States

Young Children Removed from Texas Ranch Not Abused, State’s Expert Says

Updated: In the second day of a massive 416-child custody hearing, at least one expert for the state of Texas testified today that there was no sign of abuse among the boys and younger girls removed from a ranch run by a polygamous sect. Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist, testified…

Apr 18, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

No Slowdown for Britney’s Lawyers: Latest Spears Legal Bill is $372,500

Last month, Britney Spears was told to ante up $375,000 to pay her ex-husband’s legal fees in a child custody case. Now, a Los Angeles judge says, she’ll have to pay another $372,500 to cover legal fees related to her own conservatorship. “And that doesn’t even include the $10,000 a…

Apr 18, 2008 8:22 PM CDT

Group Wins Jury Instructions Award; Here is the Plain-Language Text!

A California task force has won a first-time award for jury instructions from the National Center for State Courts. The group’s revision, starting in 1998, of the state’s civil and criminal pattern jury instructions has created plain-language jury instructions that are now widely in use throughout California and much easier…

Apr 18, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

Despite National Slowdown, Spokane, Wash., Office of K&L Gates is Growing

Despite the slowing national economy that has led to layoffs at some law firms, the Spokane, Wash., office of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis is doing just fine. It has added seven lawyers to its attorney roster over the past 18 months, and expects to bring in an eighth…

Apr 18, 2008 4:23 PM CDT

Ex-Radical Now a Law Prof and a Campaign Issue

Bernadine Dohrn, a former member of the Weather Underground, is now a law professor at Northwestern University with an expertise in children’s law. Her husband, former Underground member Bill Ayers, has also joined the mainstream as an advocate of school reform who is an informal adviser to Chicago Mayor Richard…

Apr 18, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

4 Lawyers from 1 Law Firm Wrongly Included in N.Y. Pension System

Updated: Four attorneys working for a prominent education law firm in Albany, N.Y., have been disqualified from the state pension system by New York’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, because they were not employees but independent contractors. The four Girvin & Ferlazzo attorneys additionally were shown in records as having worked 1,157…

Apr 18, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

Courts Reluctant to Stop Divorcing Bloggers From Airing Complaints

Courts are reluctant to stop divorcing bloggers from revealing intimate details of their marriages or engaging in angry rants about their spouses in online postings. The courts are citing the First Amendment in refusing to intervene, the New York Times reports. A New York judge has refused to block a…

Apr 18, 2008 1:47 PM CDT

N.Y. Attorney General Probes Marketing of Auction-Rate Securities

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed information from 18 financial institutions about their sale and marketing of auction-rate securities. Cuomo wants to know what the Wall Street firms told consumers who bought the securities about the safety and liquidity of the investments, the Wall Street Journal reports. He…

Apr 18, 2008 11:28 AM CDT

Texas Man Innocent in Rape Case; 16th Wrongful Conviction in Dallas County

A Texas judge temporarily released an inmate yesterday who had been imprisoned for more than two decades in a burglary and rape case, after DNA evidence proved his innocence. Thomas McGowan Jr.’s case must now be finally resolved by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, although Judge Susan Hawk recommended…

Apr 17, 2008 9:42 PM CDT

10 Thelen Reid Lawyers Jump Ship to Big Labor Boutique

Ten lawyers from Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner have jumped ship, joining the New York, Newark, N.J., and New Haven, Conn. offices of Littler Mendelson. They are: Joel Finger and Jean Schmidt as partners; Joseph Field, I. Michael Kessel and Eric Witkin as special counsel; Marguerite Stenson Wynne as…

Apr 17, 2008 6:59 PM CDT

Huge 416-Child Custody Hearing in Texas Ranch Raid Involves 350 Lawyers

Updated: A huge custody hearing began today concerning 416 children taken by Texas officials from a ranch operated by a renegade Mormon sect that reportedly promotes polygamy. It bogged down almost immediately as lawyers for the children demanded to see the evidence being introduced—three teenagers’ medical records. “State District Judge…

Apr 17, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

Moonlighting Mass. Judge Steps Down

A Massachusetts probate and family court judge who has been under fire for reportedly running a sideline real estate business and accepting compensation related to his former law practice has agreed to step down and apologized. Michael Livingstone, 51, will resign from the bench, effective June 12, and is taking…

Apr 17, 2008 5:02 PM CDT

Md. Court Allows Rape Charge When Consent to Sex Is Withdrawn

Maryland’s highest court has ruled that a rape can occur if a woman withdraws consent to sex after intercourse has begun. The ruling by the Maryland Court of Appeals overturns a controversial decision by a lower appeals court in the case, the Washington Post reports. The lower court decision was…

Apr 17, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

New York’s Second Effort to Require Fast-Food Calorie Listings Is Upheld

New York City has revised its fast-food calorie posting rules to the satisfaction of a federal judge. The new regulations upheld yesterday require calorie counts to be posted next to prices in any restaurant chain with more than 15 outlets nationwide, the New York Times reports. U.S. District Judge Richard…

Apr 17, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Made Lewd Courtroom Gesture Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail

A Texas lawyer found guilty of contempt for making a lewd courtroom gesture has been released on a personal recognizance bond while he appeals a 90-day jail sentence. Lawyer Adam Reposa of Austin told reporters after he was sentenced yesterday that the punishment was “fair,” Texas Lawyer reports. Visiting Judge…

Apr 17, 2008 12:11 PM CDT