DA’s office says judge faked toilet-tank cover attack; jurist now faces multi-count indictment

A village judge in New York state faked a claimed attack last year in which he said he was struck in the head with a toilet-tank cover outside the courthouse he had just exited following an arraignment, authorities contend. Acting Waterloo village judge Roger Barto is now facing a multi-count…

Jul 9, 2014 3:25 PM CDT

Younger brother of Raj Rajaratnam is acquitted in insider-trading trial

Hedge fund co-founder Raj Rajaratnam made headlines several years ago after being convicted in a high-profile insider-trading trial, sentenced to a then-record 11-year prison term and ordered to pay more than $90 million in restitution and civil and criminal penalties. On Tuesday his younger brother, Rengan Rajaratnam, made headlines for…

Jul 8, 2014 8:15 PM CDT

Top state court OKs probate judge’s removal from bench for overseeing cases involving friends

Suspended with pay last December, a longtime New York probate judge has now been removed from the bench by the state’s highest court because she did not step aside from cases involving friends. Judge Cathryn Doyle argued that she did nothing wrong because her role in the Albany County Surrogate’s…

Jul 8, 2014 6:30 PM CDT

Anti-terrorism funding helps NYC police gear up for day-to-day crime detection

Being considered one of the top terrorism targets in the U.S. has helped make New York City a lot safer as far as ordinary crime is concerned, the city’s police commissioner says. With the help of funds targeted to combat terrorism, the Big Apple has geared up its law enforcement…

Jul 8, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Sleeping Yankees fan caught on camera sues for alleged defamation

A Yankees fan who was caught on camera napping at an April 13 game has filed a $10 million suit for alleged defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit filed on behalf of fan Andrew Robert Rector claims the ESPN announcers “unleashed [an] avalanche of disparaging words” about…

Jul 8, 2014 1:33 PM CDT

Madonna breezes through jury duty, is excused early due to ‘distraction’ she caused at courthouse

Ordinary New Yorkers called for jury duty in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday waited for hours in an assembly room at the 60 Centre Street courthouse. But Madonna got celebrity treatment. Scheduled to arrive an hour later, she went straight to the clerk’s office and soon departed again without being…

Jul 7, 2014 6:45 PM CDT

Prove GM fraud on court, if you can, bankruptcy judge tells lawyers in ignition-switch cases

Plaintiffs lawyers in dozens of cases filed against General Motors Co. over the diminished value of vehicles because of ignition-switch recalls have been arguing that a bankruptcy-court bar to such liability prior to 2009 should not apply. That’s because GM allegedly knew about the defect and didn’t disclose it to…

Jul 3, 2014 5:50 PM CDT

Judge sanctions lawyer who claimed ‘rogue attorney’ appeared on his behalf

A New York lawyer who claimed a “rogue attorney” appeared on his behalf and settled a case has been sanctioned for his explanation. Judge James d’Auguste of Manhattan fined lawyer Richard Savitt $10,000, to be paid to the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, and ordered him to pay $7,400 in…

Jul 3, 2014 1:44 PM CDT

Goldman Sachs asks judge to order Google to delete email sent to wrong account

A contractor mistakenly sent “highly confidential brokerage account information” about Goldman Sachs Group Inc. clients to a stranger’s email account, and the famed investment banking firm has asked a New York state court to help get it back. In a court complaint filed Friday in Manhattan, Goldman Sachs said Google…

Jul 2, 2014 10:15 PM CDT

Lawmaker lied to FBI about son’s law firm job, feds say; did lobby group fund son’s $50K raise?

A powerful longtime New York state lawmaker was federally indicted Tuesday on a single count of making false statements to the FBI concerning a job prosecutors say he helped his son get with a well-known Westchester County attorney’s law firm. Sen. Thomas Libous, 61, who serves as deputy Republican leader,…

Jul 2, 2014 6:25 PM CDT

Defunct law firms aren’t entitled to claw back unfinished-business profits, New York high court says

New York’s top court has ruled that dissolved law firms in bankruptcy court aren’t entitled to claw back unfinished-business profits in hourly fee matters when lawyers take cases to new law firms. The New York Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) in response to a question by the New York-based 2nd…

Jul 2, 2014 12:08 PM CDT

Law firm’s defamation suit against Cooley Law School is dismissed on jurisdictional grounds

Corrected and updated: A federal judge has dismissed a law firm’s dueling defamation suit against Thomas M. Cooley Law School, filed after Cooley accused firm partners of defamation. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of Manhattan dismissed the suit filed by the law firm Kurzon LLP, saying she had no…

Jul 2, 2014 11:14 AM CDT

Towns and cities can ban fracking in their borders, New York high court rules

New York’s highest court has upheld the “home rule” powers of even the smallest localities to ban fracking in order to preserve their rural and small-town character, Bloomberg News reports. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the practice by which oil and gas are extracted from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures…

Jul 1, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Poor NYC immigrants facing possible deportation will get free public defenders

New York City lawmakers have approved funding to provide free public defenders to indigent immigrants facing possible deportation. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project will be the first program to pay the complete costs for public defenders in immigration proceedings, the New York Times and the Associated Press report.…

Jul 1, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Why should 9/11 terrorism trials be held at ‘Mother Court’ in New York? Author explains (podcast)

Jun 30, 2014 4:20 PM CDT