Legal History

Commission urges more standardized discipline rules and penalties for New York lawyers

New York should adopt a uniform policy for attorney discipline and punishment, based on the American Bar Association standards for imposing lawyer sanctions, a commission recommended Friday. The Commission on Statewide Attorney Discipline also suggested that a coordinator of attorney discipline position be created, the New York Law Journal reports.…

Sep 25, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

A day after making evidence-bag claim, lawyer for hockey star’s accuser abruptly quits

Updated: A lawyer for the woman who accused Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane of sexual assault abruptly quit the case on Thursday, a day after he held a news conference about a mysterious evidence bag. The lawyer, Thomas Eoannou, said he no longer believed the story provided by the victim’s…

Sep 25, 2015 7:17 AM CDT

As movie about courthouse shooter premieres, hostage recalls how experience turned her life around

A new movie has been released based on the 2005 crime spree of Brian Nichols, which began at an Atlanta courthouse. On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols fatally attacked a judge and three others before taking a woman hostage miles away. Captive focuses on Nichols’ interaction with the hostage, Ashley…

Sep 18, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

10 common misconceptions about the Constitution

On this date 228 years ago, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution. To celebrate Constitution Day, we offer you a little trivia about the document which forms the foundation of our republic. We enlisted the help of Robert J. McWhirter, whose new book Bills, Quills, and Stills:…

Sep 17, 2015 9:10 AM CDT

Evidence in ‘shaken baby’ cases not as clear-cut as once thought, expert says

Few would disagree that it is possible to injure a baby by shaking it and that those who do so should face child-abuse cases. But are individuals being convicted, sometimes of murder, based on dubious or even inaccurate evidence? That is the question explored by a new Retro Report video…

Sep 15, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Doctor faces landmark murder trial for prescribing meds that led to patient ODs

Is a physician criminally responsible when a patient takes more than the prescribed amount of painkilling drugs or mixes the prescription medication with alcohol? That is the question jurors must answer in the case of Dr. Hsiu-Ying “Lisa” Tseng, who is currently on trial for second-degree murder in Los Angeles.…

Sep 9, 2015 2:05 PM CDT

Lawyer convicted in wife-murder said to inspire ‘Fargo’ movie plot dies at home at 88

A Minnesota lawyer convicted of first-degree murder in one of the state’s most notorious crimes died at his home last month. T. Eugene Thompson was 88 years old. He served nearly 20 years for the 1963 slaying of his wife, Carol Thompson, who was fatally beaten and stabbed by a…

Sep 2, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Sept. 10, 1846: The Sewing Machine Patent War

By the time Elias Howe, part-time inventor and full-time ne’er-do-well, received U.S. Patent No. 4,750 for a sewing machine, he and his family were destitute. The machine he had hoped would revolutionize the production of textile goods in New England was regarded by the public as little more than a…

Sep 1, 2015 12:30 AM CDT

Ethel Rosenberg wasn’t a spy, and recently released testimony helps prove it, her sons say

Ethel Rosenberg wasn’t a spy, and President Barack Obama should acknowledge she was wrongly executed, according to her sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol. The Meeropols support their assertion with recently released grand jury testimony by Ethel Rosenberg’s brother, David Greenglass, who was an Army machinist at the weapons installation in…

Aug 11, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

How the ‘Golden Decade’ of legal films still influences us today

The ABA Journal was first published in January 1915. And during the 100 years since, some of the best movies in each decade have depicted the law and its lawyers—whether ideal or evil—as refractions of contemporary society, and as imperfect agents of justice and its aims. The People vs. John Doe (1916), Blackmail (1929), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and M (1951) come quickly to mind.

Aug 1, 2015 6:40 AM CDT

100 years of law at the movies

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the ABA Journal, so we’ve been exploring the legal and cultural history of the past century. For our annual pop culture issue, we looked for the best legal movies released in the decades since our launch in 1915. What follows is our list…

Aug 1, 2015 5:40 AM CDT

Royalty joins the ABA in marking the 800th birthday of the Magna Carta

With much honor and ceremonial display, the Magna Carta celebrated its 800th birthday on June 15 on the same hallowed ground where King John originally sealed it. Dignitaries from around the world met at historic Runnymede, England, to celebrate the Magna Carta’s worldwide impact while promising to rededicate themselves to…

Aug 1, 2015 1:30 AM CDT

Political powers blunt good law, human rights lawyer says

The inspirational, and aspirational, template of the Magna Carta for the constitutions and legal documents that succeeded it was a recurring theme at the ABA London Sessions. But words and phrases are only as good as the intentions of government institutions tasked with upholding and enforcing them. That was hammered…

Aug 1, 2015 1:20 AM CDT

Speakers consider the grand sweep of the Great Charter

As with most historical occasions, the Magna Carta’s birthday was a time for looking back at what could have been and forward at what may be in the future. At an early program of the 2015 ABA London Sessions, the question pondered was: What if King John had decided to…

Aug 1, 2015 1:10 AM CDT

UK trade envoy: ‘I’d give anything’ for the ABA to work with the Iraqi judiciary

The rule of law as embodied in the Magna Carta needs to be brought to the people who need it most, said Baroness Emma Nicholson during her luncheon speech at the ABA London Sessions. “People want freedom. People want the rule of law,” Nicholson said. “They want these two things,…

Aug 1, 2015 1:00 AM CDT