States

DEA Agents Claim ‘American Gangster’ Movie Defamed Them

Three officers who once worked at the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York claim in a lawsuit that they were defamed by American Gangster, the film about a Harlem drug dealer starring Denzel Washington. The suit takes issue with the movie postscript, which stated that three-quarters of the agents who…

Jan 17, 2008 6:01 PM CST

Scruggs’ Lawyers Accuse Judge of Targeting Their Client in Bribe Case

Lawyers for Richard “Dickie” Scruggs are seeking to throw out taped conversations about an alleged attempt to bribe a state judge, arguing that one exchange suggests the judge wanted to set up his client. Scruggs’ lawyers are seeking more information about the extent to which Judge Henry Lackey of Mississippi…

Jan 17, 2008 3:39 PM CST

Law Firm Can’t Keep Referral Fee Promised to Disbarred Lawyer

A law firm that picked up the cases of a disbarred lawyer can’t keep referral fees it promised him before his practice closed, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled. An Edison, N.J., law firm, Eichen Levinson & Crutchlow, had argued it was entitled to keep the $81,000 in promised…

Jan 17, 2008 2:41 PM CST

‘Seriously Misleading’ Affidavit Leads to Longer Sentence for Ex-Brocade CEO

A federal judge said yesterday he lengthened the sentence for the ex-CEO of Brocade Communications because he submitted a misleading affidavit. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco added six months to Gregory Reyes’ sentence for backdating stock options because of the “seriously misleading” declaration, making the total sentence…

Jan 17, 2008 2:08 PM CST

Ex-PI Lawyer, Accused of Keeping Client Settlements, Gets 41-Month Sentence

A former personal injury lawyer in Louisiana has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for lying to banks and forging client signatures. Mel Credeur of Lafayette pleaded guilty last year to making false statements to a bank and forging securities of private entities, the Daily Advertiser reports. The charges…

Jan 17, 2008 1:40 PM CST

Judge to Review CIA Interrogation Documents, Hear ACLU Contempt Motion

A federal judge in New York has agreed to privately review secret documents about the CIA’s interrogation program in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he would review the material to determine whether it should be released under the Freedom of Information Act,…

Jan 17, 2008 12:19 PM CST

Rep. Disputes CIA Official’s Claim of Implicit Authority to Destroy Tapes

A senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee says the CIA official who ordered the destruction of videotapes of harsh interrogations acted in apparent defiance of a direction to preserve the tapes. U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan spoke after top CIA lawyer John Rizzo testified before the committee in…

Jan 17, 2008 12:01 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

San Diego OKs $750K Attorney Payment to Settle Cross Case

The city council of San Diego has agreed to pay a plaintiff’s lawyer $750,000 to settle his legal bill for representing an atheist in a lengthy lawsuit over the placement of a large cross on city land. The 6-2 vote doesn’t completely settle the 1989 constitutional case, however, according to…

Jan 17, 2008 12:57 AM CST

US Pays Hit Man $20K, But Fights Compensation for Victims

Advocates for victims targeted during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s by organized crime figures in Northeast who were aided by ties to the local FBI are expressing outrage about a $20,000 payment reportedly made by the government to a newly released convicted hit man. And those representing fellow criminals…

Jan 17, 2008 12:05 AM CST

Defendant Claims Miami Law Firm Paid for Settlement Info

A defendant cruise line has filed motions seeking to disqualify a Miami plaintiffs firm from pursuing 75 pending claims by passengers and workers, contending that the Wingate Law Firm retained two investigators who paid a cruise line employee to provide confidential settlement information. The investigators allegedly paid a Royal Caribbean…

Jan 16, 2008 8:02 PM CST

ACLU Argues Sex in Bathroom Stalls Is Private

The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief on behalf of Sen. Larry Craig yesterday that argues people who have sex in bathroom stalls have an expectation of privacy. The ACLU’s brief, filed with the Minnesota Court of Appeals, says the government cannot prove Craig was inviting an undercover…

Jan 16, 2008 7:50 PM CST

Pa. Law Firms Swap Partners in N.J.

It’s something of a musical chairs situation in central New Jersey as Pennsylvania law firms strive to establish a significant presence in the booming corporate area by raiding one another’s attorney rosters. As detailed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, 275-lawyer Saul Ewing was the victim of a December attack by…

Jan 16, 2008 7:20 PM CST

Ex-Brocade CEO Gets 21-Month Sentence for Options Backdating

A federal judge has sentenced the ex-CEO of Brocade Communications to 21 months in prison for backdating stock options. Gregory Reyes cried before receiving the sentence, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer also ordered Reyes to pay a $15 million fine, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub.…

Jan 16, 2008 7:02 PM CST

Md. Law Firm Office Mgr. Stole $700K

A too-trusted former office manager for a Maryland law firm pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing more than $700,000 from Nagle & Zaller over a six-year period. Authorities say Christine McClain-Sloane, 41, embezzled the money between 1998 and 2005 by fraudulently writing nearly 250 firm checks and making some 1,400 charges…

Jan 16, 2008 6:55 PM CST