Evidence

Who Were Those Masked Men? Thank-You Note to Mask Maker Helps Cops ID Robbery Suspects

A federal prosecutor says two suspects in a $200,000 robbery of a New York City check-cashing store initially eluded authorities, with the help of hyper-realistic masks that helped them disguise themselves as men in police uniforms. But a thank-you note emailed by one suspect to the company that manufactured the…

Aug 22, 2012 8:29 PM CDT

Too Much Evidence Cited as Reason for Dropping Drug Charges Against Fugitive Doctor

A federal judge in Iowa has dropped charges against a fugitive doctor because it’s become too costly for federal officials to maintain evidence in the massive online pharmacy case. The case against Miami doctor Armando Angulo, the nation’s largest prosecution of online pharmacies, involves more than 400,000 documents, computers, servers…

Aug 17, 2012 1:03 PM CDT

Reggie the Poodle Assists Vulnerable Witnesses in Sacramento Criminal Court

Some defense lawyers are giving the Sacramento County district attorney’s office a “ruff” time regarding a member of their victim witness unit, who happens to be a standard poodle named Reggie. Pets in court could influence the jury, say some, but there’s a growing trend in state courts allowing “comfort…

Aug 16, 2012 8:31 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Girlfriend’s Murder Slams Her and Makes Excuses for Himself in Facebook Post

A University of Florida law graduate charged with the first-degree murder of his girlfriend in their Queens, N.Y., apartment composed a Facebook post criticizing his girlfriend and talking about how he felt the night of the murder and the day after. “The night in question? In all honesty, it was…

Aug 16, 2012 7:14 PM CDT

Judge Fears Divulging State Secrets, Tosses Suit Alleging Spying on California Mosques

Saying state secrets may mean the sacrifice of individual liberties in this case, a federal judge in Los Angeles has tossed a lawsuit accusing federal authorities of spying on mosques in Orange County. In his decision, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney compared himself to Odysseus navigating between a six-headed…

Aug 15, 2012 12:32 PM CDT

Judge to Decide if Poem ‘Decrypted’ by FBI Can Be Used at Trial

Prosecutors in Illinois are seeking to have a “decrypted” jailhouse poem introduced into evidence against a man accused of murdering his family. Prosecutors contend the poem, written in runic symbols, shows defendant Christopher Vaughn was planning to start a new life in the Canadian wilderness with a stripper, the Chicago…

Aug 14, 2012 6:17 PM CDT

Consumer Lawyer Says Credit Card Debt Collection Suits Are a ‘Robo-Signing Redux’

As debt-collection suits against credit-card holders surge, so do complaints of wrongful conduct on the part of those seeking to get their mitts on consumers’ money. Even when the debt is legitimately owed, companies may not be able to prove the account due to poor record-keeping. In other cases, erroneous…

Aug 13, 2012 10:36 PM CDT

Top Nevada Court Says Attorney Son Can Represent Dad in Divorce From Mom

Family unity anyone? At a gut level, one might think it is a bad idea for a child who is a lawyer to represent a parent in a divorce case involving the other parent as the respondent, points out the Las Vegas Review-Journal. However, it isn’t a clear conflict of…

Aug 13, 2012 8:55 PM CDT

Attorney and Client Face Felony Charges After Alleged Jailhouse Encounter Is Caught on Camera

A Nevada attorney and his 23-year-old client are both facing felony charges after a claimed jailhouse sexual encounter that authorities say was captured on camera. Curtis Cannon, 58, was charged with voluntary sexual conduct between a prisoner and another person, as was his client, the Las Vegas Sun reports. An…

Aug 8, 2012 6:02 PM CDT

Lawyers in Jaycee Dugard Abduction Tort Case Say DOJ Tampered with Key Witness, Seek Severe Sanction

Lawyers representing a young woman who was kidnapped in 1991 at age 11 and held nearly two decades by a paroled California rapist are accusing a U.S. Department of Justice attorney of tampering with a key witness in Jaycee Dugard’s civil suit seeking damages from the federal government. In a…

Aug 7, 2012 3:40 PM CDT

On Stage: How to Use Theater Techniques to Reach Juries

Podcast Transcript: This ABA Journal podcast is brought to you by WestlawNext, the legal research platform chosen by over 40,000 legal organizations for their tradition of editorial excellence combined with the most advanced technology. Learn more at WestlawNext.com. Stephanie Francis Ward: We’ve heard the expression, you don’t have to get…

Aug 6, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyers Say Predictive Coding Gets Them to Key Docs Fast, But Wonder If Savings Claims Are Overblown

Predictive coding does save money and helps lawyers quickly identify key documents in big cases, attorneys say. However, participants in a small study conducted for FTI Consulting wondered whether the cutting-edge computerized document review technique really saves as much as some claim it does, reports Reuters. Some also were concerned…

Aug 6, 2012 11:23 AM CDT

Federal Judge Sanctions Law Firm and Client re Withheld Docs, Finds TD Bank Knew of Rothstein Fraud

Saying that a well-known law firm and its client bank had often handled a major case “in an Inspector Clouseau-like fashion,” a federal judge in Miami has sanctioned both for what she called a “pattern of discovery abuses before, during, and after trial.” U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke declined, however,…

Aug 6, 2012 11:02 AM CDT

Samsung Calls Apple Bid for Judgment Sanction ‘Frivolous,’ Federal Judge Lets Trial Roll On

Fireworks earlier this week about whether Samsung Electronics Co. had done an end run around a federal judge by providing to the media evidence excluded from a patent trial with Apple Inc. over design of the two companies’ smartphones apparently have fizzled. After a Thursday response by Samsung that described…

Aug 3, 2012 5:12 PM CDT

John Quinn Faces Off with Federal Judge in Apple v. Samsung iPhone Case; Apple Seeks Severe Sanction

Updated: A name partner of litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has gotten crosswise with the federal judge hearing the the hard-fought patent case beween Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and counsel for his opponent is now trying to knock John Quinn out of the trial arena.…

Aug 2, 2012 5:37 PM CDT