States

Judge Overturns Rule Changes to Streamline the Patent Process

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t have the authority to make rule changes designed to streamline the patent process. Patent applicants had been “apoplectic” over the PTO proposal, which was designed to make the patent process more efficient by encouraging patent applicants…

Apr 2, 2008 2:26 PM CDT

Sonnenschein Snags 18 Energy-Member Energy Group and Its Clients

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal is gaining an 18-member energy practice group as well as the group’s entire book of clients. The team is moving to Sonnenschein from Sullivan & Worcester, Legal Times reports. Among those who are making the leap are Clinton Vince, managing partner of Sullivan & Worcester’s Washington,…

Apr 2, 2008 2:08 PM CDT

In an About Face, New Jersey Provides Lawyer Records to Website

The state of New Jersey has complied with a request for records of thousands of lawyers in the state by lawyer-ranking website Avvo. Avvo had petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court for access to names, year of admission and current bar status of the state’s lawyers after the clerk of…

Apr 2, 2008 1:38 PM CDT

Goodyear Loses Bid to Keep Sealed Deposition Testimony Secret

Lawyers representing Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. could be on the hot seat under a federal judge’s order allowing them to be questioned about deposition testimony in a case that was settled under a confidentiality agreement. The March 18 decision by U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster of San Diego comes…

Apr 2, 2008 12:05 PM CDT

Grand Juror Spots Conviction Error in Unusual Oregon Case

A former Oregon man who was jailed for sex abuse, but never actually indicted is suing state authorities for $3.5 million. The federal suit filed in Portland arises from an unusual case involving David Lee Simmons, who was jailed for 30 days in 2006 after pleading guilty to felony charges…

Apr 1, 2008 10:49 PM CDT

So. Fla. Judge Barred From Courthouse Calls it Quits

Updated: A Broward County, Fla., judge abruptly resigned Monday after the chief judge inexplicably barred him from the courthouse. The Miami Herald reports that Chief Judge Victor Tobin had reassigned Judge Jay Spechler last week. Spechler, a former administrative chief of the county court, was handling traffic and parking matters…

Apr 1, 2008 9:52 PM CDT

Free Legal Advice Offered for Accused Music Pirates

Students in San Francisco’s Bay Area have an ally if the Recording Industry Association of America comes knocking and accuses them of pirating music. The college students can turn to the University of San Francisco’s legal clinic—part of the Internet and Intellectual Property Justice Project—that aims to match tech-savvy law…

Apr 1, 2008 9:04 PM CDT

$1M Bond for $25 Theft Lowered After Prosecutor Calls Amount ‘Silly’

The jail in Hamilton County, Ohio, is already overcrowded. But that didn’t stop a local municipal court judge from setting a $1 million bond for Gary Weaver. So what is Weaver accused of doing? The charge is that he stole about $25 by paying for items with what looked like…

Apr 1, 2008 6:13 PM CDT

‘Assembly Line’ Justice: Business Is Booming for So-Called Foreclosure Mills

The subprime mortgage crisis has been good news for the law firms sometimes known as “foreclosure mills.” Florida law firms that focus on foreclosure work are ramping up their hiring to cope with the big boom in business, the Tampa Tribune reports. In February alone, one law firm, the Florida…

Apr 1, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

Colorado Ballot Measure Targets Execs Who Fail to Stop Corporate Fraud

A former employee at Qwest Communications is backing a ballot measure in Colorado that would create the nation’s toughest corporate fraud law. Lew Ellingson, who had a job splicing phone cables, told the New York Times he became angry when Qwest colleagues lost their life savings after insider trading allegations…

Apr 1, 2008 3:32 PM CDT

Defamation Suit Over Realistic Fictional Character Allowed

A woman can sue novelist Haywood Smith for defamation based on allegations a hard-drinking, promiscuous character in his book bears a striking resemblance to the plaintiff, a Georgia appeals court has ruled. Plaintiff Vickie Stewart says she is not a promiscuous alcoholic, an atheist, or a “right-wing reactionary,” unlike the…

Apr 1, 2008 3:11 PM CDT

Judge Questions Multitude of Law Firms Seeking Fees in Credit Card Settlement

A federal judge yesterday questioned why so many law firms are seeking attorney fees in a $336 million settlement of a lawsuit against Mastercard and Visa. U.S. District Judge William Pauley seemed concerned about the number of law firms seeking fees, rather than the amount of the fee request—which is…

Apr 1, 2008 2:20 PM CDT

Woody Allen Sues Over American Apparel Rabbi Ads

Woody Allen claims in a lawsuit that American Apparel misappropriated his likeness on billboards and online advertising. The $10 million suit says the company used an image from Annie Hall of Allen dressed as a rabbi in ads that ran last year, report the Associated Press and the Wall Street…

Apr 1, 2008 1:06 PM CDT

Retired Lawyer, Worried About Mental Decline, Asks Court to Approve Suicide

A retired lawyer in Florida has filed suit asking a court to allow his doctor to assist his suicide when he reaches the point of mental incapacity. James Mahorner, 76, says small strokes are attacking his brain, and he wants to establish a right to die while he is still…

Apr 1, 2008 12:09 PM CDT

Judge Holds DWI Court at High School

Instead of waiting to see area high school students show up on the wrong side of his courtroom, New Mexico Magistrate Danny Hawkes has decided to take his courtroom on the road—holding DWI hearings in packed auditoriums and requiring defendants to give impromptu speeches about why these youngsters shouldn’t drink…

Mar 31, 2008 10:33 PM CDT