Isiah Thomas Liable for Harassment, But Not Punitives

Updated: A federal jury has found that New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sexually harassed a team executive. Jurors also found that Madison Square Garden was liable for the harassment and will have to pay punitive damages, the New York Times reports. Jurors could not decide whether Thomas should pay…

Oct 2, 2007 5:50 PM CDT

Judge to Britney: No License, No Kids

Britney Spears lost custody of her two young sons at least in part because she didn’t have a valid driver’s license. Because the 25-year-old pop diva didn’t comply with a court order to get a driver’s license by Monday, and allegedly didn’t comply with an earlier court order to take…

Oct 2, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

Accused File-Sharer Won’t Back Down

Jammie Thomas is among 26,000 or so people who were sued by the music industry as part of a campaign to stop the illegal sharing of online music files. But the 30-year-old single mother from Brainerd, Minn., is the only defendant whose case has made it to trial, Wired reports.…

Oct 2, 2007 2:57 PM CDT

Court Declines Tobacco Appeal

Tobacco companies lost a bid for U.S. Supreme Court review of a decision that will aid Florida smoking plaintiffs in future lawsuits. The court refused to hear the case yesterday, Bloomberg News reports. The Florida Supreme Court had ruled that smoking plaintiffs may rely on a 1999 jury finding that…

Oct 2, 2007 2:11 PM CDT

Covington Poised to Grow With New Chairman

Covington & Burling has a new chairman who is touting an expansion program for the law firm. Antitrust litigator Timothy Hester is the firm’s new chairman, Legal Times reports. Hester told Legal Times to watch for a big expansion in a few of the law firm’s offices. “We’re especially focusing…

Oct 2, 2007 12:29 PM CDT

Ex-Associate’s Gay-Bias Suit Partly Tossed

Sullivan & Cromwell has succeeded in narrowing a former associate’s gay-bias lawsuit against the law firm. Manhattan Judge Bernard Fried dismissed two claims by ex-associate Aaron Charney on Friday, the New York Law Journal reports. Fried ruled Charney could not pursue a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress since…

Oct 2, 2007 12:07 PM CDT

Justices to VA: What’s the Hurry to Execute?

Two U.S. Supreme Court justices had a message for the state of Virginia: Slow down the machinery of death. Justice John Paul Stevens issued a statement questioning Virginia’s rush to execution as the court declined to review a death-row inmate’s claim of ineffective counsel, the Washington Post reports. Justice Ruth…

Oct 2, 2007 11:43 AM CDT

Justices Debate Voter Confusion Over WA Primary Law

Both sides left the U.S. Supreme Court in an optimistic mood after oral arguments yesterday in a challenge to a Washington state law that curbs the influence of political parties. The law allows candidates in a primary to designate their own political party preference, Legal Times reports. The top two…

Oct 2, 2007 10:35 AM CDT

Boy, 10, Freed in Fatal Arson; ‘A Victim’

A 10-year-old boy who is accused of having set an Ohio fire that killed five people, including his mother, has been ordered released to his maternal grandmother’s custody. The boy’s mother died in the fire along with his 8-year-old sister and three other children, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. Hence, in…

Oct 1, 2007 9:24 PM CDT

Britney Loses Custody, Gains Lawyer

Pop singer Britney Spears has at least temporarily lost custody of her two small sons. Starting Wednesday at noon, her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, will have custody “until further order of the court,” according to Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon. It is not clear why the judge made the ruling, reports…

Oct 1, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

NY 1st-Year Pay Plan: $250K, But No Jobs

Observers are waiting to see what the next salary move will be in New York City, where law firms that tried to surge ahead on first-year pay are now neck-and-neck with competitors from other major cities. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s move earlier this year to raise starting pay to $160,000…

Oct 1, 2007 7:41 PM CDT

Florida Ups Ante on Child Sex Crimes

As a new statute takes effect that will triple some penalties and criminalize behavior that isn’t criminal elsewhere, Florida’s laws against committing sex crimes involving children have become some of the toughest in the nation. In Florida, for example, it is now a crime to take a trip with the…

Oct 1, 2007 7:18 PM CDT

Ready, Aim—Indict!

Some Texas grand jurors are getting a cop’s-eye view of police work

Oct 1, 2007 6:12 PM CDT

Lending to Lawyers—At 18 Percent-Plus

Once upon a time, plaintiffs lawyers had to front their own litigation costs. Today, companies lend them the money—at a price. A retired New York judge, for instance, runs Counsel Financial Services, reports the Buffalo News. It loans lawyers money to fund litigation at annual interest rates ranging from 18…

Oct 1, 2007 5:30 PM CDT

A More Approachable Bench

Oct 1, 2007 5:29 PM CDT