States

Court OKs Murder Conviction for Killing Fetus Before Viability

The highest criminal court in Texas has held that killing a fetus before viability can be prosecuted as murder. The court ruled in the case of Terence Lawrence, convicted of double murder for shooting and killing his girlfriend, who had been pregnant for six weeks or less, the Austin American-Statesman…

Nov 26, 2007 12:56 PM CST

PD Faces Ethics Complaint for Telling of Dead Client’s Confession

The appellate defender for North Carolina is facing an ethics complaint for testifying that his dead client had confessed he alone committed a double murder for which another man is doing time. Staples Hughes testified in a January hearing for the convicted man that his client confessed 20 years ago…

Nov 26, 2007 12:17 PM CST

La. Judge Opens Entire Jena 6 Trial

Responding to a lawsuit filed by multiple media organizations, a Louisiana judge decided today to open to the public all trial proceedings in the case of Mychal Bell. The Jena 6 teen is to be tried beginning Dec. 6 in juvenile court for his role in an alleged group attack…

Nov 21, 2007 9:40 PM CST

Grinch Live on Broadway: N.Y. Judge Grants Injunction

Saying that one Grinch in New York right now is enough, a state court judge has granted an injunction that provides for a Broadway show based on the Dr. Suess book How the Grinch Stole Christmas to go on. The play had been shuttered by an ongoing stagehands strike that…

Nov 21, 2007 9:05 PM CST

Judge: Put Capital Appeals in Lower Calif. Courts; Lawyers: Pay Us More

In an effort to deal with a backlog of death penalty appeals and speed up the appellate process, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court is calling for a constitutional amendment to allow some of the appeals to be shifted to lower state courts. It now reportedly takes more…

Nov 21, 2007 7:57 PM CST

Assoc. Math Problem: Same Bonus, But Different Amount

A “credit crisis” over associate bonuses reportedly is brewing at a recently merged megafirm, because the two have differing formulas about how they should be calculated. Associates who joined the newly formed Dewey & LeBoeuf from Dewey Ballantine get billable hours credit for client development, reports New York Lawyer (reg.…

Nov 21, 2007 6:20 PM CST

Pedestrian’s Conviction for Standing on N.Y. Sidewalk Tossed

New York’s highest court has overturned the disorderly conduct conviction of a man arrested for standing on a Times Square street corner in the early morning hours. The arresting officer had contended that Matthew Jones was blocking other pedestrians as he talked with friends and refused an order to move…

Nov 21, 2007 3:59 PM CST

Study Finds No Citywide Racial Profiling in N.Y. Cop Stops

A study by Rand Corp. (PDF) confirmed that almost 90 percent of pedestrians stopped by New York police in 2006 were minorities, but said the raw statistics “distort the magnitude and, at times, the existence of racially biased policing.” The study said that after adjusting for circumstances surrounding the stops,…

Nov 21, 2007 3:35 PM CST

Deal Would Give Plaintiffs About $3M in DA Race Bias Case

Dozens of employees who won a suit against New Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan for firing them because they were white would receive about $3 million under a deal financed by the city and the state of Louisiana. The troubled DA’s office was facing threats from lawyers for the fired…

Nov 21, 2007 2:30 PM CST

Terrorism Judge Warns Government About Wiretap Secrecy

The federal judge who presided over the trial of confessed terrorism conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui appeared to be out of patience with the government yesterday in a hearing in another terrorism case. Judge Leonie Brinkema of Alexandria, Va., said she might order a new trial for Islamic scholar Ali al-Timimi, convicted…

Nov 21, 2007 1:59 PM CST

Lawyer Ordered to Testify About Client Communications

A lawyer has been ordered to testify about his communications with clients regarding opinion letters he wrote facilitating the sale of shares in Defense Technology Systems Inc. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin has ordered lawyer Frank Hariton of White Plains, N.Y., to testify under the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege,…

Nov 21, 2007 12:52 PM CST

Record $700M in Attorney Fees Sought in Enron Litigation

San Diego securities class-action firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins is seeking a record $700 million in fees for plaintiffs lawyers in litigation against professionals accused of aiding Enron accounting fraud. A $700 million attorney fee would be the largest ever in a securities class action, the Wall Street…

Nov 21, 2007 11:30 AM CST

New N.Y. Law School in Binghamton?

A possible plan to establish a new public law school in Binghamton, N.Y., is being discussed by two existing universities there. If established, it would be the third public law school in the state. Under preliminary plans being discussed, the law school apparently would be a joint venture of Binghamton…

Nov 21, 2007 1:19 AM CST

Obscure Ore. Law: Don’t Dig for Artifacts

An Oregon bottle collector had no idea that his seemingly innocent hobby of looking for old glass around outhouses could violate state law. But then local media featured him in news reports. Soon afterward, 44-year-old Dale Mlasko received a letter from the Oregon State Preservation Office, reports the Mail Tribune,…

Nov 21, 2007 1:02 AM CST

New Look at Case of Teen’s Suicide Over Web Bullying

Authorities in Missouri initially said no laws appeared to have been broken by at least one adult allegedly responsible for an Internet hoax that reportedly bullied a 13-year-old girl into committing suicide a year ago. But now prosecutors are looking into the situation further following a public outcry after recent…

Nov 21, 2007 12:09 AM CST