Judiciary

Judge’s Death Leads to Courthouse Mold Fears

A mold problem in a Miami federal courthouse has spurred studies and warnings from the chief judge, who told clerks they should use masks and gloves when handling documents that may be coated with the stuff. Concerns increased after Magistrate Judge Ted Klein died of a respiratory illness last year…

Sep 12, 2007 11:16 AM CDT

Wiretap Court Flexes Judicial Muscle

The court that considers foreign intelligence wiretap applications is showing hints of an independent streak. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has operated in secret, even as federal officials disclosed that the court had limited the government’s ability to conduct warrantless wiretaps of overseas communications that are routed through the United…

Sep 10, 2007 5:51 PM CDT

Rape Victim Sues Judge Over R-Word Ban

An alleged acquaintance-rape victim has sued the Nebraska judge who banned her from using the word “rape” in testimony, in what her lawyer describes as a troubling trend. A federal lawsuit filed in Lincoln contends Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront violated Tory Bowen’s rights of due process and free…

Sep 10, 2007 4:39 PM CDT

Big-Name PI Lawyer Sentenced for Bribing Judges

A wealthy Biloxi lawyer and two former Mississippi judges were sentenced on Friday for taking part in a bribery scheme. Lawyer Paul Minor was sentenced to serve 11 years in prison and ordered to pay a $2.75 million fine and $1.5 million in restitution, the Sun Herald reports. Minor earns…

Sep 10, 2007 1:10 PM CDT

Paul Boland: Judge, Mentor, Law Prof

Paul Boland, a California appellate judge also known as a mentor to many and a pioneer of law school clinical education, has died. He was 65. An associate justice of the state Court of Appeal since 2001, Boland encouraged the judicial system to put its best foot forward and was…

Sep 7, 2007 4:45 PM CDT

4th Circuit Nomination Criticized

One of President Bush’s two new nominees for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is under fire because he wasn’t on a recommended list drawn up by Virginia’s two senators. The nominee, E. Duncan Getchell Jr., chair of the appellate practice group at McGuireWoods, has represented the Virginia Republican…

Sep 7, 2007 4:23 PM CDT

Book: Souter Distraught Over Bush v. Gore

U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter was distraught over what he viewed as a partisan decision by a majority of his colleagues in Bush v. Gore and considered stepping down from his seat on the bench of the nation’s highest court over the ruling. That is what an upcoming book…

Sep 6, 2007 8:50 PM CDT

Dogged Argument Lands PD in Jail

A Washington, D.C., lawyer with the public defender’s office ended up in a holding cell last week after a heated argument with a judge. Judge John Bayly Jr. said he acted because the PD, Liyah Brown, argued over with him over whether her client was homeless—and kept on arguing even…

Sep 5, 2007 12:48 PM CDT

Judges Object to Proposed Clerk Crackdown

Federal judges would be limited to just one career law clerk under a proposal made in a confidential report circulating among the judiciary. Federal judges who value the experience of career clerks are “hopping mad” over the proposal, the National Law Journal reports. Some are disputing the projected cost savings…

Sep 4, 2007 11:41 AM CDT

Bad Day for WA Judge: 2 Ethics Issues

When Judge Mark Chow made a quick—and, he admits, lewd—remark one day in January as he was presiding in King County District Court, he immediately realized he’d made a mistake. Although the 53-year-old jurist was responding to a man’s suggestion that he perform a sexual act, Chow’s response was inappropriate…

Aug 30, 2007 9:55 PM CDT

Was Judge’s Opinion Unethical?

Should a judge face an ethics complaint based simply on what he writes in a court opinion? No way, says Bruce Rogow, a law professor at Florida’s Nova Southeastern University. But attorney Wally Pope says the answer to that question depends on what the opinion says. The two lawyers are…

Aug 30, 2007 7:01 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge: Execute Inmates Efficiently

California’s death row is not only the biggest in the nation but perhaps the most backlogged. The average prisoner waits nearly 20 years to be executed, and, since capital punishment was reinstated in 1978, only 13 have been executed while 50 have died in prison, many of old age. Currently,…

Aug 30, 2007 6:14 PM CDT

Stop Sign Issue Halts Divorce Case

There were some unexpected legal developments today in a long-running divorce battle in South Florida. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Paul Siegel apparently blew a stop sign and drove into a local intersection, colliding with a vehicle driven by former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo. Carollo had been scheduled to appear before the…

Aug 30, 2007 12:18 AM CDT

8th Circuit: Resentence Wal-Mart Exec

A federal judge may have been too lenient in sentencing a former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive to five years of probation (including about two years of home confinement) in a $500,000 fraud case, an appeals court has ruled. It says Tom Coughlin must be resentenced. A 28-year employee who rose…

Aug 28, 2007 4:27 PM CDT

Federal Judge Wants State Seat

A large caseload may have taken its toll on a San Francisco federal judge. The National Law Journal reports that U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins is seeking a seat on the California State Court of Appeal. Jenkins didn’t explain why, but associates said the huge trial workload may have played…

Aug 28, 2007 12:47 PM CDT