Mississippi

Judge Rules for Lesbian Teen, But Won’t Force School to Hold Prom

A federal judge says he won’t force a Mississippi school district to hold a prom, even though it violated a lesbian teen’s First Amendment rights when it canceled the event. Both sides claimed victory after the ruling, the Clarion Ledger reports. U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson said clearly established case…

Mar 24, 2010 11:35 AM CDT

2 Judges & 1 Lawyer Win Bribery Appeals After 5th Circuit Raises New Issue

Despite an apparent pleading error by the appellants’ counsel, a federal appeals court today reversed the federal program bribery convictions of two Mississippi judges and a trial lawyer. This is likely to shorten their prison sentences, although some other convictions against the three were not vacated. And they could potentially…

Dec 11, 2009 11:23 PM CST

Miss. Judge Bobby DeLaughter Pleads Guilty to Scruggs-Related Obstruction

A Mississippi judge pleaded guilty to a federal obstruction charge and resigned his seat on the bench yesterday, in exchange for a recommended 18-month prison sentence. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter, 55, had faced a five-count corruption case that could have put him behind bars for as much…

Jul 31, 2009 8:03 PM CDT

Lathrop & Gage Opens Chicago Office, Plans ‘Aggressive Recruiting’

Lathrop & Gage has hired two lawyers formerly with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal to staff a new office in Chicago, the firm’s second new office this year. Lathrop is not limiting the Chicago office to two lawyers, however. “Additional aggressive recruiting plans are under way,” according to a press release…

Jul 17, 2009 1:54 PM CDT

Appeals Court Revives Suit Against Katrina Insurers

A federal appeals court based in New Orleans has revived a whistle-blower suit claiming several insurance companies tried to shift the burden of paying for Hurricane Katrina damages onto the federal government. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Louisiana suit may continue against all but two insurers,…

Feb 20, 2009 6:17 PM CST

Miss. Judge is Federally Indicted in Scruggs-Related Corruption Case

A Mississippi judge who presided over a bitter multimillion-dollar legal fees dispute concerning asbestos litigation has been indicted for allegedly secretly funneling information about the case to one of the attorneys involved. Allegedly influenced by a promise of appointment to the federal bench, Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter is…

Feb 13, 2009 1:30 AM CST

Ex-Judge Reprimanded for ‘White Folks’ Comment

The Mississippi Supreme Court has reprimanded a former judge for public comments he made about “white folks.” The court said removal from office would have been an appropriate punishment for the judge, Solomon Osborne of Leflore County, if he had not resigned last year, the National Law Journal reports. Osborne…

Feb 11, 2009 1:38 PM CST

Scruggs II: Once-Renowned Trial Lawyer Pleads in Another Court Corruption Case

Already serving a five-year prison term for his role in a scheme to bribe a Mississippi judge concerning a dispute over Hurricane Katrina legal fees, once-renowned trial attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs pleaded guilty today in a federal mail-fraud case. “According to prosecutors, Scruggs was involved in a scheme ‘to deprive…

Feb 10, 2009 8:28 PM CST

Miss. PI Firm Settles Suit Over Leaked Affidavit

A top personal injury firm in Mississippi has settled a $189 million lawsuit by a tire company that claimed a leaked affidavit disparaged the manufacturer and violated an employee agreement. The case settled as jurors were being selected for the trial in Oxford, Miss., according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily…

Jan 23, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Baby-Killer Ad Part of Hard-Fought Election that Ousted 3 Miss. Justices

Mississippi Chief Justice Jim Smith and two other incumbents on the state’s high court lost election battles yesterday in a race that included a negative baby-killer ad and debates over business favoritism and liberalism. Other incumbents who lost were Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., who was acquitted of bribery and tax…

Nov 5, 2008 12:46 PM CST

Judge Suspended in Cemetery Fence Flap

A Mississippi judge has been suspended for 60 days and fined $2,000 for accompanying deputies to a woman’s home and threatening her with prosecution for taking part of a cemetery fence. Judge Pat Carr, a judge in Lee County, Guntown and Saltillo, disagreed with the Mississippi Supreme Court’s decision in…

Sep 19, 2008 5:15 PM CDT

Hundreds Held in Another Big ICE Raid

In another signpost of stepped-up immigration enforcement, federal agents raided a Mississippi factory yesterday, detaining at least 350 workers who allegedly are in the country illegally. “The raid follows a similar large-scale immigration operation at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in May when nearly 400 workers were detained,” reports…

Aug 26, 2008 5:34 PM CDT

Lawyer Must Pay $1.5M Verdict for Affair With Client’s Wife

Solo practitioner Ronald Henry Pierce of Mississippi will have to pay a $1.5 million verdict against him for having an affair with a client’s wife, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled. The court affirmed the verdict for intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and alienation of affection in…

Aug 19, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Scruggs Gets 5 Years, $250K Fine in Judicial Bribery Case

Updated: Famed Mississippi plaintiffs attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, ashamed and shaking, was sentenced to five years in prison today for his role in a conspiracy to bribe a state judge. Imposing the sentence recommended by prosecutors, a federal judge in Mississippi also fined Scruggs $250,000, reports the Associated Press. Defense…

Jun 27, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

45 Years After Medgar Evers’ Murder, His Work Continues

Every year, on June 12, Robert Stepney thinks about Medgar Evers, a college roommate who was like a brother to him. Shot on that day in Jackson, Miss., in 1963, as he got out of his car in front of his home a little after midnight, Evers died in front…

Jun 12, 2008 6:46 PM CDT