States

Temp Judge Fired Over MySpace Post

A temporary “pro tem” judge in North Las Vegas has lost his job over a post on his personal MySpace page that was reportedly hostile to prosecutors and used graphic language. Criminal defense attorney Jonathan MacArthur, 34, was substituting for another judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court, until his…

Aug 14, 2007 4:39 PM CDT

BDO Ordered to Pay $170 M

A Miami jury has decided that accounting firm BDO Seidman must pay $170 million in damages for negligent audits that failed to spot fraud at a financial services firm. The jury has also decided it will award punitive damages, although the amount is yet to be determined, the Daily Business…

Aug 14, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Judge Tells Jurors: No ‘CSI’

A judge in Butler County, Ohio, thinks some TV crime shows have created unrealistic expectations for jurors—and she’s doing something about it. Judge Patricia Oney of Hamilton bars jurors from watching TV shows ranging from CSI to Law & Order, the Associated Press reports. “So many shows now are pulled…

Aug 14, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Dry Cleaners Drops Fee Claim

The dry cleaners sued for $54 million for losing an administrative judge’s pants is dropping its claim for $83,000 in attorney fees. A motion filed yesterday by Custom Cleaners says it has raised enough money from supporters to cover expenses, the Washington Post reports. However, the cleaners reserved its right…

Aug 14, 2007 2:04 PM CDT

Circuit City-Initiated Search OK’d

A Pennsylvania appeals court has upheld a police search for computer files of child pornography done after employees at a Circuit City store spotted suspicious downloads. The defendant had no expectation of privacy in video files on the computer, the court ruled in its Aug. 9 opinion. The ruling reversed…

Aug 14, 2007 10:58 AM CDT

Trial in 35 Katrina Nursing Home Deaths

Jury selection began today in the trial of two owners of a Louisiana nursing home where 35 patients died during Hurricane Katrina, allegedly because they defied a mandatory order to evacuate before the storm surge hit on Aug. 29, 2005. After levees ruptured, a flood inundated St. Rita’s nursing home…

Aug 14, 2007 12:19 AM CDT

Spitzer Probe Spotlights NY Ethics Group

The ongoing investigation of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s office concerning a reported effort by his aides to discredit the Senate majority leader has put an unaccustomed spotlight on what until now was a low-profile government group–the State Ethics Commission. On the verge of a major reorganization, the commission is…

Aug 13, 2007 8:53 PM CDT

OJ Simpson Book to be Published

A book by O.J. Simpson that reportedly contains a hypothetical account of how he might have murdered his former wife, Nicole, if he had actually done so, will soon be in bookstores nationwide after all. Withdrawn from publication last year, following a firestorm of criticism, it has been accepted anew…

Aug 13, 2007 8:18 PM CDT

Get Rich, Get a Divorce

Rising real estate prices in New York have had spurred on-the-fence spouses to make the trip to divorce court. That’s the conclusion of a New York Times article that cited the research of economist Gary Becker, who found that couples experiencing an unexpected and large rise in net worth are…

Aug 13, 2007 4:51 PM CDT

Foreclosure: One California Home’s Story

A single foreclosed home in Southern California is part of a much bigger story. It’s emblematic of what went wrong in the U.S. subprime mortgage industry, leading to turmoil in world financial markets and a downward spiral of decreasing real estate values that isn’t expected to end anytime soon. As…

Aug 13, 2007 4:20 PM CDT

Chicago Parking Ticket a Tough Case

Chicago has a reputation for being overly aggressive about ticketing unwary motorists for dubious parking infractions, especially downtown. Plus, for the relative few who contest parking tickets, either by mail or in person, there is “a widespread perception that the system is tilted to maximize the haul,” writes the Chicago…

Aug 13, 2007 3:28 PM CDT

3 Fen-Phen Lawyers Jailed Pending Trial

Updated: Seeking a several-month delay of a criminal fraud trial for allegedly bilking clients of $64 million in diet drug litigation settlement proceeds has cost three lawyers their freedom. Melbourne Mills, 76, William Gallion, 56, and Shirley Cunningham Jr., 52, were jailed after their bond was revoked today by U.S.…

Aug 10, 2007 9:27 PM CDT

Star FL Student Free, Still to be Deported

Thanks to legislative lobbying by fellow teens, a star Miami student has been released from jail and expects to start college later this month in a local honors program. However, this is only a temporary reprieve for Colombian-born Juan Gomez, 18, and his brother, Alex, 19, who still are scheduled…

Aug 10, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

Trying Times for Civil Liberties Lawyer

Life as a civil liberties lawyer isn’t easy for Christopher Dunn, who focuses on First Amendment issues as associate legal director for the New York Civil Liberties Union. He says the government has been trampling free speech and assembly rights through policies such as secret surveillance and mass detentions of…

Aug 10, 2007 3:56 PM CDT

Judge Decries Interpreter Shortage

A New York state judge is trying to shine a light on what he calls a “disturbing lack” of courtroom sign-language interpreters for the deaf. Judge Charles Markey of Queens said employment opportunities are exploding for sign language interpreters, and courts paying $250 a day are not matching rates in…

Aug 10, 2007 3:35 PM CDT