States

Army Overturns Rushed 1944 Conviction of Black Soldiers in Lynching

Updated: An Army review board has overturned the conviction of African-Americans court-martialed for lynching an Italian prisoner of war at a Seattle military base in 1944. The board concluded the trial, which resulted in the convictions of 28 African-Americans, was “fundamentally unfair.” Four men requested the review, but the ruling…

Oct 29, 2007 1:35 PM CDT

GA Supreme Court: Teen’s 10-Year Sentence Cruel & Unusual

UPDATED: Upholding a lower court ruling that a 10-year prison sentence imposed on a young man who, at 17, was videotaped having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl was cruel and unusual punishment, the Georgia Supreme Court today ordered his release. Genarlow Wilson, now 21, was convicted of felony…

Oct 27, 2007 12:59 AM CDT

Lawyer’s Theatrics Void $30M Jury Award

The Ohio Supreme Court has overturned a record-breaking $30 million medical malpractice award, citing, among other courtroom misbehavior, a theatrical closing argument by the controversial Michigan attorney representing the brain-injured plaintiff. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger’s courtroom antics, including his assumption at closing of the persona of his client, when he allegedly…

Oct 27, 2007 12:35 AM CDT

Legal Loophole in Deer Custody Case

Snowball is headed back home—for now. Because of a legal loophole, the disabled deer raised by a Molalla, Ore., family after they found her as a fawn along a road five years ago has been saved, as the family sees it, from being sent by the state to an elk…

Oct 27, 2007 12:01 AM CDT

Victims Seek 9/11-Style Fund in Bridge Case

Victims injured by a Minneapolis bridge collapse earlier this year are asking the government to establish a 9/11-style compensation fund to cover their medical expenses and pay a currently unspecified capped amount of damages. In exchange, they would agree not to sue over their injuries. The fund, which would be…

Oct 26, 2007 10:18 PM CDT

Taxi Gig Drives Cabbie, 59, to Law School

Driving a taxi is what put a 59-year-old Hawaii man on the road to law school. John Parker often picked up fares at the police station, and drove people home who had just bailed out of jail, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. Along the way, many told him their problems, and…

Oct 26, 2007 8:48 PM CDT

David Boies Testimony at Issue in Tyco Appeal

Testimony from a well-known lawyer hired to investigate the finances of Tyco International was improperly used to convict ex-CEO Dennis Kozlowski, his lawyer argued yesterday. Lawyer John Martin told a New York state appeals court that lawyer David Boies should not have been allowed to testify about a conversation he…

Oct 26, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

NM Judge Suspended re No-Rent Housing

A New Mexico judge who lived rent-free for almost two years in government-owned low-income housing has been disciplined. Bernalillo County Metropolitan Judge Theresa Gomez, who earns about $103,000 annually, has been suspended without pay for two weeks by the New Mexico Supreme Court, the Associated Press reports today. She will…

Oct 26, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

Ex-IL Governor Writes of ‘Mindless Brutality’ in Prison

A former Illinois governor who served time at a Minnesota prison sometimes known as “Club Fed” says he encountered “mindless brutality” at the facility. In a commentary for the Chicago Tribune, former Gov. Dan Walker urges mercy for a more recent governor—George Ryan. The en banc 7th U.S. Circuit Court…

Oct 26, 2007 2:52 PM CDT

Church on Trial for ‘Thank God For Dead Soldiers’ Funeral Protest

The father of a marine killed in Iraq is seeking damages from a church that sponsored a protest at his son’s funeral in a federal trial now under way in Baltimore. Albert Snyder’s suit claims invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the New York Times reports. The…

Oct 26, 2007 2:36 PM CDT

Princeton Funding Dispute Headed for Trial

Princeton University has failed to win a key pretrial ruling in a suit that seeks return a gift now valued at $880 million. The children of the late Charles and Marie Robertson say the school didn’t spend the money as their parents intended—to train students for international government service. They…

Oct 26, 2007 1:55 PM CDT

Marketers Sued for Mailings to Bump Seniors from No-Call List

Several states are suing insurance marketers over their attempts to bypass a ban on phone solicitation by mailings to seniors. The marketers are sending mail to seniors asking them to return a so called “lead card” requesting more information about estate planning or other topics, the Wall Street Journal reports…

Oct 26, 2007 1:35 PM CDT

Lawyers ‘Shake Their Groove Things’ in Charity Fundraiser

Lawyers will be rocking for to raise money for legal services for the poor at a Minneapolis charity event this evening called “Attractive Nuisance.” Eight bands will perform, and each has to include at least one lawyer, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Last year’s performances raised $60,000. Criminal defense…

Oct 26, 2007 1:02 PM CDT

Super Lawyer Ads Cost Super Big Bucks

It cost $20,000 for law firms to appear in a one-page “platinum profile” that congratulated their lawyers for making the list of Super Lawyers. But some lawyers and ethics bodies are questioning the expenditure. The profiles appeared in an 80-page advertising supplement that recently ran in the New York Times…

Oct 26, 2007 12:44 PM CDT

GA Lawmakers Target Judge for High Defense Costs

A special legislative committee has been formed to investigate whether the Georgia judge overseeing the trial of a courthouse shooting suspect should be impeached because of spiraling defense costs. Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson set up the committee because he is angered about nearly $2 million already spent on the…

Oct 26, 2007 12:01 PM CDT