California

Emotional Close to Priest Suit

A judge has approved a record $660 million settlement in a suit against the Los Angeles archdiocese for sexual abuse by priests. Victims cried as Judge Haley Fromholz of Los Angeles County Superior Court said settlement “was the right thing to do,” the New York Times reports. The plaintiffs’ lead…

Jul 17, 2007 2:28 PM CDT

Ex-Software CEO Can Sue Lawyers

The California Supreme Court has cleared the way for malicious prosecution suit by the founder of a software company. The decision allows Siebel Systems founder Thomas Siebel to sue two lawyers who represented a woman in a suit against Siebel and the company, the Recorder reports. Siebel Systems was later…

Jul 17, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

New Leader for Bingham’s SF Office

Bingham McCutchen is putting a new partner at the helm of its San Francisco office, following the departure of seven partners and several associates since the beginning of the year. The new office leader is Geoffrey Howard, 40, who has been jointly heading the firm’s complex litigation practice group, reports…

Jul 16, 2007 11:41 PM CDT

US Citizens Move for Foreign Partners

Tim Miller has met his life partner. The problem is, the couple can’t live happily ever after here in the U.S. That’s because his partner, Alistair McCartney, is not only gay but an Australian citizen. Even if the two establish residency in one of the handful of states that allows…

Jul 16, 2007 10:22 PM CDT

Priest Abuse Settlement Before Judge

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will present a record $660 million settlement of sexual abuse claims to a judge for approval today. The settlement with 508 sexual abuse victims came just two days before a scheduled trial, the New York Times reports. Settlement negotiations in the case had spanned more…

Jul 16, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Injunctions to Curtail Citizen Activities?

In a sign of the law enforcement times, two California judges were asked yesterday to issue injunctions that would prohibit 76 alleged gang members from hanging out in certain areas of San Francisco, wearing certain colors and using gang signs. The orders could also involve a curfew, except for approved…

Jul 13, 2007 8:54 PM CDT

Tort Trial Here for Deaths in Colombia

War-torn Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world in which to be a labor union member: Well over 2,000 trade unionists have been killed there since 1991, according to Amnesty International. The killings are apparently at least in part attributable to a four-decades-old war between leftist guerrillas, the…

Jul 13, 2007 6:59 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Jail Perks Probe Launched

Did Paris Hilton get special treatment during her brief jail stay for violating probation on an alcohol related traffic offense? That is the question to be answered by a newly launched Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation. The hotel heiress allegedly had her mail delivered by top brass at the…

Jul 13, 2007 3:45 AM CDT

Spector’s Ex-Lawyer Says She Will Testify

Bowing to the California Supreme Court’s effective decision that attorney-client privilege doesn’t apply, a lawyer who formerly represented music producer Phil Spector says she will testify in his ongoing murder trial. Sara Caplan is expected to testify today about whether she saw an expert mishandle evidence at the crime scene…

Jul 12, 2007 10:05 PM CDT

Prosecutor Misconduct Debated

Lawyers sparred over the extent of prosecutorial misconduct in California at a hearing convened yesterday by a state commission studying problems in the criminal justice system. Santa Clara University law professor Cookie Ridolfi presented findings that judges had found prosecutorial misconduct in 443 of more than 2,100 California cases in…

Jul 12, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

Proposed Calif. Pet-Spay Law is Neutered

A proposed California bill that would have required pet owners to spay or neuter their animals or face a $500 fine has been tabled following an outpouring of support–and concern–from tens of thousands of state residents. The huge response has prompted law-makers to stop and think before proceeding, reports the…

Jul 12, 2007 3:27 AM CDT

Police: Mom Drove Son, 14, to Murder

Too young to drive, a 14-year-old gang member in California allegedly was chauffeured by his mother, along with six buddies, to a Long Beach park on June 25 in order to murder a 13-year-old there. They allegedly stabbed Jose Cano to death, and now Eva Daley, 30, and the seven…

Jul 12, 2007 3:07 AM CDT

Top CA Court: Spector Atty Must Testify

A former lawyer for Phil Spector must testify in the music producer’s ongoing murder trial, the California Supreme Court determined today. By refusing to hear Sara Caplan’s appeal of a ruling by the trial judge holding her in contempt for not testifying, the court effectively is affirming the lower court’s…

Jul 12, 2007 1:50 AM CDT

Defendants: No Jail for Libby; Why Me?

Updated: A former top aide to the vice president of the United States didn’t have to serve time for lying to a federal grand jury. So why should I? That essentially is the argument being made by a Massachusetts woman, 41-year-old Joanne “Jody” Richardson. And she’s not the only one.…

Jul 11, 2007 9:13 PM CDT

CA Bar Closes Web-Based Criminal Firm

California bar authorities are closing down an insolvent Los Angeles criminal defense firm, saying that its Internet ambitions exceeded its ability to satisfy professional standards. Robert Michael Nudelman, 59, agreed Monday that the State Bar of California could take over his insolvent firm, Criminal Defense Associates Inc., in the Woodland…

Jul 11, 2007 7:28 PM CDT