Illinois

Judges Reprimanded for Drunken-Driving Accident

Two Illinois judges have been reprimanded for their involvement in a drunken-driving accident. Jan Fiss and Patrick Young of St. Clair County will be allowed to remain on the bench under the reprimand issued yesterday by the Illinois Courts Commission, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The complaint said Young drank…

Dec 18, 2007 4:12 PM CST

Obama Played ‘Strong, Silent Type’ in Court

Presidential contender Barack Obama, known for his oratorical skills, played the “strong, silent type” when he was practicing law, according to a feature Monday in the Chicago Sun-Times. The paper reviewed cases Obama worked on while he was at Miner Barnhill & Galland and found that other than making introductions,…

Dec 17, 2007 4:47 PM CST

Ex-Chicago Sun-Times Publisher Gets 2 Yrs for Fraud

David Radler is the latest to be sentenced in the criminal case against executives that once headed the Chicago Sun-Times daily news tabloid. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve accepted Radler’s plea this morning and signed off on his reduced sentence of 29 months and a $250,000 fine, the Chicago…

Dec 17, 2007 4:22 PM CST

Disbarred Lawyer Woos Women, Gets Up to $1M—and 5 Years

Law practice didn’t work out for Hillard Quint, who gave up his Georgia license in 1997 to resolve a disciplinary matter. So the enterprising ex-attorney apparently found another way to make a living—scamming women. Reportedly, the seemingly successful business executive may have extracted at least $1 million from women in…

Dec 14, 2007 6:00 PM CST

Serial Killer Studied Law Enforcement to Avoid Detection

A confessed Midwest serial killer avoided detection for decades, apparently utilizing information gleaned from his law enforcement education to do so. Although Timothy Krajcir had begun murdering women by 1977 and spent years of his life in prison for other sex-related crimes, he was only charged this year with some…

Dec 12, 2007 5:43 PM CST

Ex-Hollinger GC Gets Probation

Lost in the news accounts of sentencing yesterday for Conrad Black, the ex-CEO of Hollinger International, was the sentence for the company’s former general counsel. Mark Kipnis, convicted of fraud for helping arrange illegal payments to Black and two co-defendants, received five years’ probation, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog…

Dec 11, 2007 7:18 PM CST

Would Hearsay Rule Bar Pastor’s Drew Peterson Revelation?

A Chicago-area minister says Drew Peterson’s wife blurted out that her husband killed a former wife, raising questions about whether the hearsay rule would permit such testimony in court. Rev. Neil Schori told Greta Van Susteren of Fox TV that Stacy Peterson said her husband Drew killed third wife Kathleen…

Dec 11, 2007 4:04 PM CST

Motor Voter Law a Fast Track to Crime

Proudly proceeding on a fast track toward legal residency and eventual U.S. citizenship, Beth Keathley was so excited about having had a chance to vote in her first American election that she mentioned the milestone to her immigration officer. The next thing she knew, she had been charged with a…

Dec 3, 2007 9:45 PM CST

Michael Grossman’s Favorite Web Sites

See related story: “A Conspiracy of One”

Dec 1, 2007 9:09 PM CST

Pencil to Paper to Prosperity

David Freeman’s Five Elements of a Successful Client-Development System

Dec 1, 2007 8:45 PM CST

The Law Office of Michael R. Grossman: An Update

See related story: A Conspiracy of One

Dec 1, 2007 8:39 PM CST

A Conspiracy of One

After months of planning, hoping and hand-wringing, Michael Grossman is ready to start his new life as a solo practitioner

Dec 1, 2007 7:41 PM CST

Employer on Hook for $1.17M in Child Support Fines

In an unusual family law enforcement action in Illinois, the state supreme court has awarded a whopping $1.17 million to a mother who has fought for years to collect $12,000 in back child support. Here’s the twist. The father isn’t the target of the bulk of the award. Rather, the…

Nov 30, 2007 5:48 PM CST

Ex-Judiciary Committee Chair Henry Hyde Dies

Henry Hyde, a former chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has died at the age of 83. The longtime Illinois congressman led the impeachment effort in the House against President Bill Clinton and sponsored the amendment that banned federal funding for abortions, the Chicago Tribune reports. His committee voted to…

Nov 29, 2007 3:44 PM CST

KC Firm in Merger Talks, Expanding to Chicago

A midsize Kansas City firm in the midst of merger talks isn’t waiting for that deal to expand. Blackwell Sanders already dispatched the former head of its London office to recruit and kick-start a shop in Chicago, the Kansas City Star reports. Partner John Mandelbaum has moved to Chicago and…

Nov 27, 2007 9:50 PM CST