Too?

It looks like Belle Gunness, in addition to luring lonely men to her hillltop Indiana farm in the early 1900s and murdering and dismembering them, may have killed children there, too, according to an attorney-turned-forensic anthropologist. Although DNA test results are still awaited, attorney Andrea Simmons, who is leading a…

May 15, 2008 12:42 AM CDT

Dreier Forms Sports Marketing Affiliate

Dreier is launching a sports marketing and consulting affiliate, in conjunction with the law firm’s sports practice. Dreier Sports Opportunities Group will be headed by attorney Don Gibson, a former major league baseball executive, the firm reports in a press release. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based affiliate “will assist athletes and…

May 14, 2008 3:30 PM CDT

Legal Dispute Escalates With Craigslist Countersuit Against EBay

Web classified company Craigslist has filed a countersuit against eBay that claims the auction company interfered with its business operations and infringed its trademark after acquiring a minority stake in Craigslist. The suit was filed just two weeks after eBay sued Craigslist executives claiming they improperly sought to dilute eBay’s…

May 14, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Judge Advises Colonoscopy-Averse Lawyers to ‘Get Over It’

A judge says he dreaded his first colonoscopy with the same kind of trepidation reserved for requests for a tax audit and scary parts of the movie Alien. “I’m not talking here about your basic, ordinary garden-variety bar exam dread,” writes Judge William Bedsworth of the California Court of Appeal…

May 13, 2008 1:20 PM CDT

Prosecutors May Stay on Cases Despite Role in Fictionalized Crimes, Court Says

The California Supreme Court has refused to kick two prosecutors off pending cases over alleged conflicts of interest caused by their participation in fictionalized portrayals of crimes. In one of the rulings, the court said “only an actual likelihood of unfair treatment, not a subjective perception of impropriety” warrants removal…

May 13, 2008 10:49 AM CDT