Evidence

Sex-Abuse Scandals Prompt States to Open ‘Window Laws’

High-profile sex-abuse scandals that have rocked schools, churches and communities across the country have led to new efforts to allow victims windows of time to seek redress in civil court. Two states in particular—California and Delaware—have passed “window laws” that temporarily open civil courts for victims to air grievances that…

Jun 11, 2009 4:54 PM CDT

Lawyer Says Client with Multiple Personalities Shouldn’t Stand Trial

A defense attorney argued his client should not be prosecuted on the Medicaid fraud charges brought against her because she has multiple personality disorder. “How can she get adequate representation of counsel?” David Bythewood asked in federal court in Central Islip Monday. Blythewood’s client, Helene Michel, is charged with operating…

Jun 10, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Mistake #1: Violating Bail By Drinking, Mistake #2: Posting Photos on Facebook

Awaiting trial on criminal charges related to a fatal alcohol-related automobile accident, Erika Scoliere had been ordered not to drink or to be around others who were consuming alcohol, as a condition of her bail. However, the 20-year-old apparently not only did so but had her drinking exploits chronicled on…

Jun 6, 2009 2:14 AM CDT

A Supreme Case of Contempt

A tragic legal saga paved the way for civil rights protections and federal habeas actions

Jun 2, 2009 4:50 AM CDT

Bypassing Arguments, High Court Tosses $5M Verdict in Fear-of-Cancer Case

In a per curiam opinion issued without oral arguments or full briefing, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a $5 million verdict because the trial court refused to instruct the jury on the standards for awarding damages for fear of cancer. The plaintiff, former CSX Corp. railroad worker Thurston Hensley,…

Jun 1, 2009 4:04 PM CDT

Texas Blogger Jailed for Contempt in Case Filed By Anna Nicole Smith’s Mom

A Texas real estate agent who blogged about celebrity Anna Nicole Smith’s mother spent the weekend in jail after being cited for contempt by a state-court judge. Lyndal Harrington, 53, of Houston lied when she said a computer she was ordered to produce for forensic examination in a defamation case…

May 27, 2009 4:48 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Threatens US Sanctions in Case Over Claimed Warrantless Attorney Wiretaps

In the latest potential prosecutorial embarrassment for the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal judge in California is threatening to sanction the government in a case brought over claimed warrantless wiretapping during the Bush administration of legal counsel for a now-defunct Oregon charity. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of…

May 26, 2009 10:24 PM CDT

Judge Ends ‘Rockefeller’ Name Game, Vows to Refer to Accused as ‘Defendant’

Accused of trying to pass himself off as a member of the upper crust rather than a German immigrant, the defendant in a high-profile parental kidnapping case has been fighting for the right to be referred to as “Clark Rockefeller” at trial. The prosecution contends he is in fact Christian…

May 26, 2009 8:20 PM CDT

Suspected Serial Killer Charged in Only 2 Murders Due to Damaged DNA

A 72-year-old insurance adjuster said to be a suspect in as many as 30 murders has been charged with just two killings because DNA evidence from the other cases has been damaged. When John Floyd Thomas Jr. was charged last month, Detective Richard Bengston of the Los Angeles Police Department…

May 22, 2009 6:31 PM CDT

Judge Says HP Lawyers Didn’t Go Beyond ‘Bounds of Civility’

A federal judge has refused to order lawyers for Hewlett-Packard Co. to pay about $12 million in attorney fees in a hard-fought patent infringement case. Judge Randall Rader wrote that some HP lawyers “did employ some marginally vexatious litigation tactics,” but the conduct did not warrant the fee sanction, the…

May 22, 2009 2:31 PM CDT

Computer Expert Sues Leonard Street Law Firm for $775K

A computer expert claims in a lawsuit that Minneapolis law firm Leonard, Street and Deinard owes him $775,000 for storing digital evidence in a case involving the city’s two largest newspapers. Mark Lanterman of Computer Forensic Services said he stored 62 terabytes of Star Tribune data, costing $155,000 a month,…

May 21, 2009 4:11 PM CDT

SEC Seeks Sanctions Against Three Akerman Lawyers in Discovery Dustup

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking sanctions of up to $20,000 a day against three Akerman Senterfitt lawyers, a Miami solo practitioner and the company they represent. The agency says the lawyers should be held in contempt of court and prodded to comply with discovery orders with the imposition…

May 21, 2009 12:33 PM CDT

Did 5 Detroit Lawyers Craft $8.4M Pact to Conceal Ex-Mayor’s Perjury?

Five lawyers who helped craft a controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit that papered over then-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s perjury in police whistle-blower litigation are now facing ethics charges. They include not only top in-house attorneys and outside counsel for the city but plaintiffs lawyer Mike Stefani, who…

May 20, 2009 5:40 PM CDT

‘Crockefeller’ to Court: My Ex-Lawyer Said Too Much to the Media

A defendant in a high-profile Massachusetts parental kidnapping case who prefers to be known by his adopted name of “Clark Rockefeller” gave jailhouse interviews to print and television reporters last year, with his then-defense lawyer’s permission. But now “Crockefeller,” as some tabloids have nicknamed Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, is trying to…

May 19, 2009 5:39 PM CDT

Woody Allen’s Wife and Ex Won’t Be on Witness List in Billboard Spat

Woody Allen may take the stand in a suit against American Apparel for using his image without permission, but his wife and ex-girlfriend won’t be called to testifiy. American Apparel lawyer Stuart Slotnick told Reuters that Allen’s ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow and her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, now Allen’s wife, won’t…

May 15, 2009 4:23 PM CDT