States

Chemerinsky Controversy Heats Up

Outrage over a decision by the University of California’s newest law school to hire as dean—and then fire, before he ever took office—a prominent academic it now reportedly deems too liberal is seemingly at white heat. However, easy to miss in this firestorm is a claim that this isn’t what…

Sep 14, 2007 12:24 AM CDT

Street Legal Lawyers Look for Adventure

The deep aggressive roar of a Harley engine generally isn’t the first association that comes to mind concerning an attorney. But it’s a familiar sound to the founding members of the western Wisconsin chapter of Street Legal, a motorcycle club for attorneys and other legal professionals, writes the Pierce County…

Sep 13, 2007 11:08 PM CDT

Did Power of Attorney OK $180K Gift?

A power of attorney authorized its holder to give herself $180,000, a defense attorney contended yesterday in a fraud trial over money allegedly stolen from an elderly woman. Because a clause in the document authorized Cheri Drick to spend money on gifts, including gifts to herself, it was legal for…

Sep 13, 2007 10:43 PM CDT

$350K Legal Bill in Closed-Meetings Case

A town in Washington state has racked up $340,000 in legal fees to defend litigation over allegedly illegal closed-door meetings of the municipal council. And that amount could rise by another $250,000 if the plaintiffs win their case against four current and former members of the Shoreline City Council, and…

Sep 13, 2007 9:15 PM CDT

Law Profs Back Embattled Ave Maria Faculty

Updated: A continuing faculty controversy at Ave Maria School of Law that has become focused, in part, on a planned campus move from Michigan to Florida is heating up. Faculty say they have been treated outrageously by the current administration, and Christian legal academics are rallying in their support. In…

Sep 13, 2007 7:05 PM CDT

NY to Rewrite Calorie-Posting Rule

New York’s health department will go back to the drawing board to craft a regulation able to withstand judicial scrutiny that will require restaurants to post calorie counts. At the same time the city is considering an appeal of a federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday that the regulation conflicted with…

Sep 13, 2007 6:52 PM CDT

Stars Stump for Jury Stamp

Mariah Carey was among the celebrities in a New York courthouse yesterday to help unveil a new jury duty stamp. Carey and other celebrities attended because they served on a New York jury panel, the New York Law Journal reports in a story reprinted by New York Lawyer. Other stars…

Sep 13, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Jurors May Hear 9/11 Cockpit Recording

Updated: A federal judge in New York has ruled that a jury may hear part of the cockpit voice recording made in the minutes before the crash of a plane hijacked by the Sept. 11 terrorists. Judge Alvin Hellerstein said two parts of the recording are likely to be relevant,…

Sep 13, 2007 5:20 PM CDT

Judge Backs State Emissions Controls

Vermont’s attempt to regulate greenhouse gases in vehicle emissions is not pre-empted by federal fuel-economy standards, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge William Sessions III of Burlington yesterday rejected an attempt to block the rules, which are modeled on California standards requiring reduced emissions, the Washington Post reports.…

Sep 13, 2007 4:06 PM CDT

Church Leader, Polygamy on Trial in UT Rape Case

Opening arguments are expected to begin today in a Utah teen-rape case that is widely seen as putting on trial not only the defendant, Warren Jeffs, but the polygamist practices of the church community he leads. Jeffs, 51, heads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a…

Sep 13, 2007 4:00 PM CDT

Grandma, 85, Chases and Helps Catch Alleged Thief

A purse-snatcher picked the wrong victim when he allegedly stole Marta Suarez’ handbag yesterday in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. The 85-year-old victim, a former Cuban track star in the 1930s, took off after Ivan Lavar Edwards, 29, and was reportedly gaining on him as she chased him into…

Sep 13, 2007 3:21 PM CDT

Heelys a Bad Dealys, Suits Say

Several lawsuits filed on behalf of investors who bought stock in Heelys Inc. claim the company hid injuries that had been caused by the shoes with wheels. The Tex Parte blog reports on one of the suits filed in the Northern District of Texas. It claims the company’s registration statement…

Sep 13, 2007 1:12 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Tie in Tatters Over Terrorism Matters

A Texas lawyer’s ragged red, white and blue tie is not a fashion statement. Robert Flournoy of Lufkin City vowed to keep wearing the tie, purchased at the 2000 Republican National Convention, until Osama bin Laden is captured or proven dead, according to a story on the Tex Parte blog…

Sep 13, 2007 12:47 PM CDT

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell Is Born

The deal has been formally approved: Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp will merge with Lord, Bissell & Brook, a firm with headquarters in Chicago. The new 700-lawyer firm will be called Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, Texas Lawyer reports. It will have 11 offices and gross revenues of about $400…

Sep 13, 2007 12:17 PM CDT

Judge Challenges Age Limit

A 72-year-old Chicago judge has filed a lawsuit seeking to strike down an age limit for judges seeking re-election. Judge William Maddux, chief judge of the law division for Cook County, is challenging a state law that bars judges from running for re-election after they reach the age of 75,…

Sep 13, 2007 11:35 AM CDT