Legal History

Historians Seek Release of Nixon’s Secret Grand Jury Testimony

A group of historians is seeking the release of former President Richard Nixon’s secret grand jury testimony in connection with the 1972 Watergate break-in that drove him from office. Nixon testified before a grand jury investigating Watergate in June 1975—about 10 months after he resigned the presidency under the threat…

Sep 16, 2010 5:24 PM CDT

Report: Famed Civil Rights Photographer Was Also an FBI Informant

As a trusted ally of the civil rights movement, freelance Memphis, Tenn., photographer Ernest Withers marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and sat in on some sensitive strategy meetings. Immediately after King was assassinated in 1968, Withers took historic photos of his dispirited aides. He had photographed King himself…

Sep 14, 2010 11:10 PM CDT

Extras Wanted for New PBS Human Rights Trial Program Pilot Starring Ogletree & Cherie Blair

Law and international affairs leaders will be among a number of well-known attorneys showcased in an upcoming PBS series on human rights trials that is being produced by Penn State Public Broadcasting. And for those who expect to be in central Pennsylvania within the next week there’s even a chance…

Sep 14, 2010 9:51 PM CDT

Law Prof for Fed’l Judge in Impeachment Trial: Claimed Facts Wrong, Record Ever-Changing

A law professor representing a New Orleans federal judge in an impeachment trial before a special U.S. Senate committee came out swinging today as the hearing began its first day. The U.S. House of Representatives impeachment vote last spring that led to the trial of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas…

Sep 13, 2010 10:12 PM CDT

A Long Time Coming

One hundred-sixty-three years is a long time to wait for a court decision. But for the family of George B. Vashon, a century and a half beats never at all.

Sep 1, 2010 8:50 AM CDT

September 28, 1850

Congress Bans Maritime Flogging

Sep 1, 2010 5:02 AM CDT

Yale Secret Society Skull and Bones Wins Lawsuit Over Geronimo’s Remains

A student secret society at Yale University has won a court battle, at least for now, over remains of the Apache warrior Geronimo that a member or members of Skull and Bones allegedly stole from his grave at a prisoner-of-war cemetery at Fort Sill, Okla., around 1918, and brought to…

Aug 11, 2010 5:49 PM CDT

School Renamed for Lawyer Rather than Gunslinger

A Los Angeles middle school is named for Johnnie Cochran, the defense lawyer famous for his defense of O.J. Simpson, rather than Wyatt Earp, the lawman known for his role in the gunfight at the OK Corral. Cochran, an alum who was on the debate team, died in 2005, the…

Aug 10, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Federal Judge Says Fellow Jurist’s Ethics Testimony Can Be Used in US Senate Impeachment Trial

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has refused a fellow jurist’s plea to block his testimony in a judicial ethics proceeding from being used in an upcoming U.S. Senate impeachment trial. U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous contended that a grant of immunity for testimony he gave to investigators for a…

Aug 4, 2010 7:38 PM CDT

NM Governor Considers Pardoning Billy the Kid, Angering Sheriff’s Descendants

A possible pardon for Billy the Kid has brought protests from descendants of the sheriff who may have killed the outlaw. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has said he would consider a pardon, prompting a letter from three grandchildren of lawman Pat Garrett, according to the Associated Press, the El…

Aug 3, 2010 12:37 PM CDT

A Monumental Journey

When you think of Iowa, things like corn, Big Ten sports or the political caucuses may come to mind. But this heartland state also has been influential in helping to promote diversity in the legal profession.

Aug 1, 2010 5:14 AM CDT

August 19, 1960

Soviets Convict U-2 Pilot Gary Powers

Aug 1, 2010 5:00 AM CDT

94 Indicted, 36 Arrested This Morning in Record 5-State, $251M Medicare Fraud Bust

More than 360 agents participated today in a five-state sweep that had arrested, as of this morning, 36 of the 94 people indicted in a record-breaking $251 million Medicare fraud case. The raid was announced in Miami, considered ground zero for Medicare fraud, by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health…

Jul 16, 2010 6:15 PM CDT

Goldman Sachs to Pay Record $550M to Settle SEC Suit re Claimed Mortgage-Related Fraud

Accused of misleading investors when it foresaw the mortgage meltdown and offered toxic mortgage-related securities that hedged against it, Goldman Sachs has agreed, without admitting liability, to a record payment of $550 million. The banking titan was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April. Of the $550…

Jul 15, 2010 9:08 PM CDT

Son’s DNA & Discarded Pizza Slice ID Suspect in 10 ‘Grim Sleeper’ Murders Over 25 Years

A controversial use of DNA evidence that is expressly permitted by statute in only two states has identified a suspect in at least 10 so-called “Grim Sleeper’ killings over the past 25 years. Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, was charged today with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted…

Jul 9, 2010 2:58 AM CDT