Evidence

Cell Phone Alibi Rings True

A cell phone alibi has helped win freedom for Eric Wright, accused of murdering a longtime rival. A Brooklyn judge dismissed the charges yesterday at the request of prosecutors, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. Wright told his lawyer he was in New Jersey at the time the victim…

Aug 24, 2007 6:10 PM CDT

Maid’s Suit Can Raise Model’s Past

A Manhattan judge has ruled that a former maid for Naomi Campbell can introduce evidence of past dust-ups with hired help in her lawsuit against the model. Gaby Gibson claims Campbell hit her and made discriminatory comments when she couldn’t find a pair of Stella McCartney jeans, the New York…

Aug 23, 2007 3:36 PM CDT

Scruggs, Firm in Criminal Contempt Case

A well-known Mississippi plaintiffs attorney and his law firm have been charged with criminal contempt by special federal prosecutors after they defied a federal judge’s order to return internal claims documents to an insurance company. Appointed by U.S. District Judge William M. Acker Jr. after the local U.S. attorney in…

Aug 22, 2007 4:44 PM CDT

New Tech: Community Drug Tests

New technology will soon allow law enforcement officials to test entire communities for drug use, by running samples from the local sewage treatment plant. A study of 10 unidentified cities by Oregon State University scientists shows that such “community urinalysis” is feasible, reports the Associated Press. While such group testing…

Aug 21, 2007 10:12 PM CDT

Spy Document Showdown Threatened

The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is threatening to pursue contempt charges against the administration if it refuses to release documents about a secret surveillance program. Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the administration had failed to meet a Monday deadline to turn over the documents about the spy program…

Aug 21, 2007 2:08 PM CDT

Ruling Thwarts Perjury Prosecutions

A federal appeals court ruling permitting grand jury witnesses to review their testimony is winning praise from criminal defense lawyers. The June ruling could help witnesses clear up misstatements that can lead to perjury charges, defense lawyers told Legal Times. But prosecutors worry that co-defendants will share their testimony with…

Aug 21, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Toy Litigation Legacy: Monitoring Rules?

Updated: As lawsuits mount over a recall of toys that may contain dangerous levels of lead paint, the litigation could lead to new precedent of interest to lawyers in a wide range of tort cases. That is because the lawsuits are likely to ask for a controversial remedy—medical monitoring of…

Aug 20, 2007 5:28 PM CDT

Mistake Explanation Privileged, Qualcomm Lawyers Say

Lawyers for Qualcomm aren’t saying why they made discovery errors in litigation over cell phone patent rights. Transcripts from a July 26 hearing in San Diego show that Qualcomm is asserting attorney-client privilege in the case, the Recorder reports. A federal magistrate has ordered lawyers from two law firms to…

Aug 17, 2007 10:34 AM CDT

Shocking Case: Legal Team Tasers Client

Proceedings have been delayed in a California misdemeanor case in which the defense is claiming that police brutalized their client with a stun gun during his arrest at a shopping mall last year. That’s because the defense team is now being criminally investigated for allegedly violating human experimentation laws by…

Aug 16, 2007 9:01 PM CDT

Judge Summons Qualcomm Lawyers

A federal magistrate has ordered former lawyers for Qualcomm Inc. to appear in court later this month to face possible misconduct sanctions stemming from their roles in a cell phone patent case. The LA Times reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major has ordered more than a dozen lawyers from…

Aug 15, 2007 4:09 PM CDT

Free Advice to Mattel: Use ‘Iron Triangle’

As Mattel Inc. faces its second toy recall in two weeks over lead-paint issues, a lawyer reportedly is offering some free advice—use the “Iron Triangle Defense.” In plain English, those handling Mattel’s litigation, public-relations and government regulatory work need to put their heads together to figure out how best to…

Aug 14, 2007 8:43 PM CDT

First Legal Action in Bridge Collapse

The first litigation has reportedly been filed in the Minneapolis bridge collapse case, by a law firm seeking access in order to investigate before the site is cleaned up. It was filed Monday in federal court because the firm, Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben of Minneapolis, has been told that federal…

Aug 14, 2007 7:41 PM CDT

Judge Tells Jurors: No ‘CSI’

A judge in Butler County, Ohio, thinks some TV crime shows have created unrealistic expectations for jurors—and she’s doing something about it. Judge Patricia Oney of Hamilton bars jurors from watching TV shows ranging from CSI to Law & Order, the Associated Press reports. “So many shows now are pulled…

Aug 14, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Circuit City-Initiated Search OK’d

A Pennsylvania appeals court has upheld a police search for computer files of child pornography done after employees at a Circuit City store spotted suspicious downloads. The defendant had no expectation of privacy in video files on the computer, the court ruled in its Aug. 9 opinion. The ruling reversed…

Aug 14, 2007 10:58 AM CDT

Is Possible MN Bridge Design Flaw Nat’l?

Defective construction components known as gusset plates may have helped cause last week’s bridge collapse in Minneapolis, raising concern about other bridges constructed with the same components nationwide. Hundreds of gusset plates, steel parts that connect bridge girders, were used on the Interstate 35 bridge, and they may not have…

Aug 9, 2007 9:34 PM CDT