Judiciary

Jezebel on a Broomstick & Salem Witch Judge

When Eve LaPlante, a Boston area writer, starts thinking about a possible book topic, she doesn’t have to go far from home. In the last several years she has written two books about family forbears, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans and…

Oct 29, 2007 11:02 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Suit Against Seven Justices Fails

The lawyer for the alleged D.C. madam has failed in his attempt to sue seven justices on the U.S. Supreme Court for refusing to hear an earlier appeal in his divorce case. The seven justices had to recuse themselves in the case brought by Montgomery Blair Sibley, SCOTUSblog reports. That…

Oct 29, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

ABA Calls for National Execution Moratorium

After a three-year study on state capital punishment systems, the American Bar Association is calling for a nationwide moratorium on executions until an unfair and sometimes inaccurate application of the death penalty is corrected. “The death penalty system is rife with irregularity—supporting the need for a moratorium until states can…

Oct 29, 2007 9:51 AM CDT

Right to Life’s Challenge to Judge Ethics Code Tossed

A federal appeals court has dismissed a challenge to Indiana’s judicial ethics code that barred judicial candidates from making statements about issues likely to come before the courts. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today (PDF) that Indiana Right to Life did not have standing to bring its…

Oct 26, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

NM Judge Suspended re No-Rent Housing

A New Mexico judge who lived rent-free for almost two years in government-owned low-income housing has been disciplined. Bernalillo County Metropolitan Judge Theresa Gomez, who earns about $103,000 annually, has been suspended without pay for two weeks by the New Mexico Supreme Court, the Associated Press reports today. She will…

Oct 26, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

GA Lawmakers Target Judge for High Defense Costs

A special legislative committee has been formed to investigate whether the Georgia judge overseeing the trial of a courthouse shooting suspect should be impeached because of spiraling defense costs. Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson set up the committee because he is angered about nearly $2 million already spent on the…

Oct 26, 2007 12:01 PM CDT

Storm Brews Over TX Judge Who Refused Late Capital Appeal

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is among a growing number of lawyers who are criticizing the presiding judge of Texas’ highest criminal court for refusing a death penalty appeal filed 20 minutes late. The group has sent a complaint against the judge, Sharon Keller, to the Texas Commission…

Oct 25, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

Court Upholds Order Keeping Lawyer Away From Ex-Judge

A California lawyer will have to stay at least 100 yards away from the judge who handled his divorce under a restraining order upheld yesterday by an appeals court. Lawyer James Disney of Concord had appealed the order, contending it violated his freedom of speech and right to practice law,…

Oct 25, 2007 2:25 PM CDT

Judge Rebuked for Demeaning Comments

A Seattle-area judge was admonished today for a lewd exchange with a defendant in his courtroom and for making demeaning references to the ethnicity of others. Specifically, King County District Court Judge Mark Chow responded to a defendant to threw out a “sexual demand,” according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Chow…

Oct 24, 2007 10:05 PM CDT

Sex Joke No Laughing Matter for Judge, Defender

A Miami judge and public defender have apologized for joking in court last week about a case involving a man accused of having sex with a teenage boy. The mea culpa came from Judge Jeffrey Levenson, 50, and Assistant Public Defender Brian Reidy, 49, who was docked a week of…

Oct 24, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

5th Circuit Gets New Judge, Southwick Confirmed

Senators today confirmed Mississippi Judge Leslie H. Southwick to a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals despite concerns by some Democrats that his past writings were racially insensitive. There were not enough votes for a filibuster, so Southwick won confirmation by a 59-38 vote, according to the…

Oct 24, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

Lawyer Accuses Judge of ‘Subconscious Homophobia’

A lawyer ordered to stop dancing around a Bronx courtroom in a flamboyant manner told the New York Post the judge may be showing his “subconscious homophobia.” Lawyer Robert Feldman, described in the newspaper account as a “boisterously eccentric defense attorney,” said he was chastised by the judge after “gesticulating…

Oct 24, 2007 2:06 PM CDT

Chief Judge Accused in Handicapped Parking Spat

A Denver lawyer has filed a complaint claiming the chief judge of the Colorado federal courts threatened to call authorities when she confronted him about parking in a handicapped space. The lawyer, Jeanne Elliott, was paralyzed in 1986 when she was shot by an angry litigant. She told KUSA in…

Oct 24, 2007 10:27 AM CDT

$54M Pants Suit Takes Judge to the Cleaners

Uproar over a Washington, D.C., judge’s unsuccessful $54 million lawsuit against his local dry cleaner for allegedly losing a pair of suit trousers is apparently going to cost Roy L. Pearson Jr. his job. In a story today relying on unnamed sources, the Washington Post says a city commission voted…

Oct 23, 2007 7:33 PM CDT

Judges Accused of Fixing Traffic Tickets

Four municipal court judges in Jersey City, N.J., have been accused of fixing parking and traffic tickets. Former chief judge Wanda Molina was among the judges charged with official misconduct, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. She is accused of dismissing five parking or traffic tickets for a companion. The…

Oct 23, 2007 11:44 AM CDT