States

Appeals Court Warns of Boring Opinion

The California Court of Appeal issued a warning about boring issues and the need for caffeine in a recent opinion on insurance subrogation waivers. The opinion commends the lawyers on both sides for an outstanding job. “The fact remains that the issues are far from enthralling; they demand an almost…

Dec 5, 2007 5:07 PM CST

Loyola Law Grad Irked by Katrina Accommodation Loses Suit

A New Orleans federal judge has tossed a lawsuit by a Loyola University New Orleans law grad who sought the refund of tuition that enabled him to receive free classes at another law school. Plaintiff Brian Branch, now a Louisiana lawyer, took advantage of an offer made after Hurricane Katrina…

Dec 5, 2007 3:37 PM CST

Deference to Trial Judge Debated in Jury Bias Case

A case concerning the exclusion of black jurors in a criminal case was back before the U.S. Supreme Court for oral arguments yesterday. Death-row inmate Allen Snyder is challenging the prosecutor’s use of challenges to excuse blacks from the jury panel and also his remarks, made during arguments in the…

Dec 5, 2007 2:05 PM CST

Hacker Sentenced to 110 Years for MySpace Threats

A computer hacker who gained remote access to the computers of Florida high school girls with MySpace pages has been sentenced to 110 years in prison for extorting nude pictures from them. Ivory Dickerson pleaded guilty earlier this year to manufacturing and possessing child pornography and computer intrusion, the Orlando…

Dec 5, 2007 1:30 PM CST

Late-Arraigned Lawyer Said to Be Cooperating in Scruggs Case

A delay in the arraignment of Mississippi lawyer Timothy Balducci is fueling reports and speculation that he is cooperating in the bribery case against Richard ”Dickie” Scruggs and other co-defendants. Sources told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) that Balducci began cooperating in the criminal probe at some point after…

Dec 5, 2007 12:21 PM CST

Judge Denies Milberg Fee Request, Raises Skadden Questions

A federal judge has refused to approve the $30 million settlement of a securities class action in a case brought by indicted law firm Milberg Weiss, saying attorney fees of 25 percent were too high. Chief District Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco said that when the hours spent in…

Dec 5, 2007 11:46 AM CST

Bar Group Sues Texas Lawyers Who Practiced With Businessman

A committee of the Supreme Court of Texas has filed suit in state court against five lawyers and a politically connected businessman, contending that they collaborated in the unlicensed practice of law. Because the businessman, Mauricio Celis, is not a lawyer and operated a law firm in Corpus Christi, the…

Dec 5, 2007 1:26 AM CST

Funny Lawyer Ads No Joke in N.Y.

Law firm ads that show attorneys towering over skyscrapers and offering legal advice to space aliens obviously aren’t meant to be taken seriously. But New York’s attorney general isn’t finding them at all amusing, reports Portfolio magazine on its website. In a brief filed yesterday in response to a July…

Dec 4, 2007 11:50 PM CST

Fla. Judge on Hot Seat in Ethics Hearing

Lawyers will be soon be testifying against a judge before a Florida hearing panel that has been convened to determine whether a Miami-area jurist violated ethics rules and bullied attorneys and other trial participants. According to an attorney for the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Judge Cheryl Alemán violated ethics canons…

Dec 4, 2007 7:28 PM CST

Man Could Get 35 Years in ‘Arborcide’

A 60-year-old Nevada man who was convicted by a jury last month of slaughtering trees worth some $250,000 in one what attorney termed an “arborcide” reportedly faces up to 35 years in prison. However, a lawyer for Douglas Hoffman plans to ask for probation for his client, who is presently…

Dec 4, 2007 6:23 PM CST

State-Funded Prisoner Religion Program Tossed

A federal appeals court has ruled that a state-financed program that seeks to rehabilitate prisoners through Christian ideals violates the establishment clause. Americans United for Separation of Church and State had challenged the program run by InnerChange, a group affiliated with Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship that operates in six states,…

Dec 4, 2007 5:55 PM CST

New Law School in Texas?

A Texas judge with a history of promoting legal education to minorities is calling on the state university system and Texas legislators to establish a new law school in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a predominantly Hispanic area. Judge Susan Criss, a former prosecutor who is now seeking a seat…

Dec 4, 2007 5:54 PM CST

A Paltry Sum for ‘Fundamentally Unfair’ Conviction

An 83-year-old Florida man whose Army conviction for the 1944 lynching an Italian prisoner of war was overturned as “fundamentally unfair” has gotten a check for back pay. The amount was $725. Samuel Snow told the New York Times he thinks he deserves more money. In October, an Army review…

Dec 4, 2007 5:21 PM CST

Court Rules Against State in Tax Federalism Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts may consider challenges to state accounting formulas used to value railroad property for tax purposes. Fox News describes CSX Transportation v. State Board of Equalization as “a federalism case through and through” that would appear to have little impact beyond the…

Dec 4, 2007 3:48 PM CST

Critical Lab Report Likely to Be Cited in Some Drug Appeals

A report concluding that drug evidence could have been skewed by sloppy work in the New York police lab in 2002 is likely to spur appeals by inmates imprisoned on the strength of such evidence. Inspector General Kristine Hamann said the department cut corners in drug tests and recommended a…

Dec 4, 2007 2:48 PM CST