Evidence

Testimony: Slain in Law Office Parking Lot, Attorney Foresaw Her Fate But Stayed on Case

First Jason Cai allegedly threatened to ruin Xia Zhao’s career if the California lawyer didn’t drop a civil wrongful death case in which he was accused of drowning his wife in 2006. And then he killed her, the government contends. Witnesses in Cai’s current murder case said they saw an…

Jun 24, 2010 7:09 PM CDT

Girl, 9, Could Join Fray re Chess Giant’s Estate: Bobby Fischer to Be Exhumed for Paternity Test

Reversing a decision by a lower tribunal, the Supreme Court of Iceland has ordered that the body of chess great Bobby Fischer be exhumed to determine whether he is the father of a 9-year-old girl. Fischer died there in 2008 at age 64, apparently leaving no will. A United States-born…

Jun 17, 2010 9:35 PM CDT

Motion to Acquit Ex-Partner of Arent Fox in Obstruction Case Over Lawyer’s Death Is Denied

A judge hearing an obstruction of justice case against a former partner of Arent Fox and two other men involved with him in a three-way romantic relationship has dismissed some charges but denied a motion to acquit the defendants at the close of the prosecution’s case. Judge Lynn Leibovitz today…

Jun 17, 2010 7:14 PM CDT

Prof Charged in Fatal Faculty Shooting Is Indicted Today in Brother’s 1986 Death

After a biology professor at the University of Alabama was charged with shooting three colleagues to death and wounding three more at a faculty meeting in February, questions were raised about earlier incidents in her life. Today, nearly 25 years after her 18-year-old brother died at the family’s Massachusetts home,…

Jun 16, 2010 11:31 PM CDT

Judge Orders DNA Test of 1-Inch Hair That Led to Texas Man’s Execution

Claude Howard Jones was executed a decade ago. But a DNA test is now going to be conducted to determine whether a 1-inch hair that was relied on to convict him of capital murder was actually his. A retired Texas appellate judge hearing a Dallas case seeking to prove that…

Jun 15, 2010 10:50 PM CDT

Squatters Add to Mortgage Lenders’ Woes; Eviction from $3.3M Listing a Civil Matter

As if banks didn’t have enough work to do with a record-breaking deluge of foreclosure cases, at least a few are dealing with an extra hurdle that must be cleared before they can gain possession–squatters who move into vacant homes. It happened with a mansion listed for sale for $3.3…

Jun 14, 2010 6:17 PM CDT

Controversial Ohio Ruling Says Officers Don’t Need Radar for Speeding Tickets

Two Ohio lawmakers plan to introduce legislation designed to overturn a state supreme court decision allowing police officers to issue speeding tickets based on their visual estimate that a car is violating the speed limit. The legislation would require officers to use radar detectors or other technology to verify speed…

Jun 14, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Jenner & Block Used ‘Stupid’ Search in Sorting Through Lehman E-Mails

A “stupid” search turned out to be productive for lawyers at Jenner & Block. “Stupid” was among the search terms used by the Chicago-based law firm as it sorted through some 34 million pages of e-mails and other electronic documents for its 2,200-page report on the collapse of Lehman Brothers,…

Jun 11, 2010 12:52 PM CDT

DC Reveals About 400 People Convicted Based on Faulty DWI Tests

Nearly 400 people in Washington, D.C., have been convicted of driving while intoxicated based on faulty breath tests that calculated blood alcohol levels about 20 percent higher than the reality. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said the problem was caused when a police officer set improper baseline levels on the…

Jun 10, 2010 11:46 AM CDT

Harvard English Major Criminally Charged re Claimed Lies & Cheats Also Got Into Stanford

A Delaware man who allegedly was admitted to Harvard University and won nearly $50,000 in scholarships and prizes as an English major there based on lies and plagiarism had been admitted to Stanford University this coming fall as a transfer student. However, following publicity about the Massachusetts criminal case against…

Jun 9, 2010 9:28 PM CDT

Veteran Gets 4 Months for Throwing 4-Pound Dog Off Bridge After Driveway Dispute

A unemployed cell-tower technician and Marine Corps veteran got a four-month jail term yesterday for throwing a 4-pound Chihuahua off a bridge in Maryland last year, presumably causing the dog’s death. David Beers, 35, pleaded guilty earlier this year to felony animal cruelty and misdemeanor theft in the case. He…

Jun 8, 2010 5:55 PM CDT

Mom Resolves Cold Parental Kidnap Case by Surfing Facebook

A California mom successfully used Facebook to search for the two children she hadn’t seen in nearly 15 years, after their father allegedly took them and told her she would never see them again. After finding her now-17-year-old daughter’s profile on the social networking website, Prince Segala made contact but…

Jun 7, 2010 11:30 PM CDT

NY Times: Akin Gump Warned Wal-Mart of Risky Gender-Related Pay & Promotion Practices

More than six years before a record-breaking gender-based employment discrimination suit was filed against Wal-Mart Stores in 2001, a law firm warned in a confidential report that the goliath retailer “would find it difficult to fashion a persuasive explanation for disproportionate employment patterns” in its Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores.…

Jun 3, 2010 11:28 PM CDT

6-Month Suspension for Lawyer, 76, Who Was Taped by Client

A 76-year-old New York personal injury lawyer has been suspended for six months after allegedly making unwelcome sexual advances and seeking oral sex from a client. Allen Isaac also allegedly boasted to the client that he could influence appellate judges and used objectionable language to describe one jurist. Plus, he…

Jun 2, 2010 10:17 PM CDT

Obama’s Chief of Staff Is Subpoenaed as a Defense Witness in Blagojevich Corruption Trial

The chief of staff for President Barack Obama has been subpoenaed as a defense witness in the upcoming political corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich, the impeached ex-governor of Illinois. Rahm Emanuel is a “critical” witness for Blagojevich in the federal case to be tried in Chicago starting tomorrow, says defense…

Jun 2, 2010 8:16 PM CDT