Missouri

Friend’s Mom Charged With Fraud Over MySpace Cyberbullying Suicide

Updated: A 49-year-old Missouri woman accused of helping to concoct a fictitious MySpace account used in a cyberbullying campaign that allegedly drove a neighbor’s child to suicide was indicted today by a federal jury in Southern California. Lori Drew is charged with three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization…

May 15, 2008 9:36 PM CDT

Court of Public Opinion Sways Wal-Mart in Battle Over Legal Winnings

A Missouri man, who lost a son in Iraq and whose wife suffers from debilitating memory loss because of an auto accident, couldn’t convince his wife’s former employer to back off its claim to the money the family recovered for her accident. At least not until his plight made prime-time…

Apr 2, 2008 6:52 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Freed on Bond, Awaits Retrial in Murder of Partner

A disbarred lawyer has been freed on $100,000 bond as he awaits retrial in the murder of his law partner. Former Kansas City, Mo., lawyer Richard Buchli III had been convicted in the death of his partner, Richard Armitage, in 2002, but an appeals court reversed the conviction because prosecutors…

Feb 20, 2008 2:06 PM CST

After Missouri Killings, Officials Ask: Is Tighter Security Needed?

Still reeling from last week’s murder of five citizens at a Kirkwood, Mo., municipal council meeting by a disgruntled litigant, officials in other St. Louis area municipalities are now discussing whether they need to increase security. For example, officials in nearby Madison County, Ill., are talking about what can be…

Feb 11, 2008 10:54 PM CST

Plaintiff Who Lost Suits Against St. Louis Suburb Kills Five at Council Meeting

Updated: A man who lost two lawsuits against the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood opened fire at a city council meeting yesterday evening, killing five people. The suspect, Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton, was shot and killed by police, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The dead included three Kirkwood officials and…

Feb 8, 2008 11:48 AM CST

Some States Seek to Limit Judicial Power to Regulate Lawyers

Legislators in a handful of states are trying to limit the traditional power of their states’ supreme courts to regulate the legal profession. In South Carolina, for instance, a Republican legislator and physician, Dr. Kristopher “Kris” Crawford, is proposing legislation that would eliminate the state supreme court’s power to regulate…

Feb 5, 2008 5:02 PM CST

Associates at Top KC Firms Top $100K

Top Kansas City law firms are raising salaries for new associates by as much as 10 percent this year, boosting pay to more than $100,000 a year. The Kansas City Star reports that the firms are paying more as they compete for associates. New associates at Bryan Cave will earn…

Feb 5, 2008 1:51 PM CST

Ariz. Drivers Can Get ‘Choose Life’ Plates

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said today that Arizona motorists can have specialty state license plates that contain anti-abortion messages. The unanimous decision (PDF) by the San Francisco-based court reverses rulings by a federal trial judge and Arizona’s License Plate Commission, according to Capitol Media Services. The Arizona…

Jan 28, 2008 8:01 PM CST

Littler Mendelson Opens St. Louis Office With Seven Laterals

Employment law firm Littler Mendelson continues its expansion with the opening of an office in St. Louis. It will be staffed with four partners and three associates hired from two other St. Louis firms. The office is the 44th for the law firm, the National Law Journal reports. It opened…

Jan 28, 2008 5:13 PM CST

Appeals Court Requires Access to Abortions for Prison Inmates

Ruling on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a federal appeals court held yesterday that Missouri must provide transportation to prison inmates seeking abortions. The ruling by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a policy by Gov. Matt Blunt that had restricted inmates’ access to…

Jan 23, 2008 4:18 PM CST

Ex-Rep Accused of Hiding Source of Payment in Terror Funding Case

A former Michigan congressman has been charged in connection with his ties to a Missouri group designated as a terrorist organization. Mark Siljander, who now runs a public relations firm called Global Strategies, is accused of accepting $50,000 to lobby Congress to keep the organization off the list of terrorist…

Jan 17, 2008 11:43 AM CST

Bad Debts Earn License Suspension for Missouri Lawyer

A Missouri attorney who was already on probationary status because of being behind on his debt payments has now been suspended from practice for failing to comply with a repayment plan. Derrick R. Williams Sr. of Cape Girardeau was suspended Friday by the Missouri Supreme Court for failing to file…

Jan 9, 2008 9:17 PM CST

Feds in Calif. Probe Mo. Teen’s Suicide Over Web Harassment

Authorities in Missouri found no basis on which to pursue criminal charges in the controversial case of a 13-year-old who reportedly hanged herself in 2006 in a town near St. Louis as a result of Internet bullying. But authorities in Los Angeles have now convened a federal grand jury to…

Jan 9, 2008 7:03 PM CST

Coin Flip Puts Husch First in Merged Firm Name

A coin flip has determined the name of the law firm created by the merger of St. Louis-based Husch & Eppenberger LLC and Kansas City-based Blackwell Sanders. The new firm will be named Husch Blackwell Sanders, said co-chairman Joseph P. Conran, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “The firm name was…

Jan 4, 2008 3:09 PM CST

Serial Killer Studied Law Enforcement to Avoid Detection

A confessed Midwest serial killer avoided detection for decades, apparently utilizing information gleaned from his law enforcement education to do so. Although Timothy Krajcir had begun murdering women by 1977 and spent years of his life in prison for other sex-related crimes, he was only charged this year with some…

Dec 12, 2007 5:43 PM CST