Rhode Island

Criminal cases that involved lawyers’ spitting and shoving match are resolved

Two cases brought by a personal injury lawyer and the father of another attorney after they got into a spitting and shoving match are no longer sitting in criminal court in Providence, Rhode Island. Last week, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha filed the assault case against attorney Stephen J.…

Jul 3, 2019 2:51 PM CDT

New York legislature OKs ban on gay and trans ‘panic defenses’

New York is poised to join the increasing number of states that are banning gay and trans “panic defenses” in murder cases. As the ABA Journal reported in January, legislatures have increasingly considered this type of ban.

Jun 26, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Advocates sue Rhode Island to require civics ed for students

Students and their parents are suing Rhode Island, alleging the state has failed to prepare young people for the rigors of citizenship.

Jun 1, 2019 1:50 AM CDT

How the Americans with Disabilities Act could change the way the nation’s jails and prisons treat addiction

Before Geoffrey Pesce got on methadone, his addiction to heroin and oxycodone nearly destroyed him: He lost his home, his job, custody of his son—and his driver’s license. So even after he began to rebuild his life, Pesce relied on his parents to drive him to a methadone clinic for his daily dose. One day last July, his mother was unexpectedly unavailable, and desperate not to relapse, he drove himself.

Feb 8, 2019 6:30 AM CST

See the video: Lawyer arrested for allegedly spitting on father of former colleague

Updated: A personal injury lawyer in Providence, Rhode Island, was arrested on Monday for allegedly shoving and spitting on the father of a onetime colleague. The lawyer, 59-year-old Stephen Dennis, was charged with misdemeanor assault, report the Providence Journal and WPRI.com. Dennis pleaded not guilty to the charge. Police say…

Dec 4, 2018 10:39 AM CST

Democrats pepper Kavanaugh with written questions, including if he had a gambling problem

Some Democrats are sending Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh extensive written follow-up questions after his more than 20 hours of testimony during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings last week.

Sep 12, 2018 11:53 AM CDT

Are you covered? Cyber insurance market is highly unstable and lacks uniformity

As cyberthreats evolve and proliferate, more insurers are expanding options to help law firms mitigate loss. However, without industry standards, coverage and cost vary from plan to plan, sometimes causing gaps in potential coverage.

Jun 1, 2018 1:15 AM CDT

Suspended Rhode Island lawyer jailed for failing to pay sanction

Updated: A suspended Rhode Island lawyer was jailed on a civil contempt charge for failing to pay more than $11,000 of a sanction imposed for making misrepresentations to the court. The “lawyer and provocateur,” Keven A. McKenna of Providence, was arrested on Tuesday, the Providence Journal reports. On Thursday afternoon,…

Jan 12, 2018 10:53 AM CST

I Did It Norway: Some American prisons are singing a European tune

In August, when the solar eclipse passed over South Boise Women’s Correctional Center in Idaho, the officers held lunch early, handed out protective sunglasses, and invited the women outside to watch the sky. At the Cheshire Correctional Institution in Connecticut, a few prisoners and officers recently played cards together; the…

Nov 2, 2017 5:52 PM CDT

Victimized by ransomware, law firm sues insurer for $700K in lost billings

A Rhode Island law firm has filed a lawsuit against its insurer over coverage for a ransomware attack that locked down the firm’s computer files for three months. Moses Afonso Ryan, a 10-lawyer law firm in Providence, says it paid $25,000 in ransom, but the amount is far less than…

May 2, 2017 11:09 AM CDT

Municipalities find new funding source by filing class-action suits

A growing number of municipalities throughout the country have found an innovative way to add to their bottom lines—joining class-action suits on a contingency-fee basis. Providence, Rhode Island, has filed 15 securities cases against banks and corporations as an institutional investor since 2011, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).…

May 3, 2016 9:25 AM CDT

Some retailers end on-call scheduling after probes by multiple states

Attorneys general from eight states and Washington, D.C., are investigating a retailer scheduling practice described as unfair by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. In letters sent Wednesday, he and colleagues from California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Rhode Island ask 15 major companies about…

Apr 13, 2016 1:50 PM CDT

Lawyer and 5 others face charges in claimed mortgage-fraud scheme

A Rhode Island lawyer has been criminally charged, along with five other defendants, in a claimed mortgage-fraud scheme between 2007 and 2014 involving over a dozen properties in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Louis Marandola, 41, is accused of conspiring with others, including a real estate agent, loan workers and an…

Dec 17, 2015 4:00 PM CST

Judge repeatedly mistreated women, had ‘propensity to remove his pants in chambers,’ report says

Disciplinary charges filed Monday accuse a Rhode Island judge of mistreating female staff, attorneys and the public, as well as other behavior that cast doubt on his fitness to serve on the bench. A report (PDF) by the Commission on Judicial Tenure & Discipline says District Judge Rafael Ovalles treated…

Dec 8, 2015 1:00 PM CST

Family sues over police handling of a false claim about chemicals in 8-year-old girl’s backpack

The family of a Rhode Island elementary school student filed a federal civil rights suit Thursday against Tiverton police and school officials. It alleges that a third-grader was taken off a school bus and questioned at a police station for several hours last year after another student incorrectly claimed that…

Dec 4, 2015 9:05 AM CST