Evidence

Court Order Makes It Easier to Appeal Parking Tickets, But Philadelphia Calls Compliance Impractical

There’s a potential legal battle brewing in Philadelphia, where a state-court judge, as a Philadelphia Daily News columnist puts it, recently issued an unusual order that “injects unprecedented fairness into the unfair process of appealing a parking ticket.” The order by Common Pleas Judge Leon Tucker requires ticket writers to…

Aug 2, 2012 10:59 AM CDT

NY Judge Does Own Spoliation Research, Axes Tort Case Due to Plaintiff’s Elective Spinal Surgery

Deciding an issue of first impression under New York law, a state-court judge has dismissed a plaintiff’s personal injury case because she underwent elective spinal surgery instead of appearing for court-ordered independent medical exams. Lacking any on-point spoliation case citations from the parties, Justice Charles J. Markey said in a…

Aug 1, 2012 6:52 PM CDT

NY Appeals Court Nixes Attorney Malpractice Case Over Failed Like-Kind Exchange

A New York lawyer cannot be held liable in a malpractice case over a tax-deferred real-estate exchange that failed to meet Internal Revenue Service provisions where there is no proof that the seller could have purchased additional property within a set time period as required, a state appeals court has…

Aug 1, 2012 3:52 PM CDT

Lady of the Last Chance: Lawyer Makes Her Mark Getting Convicts off Death Row

In what seems her natural state, Christina Swarns is as sweetly plainspoken and easygoing as a kindergarten teacher, which, decidedly, she is not. Seated across a conference table in a corner-view meeting room on the 16th floor of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund offices in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood,…

Aug 1, 2012 9:39 AM CDT

Crashing the Third Party: Experts Weigh How Far the Government Can Go in Reading Your Email

Late-night viewers of TV ads knew all about Smilin’ Bob. Dressed in his everyday business outfit of a crease-proof shirt and drab tie, Smilin’ Bob would prance about the office, entertaining foreign executives or posing as Santa during the company’s holiday party. And while a cheesy tune played through the…

Aug 1, 2012 9:29 AM CDT

The Data Question: Should the Third-Party Records Doctrine Be Revisited?

George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr and Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, ponder how far the government can go in reading your email. Their essays can be found in Patriots Debate: Contemporary Issues in National Security Law, a book published by the ABA…

Aug 1, 2012 9:20 AM CDT

Hoist Your Mug: Websites Will Post Your Name and Photo; Others Will Charge You to Remove Them

On the Internet, the saying goes, nobody knows you’re a dog—unless, of course, they see your picture online and forward it to their friends. If you’ve been arrested they might know that, too, thanks to webpages that pull booking information from law enforcement sites and republish it. The sites, most…

Aug 1, 2012 7:59 AM CDT

Beyond Prediction: Technology-Assisted Review Enters the Lexicon

Last February, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck took American litigation another step into the digital domain: He backed the use of predictive coding, a form of technology-assisted document review, in an employment case. Predictive coding is a method of reducing the number of documents that need human review by first…

Aug 1, 2012 6:09 AM CDT

Samsung Sanctioned in Big-Bucks Patent Case for Not Turning Off Company Email Auto-Delete System

A federal magistrate judge in California who is overseeing part of a big-bucks patent infringement case concerning Apple Inc.’s smartphones has sanctioned Samsung Electronics Co. over its use of its own proprietary email system. Finding that the Samsung system, which automatically deletes email after two weeks unless employees save them,…

Jul 26, 2012 4:48 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Faces Prostitution-Attempt Charge After Cellphone Search in Domestic Violence Probe

A former Washington state prosecutor is facing a misdemeanor charge of attempting to patronize a prostitute following a search of his cellphone by deputies investigating a domestic violence complaint by his ex-girlfriend. Jeffrey W. Holmes, 31, had worked since 2006 as an assistant Clark County prosecutor and focused on felony…

Jul 25, 2012 10:19 PM CDT

Jury Pool for Ex-Cop Drew Peterson’s Murder Trial Is Three Years Old

When former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer Drew Peterson goes on trial next week for the murder of his third wife, the jurors will come from a pool first selected in August 2009. A Will County judge turned down a defense request more than a month ago to toss the pool…

Jul 20, 2012 1:04 PM CDT

New Jury Instructions in New Jersey Will Warn of Problems in Eyewitness IDs

New jury instructions in New Jersey will warn that human memory is not foolproof and eyewitness testimony must be carefully scrutinized. Set to take effect on Sept. 4, the new instructions follow a landmark ruling last year by the New Jersey Supreme Court that makes it easier for defendants to…

Jul 20, 2012 12:17 PM CDT

Exonerated by DNA, Wrongly Convicted Man Sings National Anthem at Rays Game

Once an aspiring baseball player, William Dillon spent 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. On Wednesday evening, Dillon sang the National Anthem at a big league game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians. Fox News, ABC News, the Huffington Post and the…

Jul 19, 2012 2:29 PM CDT

Former Chief Judge Is Acquitted in Drunken-Driving Case

A retired former chief judge in suburban Chicago’s Lake County was acquitted of a drunken-driving charge at trial Monday after a lengthy litigation battle. David Hall, 59, had previously won a trial court ruling, unsuccessfully appealed by the prosecution, barring the use of blood-alcohol evidence because of the way it…

Jul 16, 2012 9:35 PM CDT

Woman Who Says She Found and Trained Stray Dog Lawyers Up, Files Declaratory Judgment Action

Updated: Is Sam Hanson-Fleming the lawful owner of Chase, a mixed-breed dog who jumped the fence of his Portland, Ore., home a year ago? Or does the German shepherd-husky mix belong to Jordan Biggs, who found him, named him Bear, and got him trained to be an asthma service dog?…

Jul 16, 2012 9:12 PM CDT