Judiciary

Bork Settles Injury Suit

Failed U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork has settled his $1 million personal injury suit against the Yale Club in Manhattan. Terms of the agreement were confidential, the Associated Press reports. Bork, a former federal appeals judge, sued after he fell while trying to climb onto a dais to deliver…

May 12, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Grand Jury Convened re Borrowed Courthouse Key

A Massachusetts prosecutor reportedly has enlisted the help of state police and a grand jury in investigating as a criminal matter whether a court security officer unlawfully entered her office after hours to get a key to an unoccupied jury room, so attorneys could use the bathroom there. Northwestern District…

May 9, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

McCain’s Quest to Change Judiciary Could Be Difficult

Sen. John McCain wants to shape the judiciary, but he may find it’s not so easy if he’s elected president. There will likely be few judicial openings if and when McCain takes office, columnist Al Kamen writes for the Washington Post. Currently there are only 13 vacancies on the federal…

May 9, 2008 1:34 PM CDT

Texas Supreme Court Accused of Hiding Behind Per Curiam Opinions

Updated: A report issued today accuses the Texas Supreme Court of using unsigned per curiam opinions to shield the justices from criticism. The report found that 57 percent of the court’s opinions issued in the 2006-07 term were unsigned, more than double the number issued in the 2002-03 term, the…

May 8, 2008 12:32 PM CDT

Sean Bell Protesters Block NY Bridge Traffic; Sharpton and 200 Others Arrested

Updated: Hundreds of protesters blocked traffic on bridges and tunnels leading into New York City this afternoon in an attempt to focus public attention on the acquittal of three city police detectives in a criminal case over the death of Sean Bell. The New York Times reported that among the…

May 7, 2008 11:05 PM CDT

Man Opens Fire in Fla. Courthouse, is Killed By Sheriff’s Deputies

An unidentified man brought a semiautomatic weapon into a St. Petersburg, Fla., courthouse lobby today and opened fire before being shot and killed by two Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies. One deputy was wounded when a bullet hit his radio microphone and grazed his shoulder, Jim Bordner, a sheriff’s department spokesman,…

May 7, 2008 9:59 PM CDT

Judge Lance Ito Criticized in Opinion Overturning Murder Conviction

Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, was criticized Monday in a California Supreme Court opinion for actions he took while he was a prosecutor. The court overturned a death sentence for inmate Adam Miranda in the murder of Gary Black because of failures by…

May 7, 2008 2:16 PM CDT

Phila. Judge Booted from Bench Over 24-Year-Old Use of Bogus SS#

A Philadelphia municipal judge can no longer serve on the bench because she pleaded guilty to two federal felony counts related to her use of a bogus social security number on credit applications 24 years ago, Pennsylvania’s highest court has ruled. Deborah Griffin is banned from being a judge by…

May 6, 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Teens Learn of Financial Pitfalls in Boston Bar Program

Boston teens are being invited to watch mock bankruptcy hearings in federal court in a program designed to show the consequences of taking on too much debt. The program, sponsored by the Boston Bar Association and the federal bankruptcy court in Massachusetts, is a “personal-finance version of ‘Scared Straight’ for…

May 6, 2008 5:13 PM CDT

HALT Report Blasts States for Secretive Judicial Ethics Oversight

A report by the nonprofit group Help Abolish Legal Tyranny calls the system of judicial oversight in Washington, D.C., among the most secretive in the country. The District got a D grade on the group’s Judicial Accountability 2008 Report Card, the Washington Post reports. Maine and Mississippi got Fs, while…

May 6, 2008 1:49 PM CDT

Judge Files Defamation Suit Against New York Daily News

A Brooklyn judge has filed a $10 million defamation suit against the New York Daily News for publishing two columns that claimed he improperly presided over a case involving a lawyer who had represented him before the judicial conduct commission. Judge Larry Martin claims in the lawsuit that lawyer Ravi…

May 5, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Bomb Explodes Outside San Diego Courthouse

A pipe bomb exploded outside the federal courthouse in San Diego early yesterday, shattering the front window. No one was injured, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The courthouse will be closed today. The bomb was apparently placed outside the front door and detonated at about 1:40 a.m. Authorities said a…

May 5, 2008 10:27 AM CDT

Pakistan Lawyers & Judges to Receive ABA Rule of Law Award

An ABA Rule of Law award will be given this year to “those lawyers and judges in Pakistan who demonstrated courage in upholding the rule of law in their country” in turbulent times. Lawyer-led protests have been at the forefront of efforts over the past year or so to return…

May 2, 2008 8:52 PM CDT

Wife of Texas Justice Indicted Once Again on Arson Charges

The wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina has been indicted again on arson charges in a fire that destroyed the couple’s home. Francisca Medina was charged with felony arson, but Justice David Medina was not charged in connection with the incident, report the Houston Chronicle and Texas Lawyer.…

May 1, 2008 1:06 PM CDT

Do You Swear… ?

Litigant’s Language Leaves Lawyer Livid, Court Cites Counsel for Failing to Control Client

May 1, 2008 1:01 PM CDT