States

Cuomo’s Doctor-Ranking Model Gains Political Traction

Top lawmakers in New York have agreed to support state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to codify a doctor-ranking system. The Doctor Ranking Model Code is meant to be a consumer protection mechanism that also sets standards for insurers. “It is imperative that New Yorkers aren’t steered to certain ‘preferred’…

Nov 26, 2007 11:01 PM CST

Philly Firm Drinks Up Chicago Employment Boutique

Philadelphia-based Drinker Biddle is continuing its expansion, this time by purchasing a Chicago employment litigation boutique. The firm is buying Connelly Sheehan Harris. All 13 lawyers and support staff will join Drinker Biddle’s Chicago office beginning Feb. 1. This is the Drinker Biddle’s second Chicago acquisition in a year, bringing…

Nov 26, 2007 10:31 PM CST

Bar Exam Error Handled Differently in 2003

The quandary over how to handle a scoring error on the South Carolina bar exam is similar to a problem that surfaced with the Multistate Bar Exam in 2003. But the solution adopted by South Carolina Supreme Court differs with the tougher approach adopted by some state bar authorities four…

Nov 26, 2007 7:35 PM CST

Students Accuse Law School of Mismanagement, Racketeering

Students at a private Kentucky law school have a chance to show their administrators what they’ve learned. They’ve filed a federal suit against the 2-year-old American Justice School of Law, alleging abuse of office, conspiracy and racketeering, the Associated Press reports. Among other things, members of the school’s administration are…

Nov 26, 2007 6:22 PM CST

Black Sox Trial Docs on Auction Block

A box containing trial documents, letters and memos related to the 1919 White Sox World Series scandal is set to be sold this week in the Chicago area. Collectors happened upon the documents, though details about their origins remains unclear, according to the Chicago Tribune. Among the collection are thousands…

Nov 26, 2007 6:05 PM CST

Law Firm Head Taken Aback By Reax to Her Promotion

Philadelphia lawyer Nina Gussack had long held top posts at her firm, Pepper Hamilton. So when she became chairwoman in February, it seemed like a natural progression, especially considering she was the firm’s top rainmaker. But the outpouring of calls and emails from women lawyers across the country took her…

Nov 26, 2007 5:42 PM CST

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