Civil Rights

ABA Prez Calls for March on Washington to Support Pakistan Lawyers

Updated: In response to this week’s attack by the Pakistan government on the country’s judiciary and lawyers, the president of the American Bar Association is calling for fellow attorneys to march on Washington in sympathy with their beleaguered colleagues there. “On Wednesday, November 14, the ABA is organizing a lawyers’…

Nov 10, 2007 12:18 AM CST

ABA Creates Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Updated: In an effort to help eliminate bias against gays and transgender people in the legal profession and in society, the ABA has created a Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Chair of the commission is Jeffrey Gibson. He says he hopes the commission will educate and encourage law…

Nov 9, 2007 6:14 PM CST

US, UK Lawyers to Pakistan: Reinstate Rule of Law

Following Pakistan’s suspension of the constitution, firing of numerous appellate judges and arrest of as many as 3,000 lawyers during the past week, bar associations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom have called upon the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to reinstate the rule of law. In a…

Nov 9, 2007 5:40 PM CST

Lawyer Barred, Other Defense Issues as Khadr Military Trial Looms

As the terrorism trial by a U.S. military tribunal of a Canadian arrested in an Afghanistan battle at age 15 appears about to get under way, starting with an arraignment today, the defense is in apparent disarray. Dennis Edney, a Canadian attorney, is the lawyer chosen by Omar Khadr, now…

Nov 8, 2007 6:39 PM CST

4 Pakistan Activists Charged With Treason; Will Lawyers Be Next?

Four Pakistani men were charged today with treason for making anti-government speeches in the city of Karachi. If convicted, the three politicians and a union leader potentially face the death penalty, reports the London Times. Although these are the first reported treason charges amidst ongoing attorney-led demonstrations focused on the…

Nov 8, 2007 4:47 PM CST

‘Mockingbird’ Still Teaching Lessons

To Kill a Mockingbird still resonates for many, including President Bush, who awarded author Harper Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday. Lee rarely makes public appearances, but she appeared to accept the medal, the Cox News Service reports. Bush introduced her by saying the book “has influenced the…

Nov 8, 2007 1:35 PM CST

Beleaguered Ga. Judge Won’t Respond to Prosecutors’ Filing in Nichols Case

A respected Georgia judge under fire for requiring the state to pay defense costs it says it can’t afford in a complex capital murder trial won’t contest a state supreme court filing seeking to force him off the case. Instead, Superior Court Judge Hilton M. Fuller Jr. has sent a…

Nov 8, 2007 12:19 AM CST

Executed Man’s Wife Sues Judge Who Closed Courthouse Door

Updated: Already facing a legal ethics complaint, a Texas appellate judge who refused to accept an eleventh-hour late filing in a death penalty appeal is now being sued by the executed man’s wife. The federal suit accuses Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of violating Michael Richard’s…

Nov 7, 2007 11:49 PM CST

GA Judge in Capital Defense Cost Maelstrom Lawyers Up

A Georgia judge who has become a lightning rod for criticism over the high cost of defending a death penalty case has now got his own counsel. Profiled in a recent New York Times article as judicial scapegoat for those seeking to blame someone for what it costs to represent…

Nov 6, 2007 8:03 PM CST

Bankruptcy Judge Properly Fired Debtor’s PI Counsel

A Manhattan bankruptcy judge properly fired a debtor’s incompetent and uncooperative personal injury lawyer, a federal appeals court has ruled. Although Manhattan personal injury lawyer Jeffrey H. Schwartz was initially retained by the debtor with the bankruptcy trustee’s permission, he subsequently hired co-counsel without seeking bankruptcy court approval and made…

Nov 6, 2007 6:27 PM CST

Stevens Rejects Former IL Gov’s Bail Appeal

A long-shot bid by former Illinois Gov. George Ryan to remain free on bail pending his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of his political corruption conviction has been rejected. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens today rejected the emergency bail application that Ryan made to him last week, according…

Nov 6, 2007 6:07 PM CST

25 Percent of Pakistan’s Lawyers Arrested; Fired Top Judge Urges Defiance

Under house arrest but having somehow gained access to a cell phone, the ousted chief judge of the Pakistan supreme court urged the country’s lawyers today to continue to defy a state of emergency imposed by Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday. “The lawyers should convey my message to…

Nov 6, 2007 4:28 PM CST

Pakistan Fires Top Court, Lawyers Protest There and Elsewhere

The protesters wore conservative business suits today as thousands of lawyers throughout Pakistan clashed with authorities over the suspension of the constitution and the firing of the country’s chief judge, along with numerous other supreme court and appellate judges. Many of the 17 supreme court judges, including fired Chief Judge…

Nov 5, 2007 10:07 PM CST

Pakistan Fires Chief Justice, Arrests Attorneys

Updated: Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, invoked emergency powers on Saturday, suspending the country’s constitution and firing the chief justice of its supreme court, who reportedly is under virtual house arrest. Numerous lawyers who protested the move were arrested, and some were also reportedly beaten and sprayed with tear gas…

Nov 5, 2007 9:34 AM CST

Lawyer: Gitmo Co-Counsel Banned Me

A private practitioner from Canada who represents a Guantanamo Bay detainee held since the age of 15 has reportedly been banned by his military co-counsel from the client’s upcoming arraignment at a military tribunal. Because of a dispute with co-counsel selected by the Pentagon about how best to handle the…

Nov 1, 2007 9:15 PM CDT