States

Condit Defamation Suit Tossed

A Phoenix judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit over a claim he lied to investigators about his relationship with an intern. The Sonoran News, an Arizona weekly newspaper, included the statement in a 2005 story, the Associated Press reports. The intern, Chandra Levy,…

Jul 23, 2007 4:48 PM CDT

Guyana Press Chat Breaks ‘Local’ Rule

A lawyer who spoke to reporters in Guyana about a New York case he was handling broke a local rule barring lawyers from making comments that could interfere with a trial, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Dora L. Irizarry, of the Eastern District of New York, found…

Jul 23, 2007 4:14 PM CDT

Mistaken IDs Spur Most Bad Convictions

A study of 200 wrongful convictions has found that most were the result of mistaken eyewitness identifications. Bad witness IDs occurred in 79 percent of the cases studied, Adam Liptak reports in his Sidebar column for the New York Times (sub. req.). The next leading cause of wrongful convictions was…

Jul 23, 2007 3:52 PM CDT

Charity on Trial for Alleged Ties to Hamas

Opening statements are set to begin this week in the long-awaited and controversial trial of what once was the nation’s largest Islamic charity. Since it was shut down six years ago, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development stands accused of supplying resources the terrorist group Hamas. Charity officials,…

Jul 23, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

Texas Trend: $160 K Starting Pay

It didn’t take long for a third Texas law firm to raise pay for beginning associates to $160,000. Locke Liddell & Sapp announced the pay hike will take effect on Aug. 1, Texas Lawyer reports. Managing partner Jerry Clements said the move is intended to help the firm “remain a…

Jul 23, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

N.J. Justice Censured

A justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court has been censured by his colleagues for interceding with police and the courts in a delinquency case against a youth accused of bullying his son. The court said Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto’s actions created an appearance of impropriety, the New Jersey Law Journal…

Jul 23, 2007 1:43 PM CDT

Parents Convicted for Son’s Party

A suburban Chicago couple has been convicted for allowing an underage drinking party in their home that had deadly consequences. Jeffrey and Sara Hutsell were convicted yesterday of child endangerment and obstruction of justice, the Chicago Tribune reports. Prosecutors had contended the Hutsells were aware their son was hosting the…

Jul 23, 2007 3:46 AM CDT

NY Court Bars Broadcast of Teen’s Name

At least for now, a New York appellate court has foiled an attempt to publish the name of a then-teenage girl who was allegedly sexually abused by an actor backstage after a Broadway show, to solicit information about others she might have accused in the past. A state appeals court…

Jul 20, 2007 11:04 PM CDT

Six Arrested in $3 M Fla. Mortgage Case

Following a three-year investigation, six men have been arrested by Florida authorities and charged with racketeering and conspiracy in a home-repair scam that allegedly bilked at least 31 homeowners of $3 million. Run at least in part by a recently released convict, the alleged scheme preyed on low-income and minority…

Jul 20, 2007 9:47 PM CDT

Law Store Sells Fla. Legislation to Clients

Lots of attorneys and public relations executives help corporate clients lobby federal and state legislators for new laws. But Margaret Kessler had a different idea. The south Florida marketing pro has set up shop as a one-stop service for consumers who think there ought to be a law about something.…

Jul 20, 2007 8:07 PM CDT

N.J. Fee Arbitrations Remain Secret

The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to adopt a rule that would let parties talk publicly about attorney fee arbitrations. The state Professional Responsibility Rules Committee had recommended that the gag be lifted, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. Under the proposal, clients who arbitrate a fee dispute with…

Jul 20, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

LA Theft Plot: $7 M Burglary Ring

It sounds like it should be the plot of the latest Hollywood movie. But in fact it’s a real-life story in some of Los Angeles’ most elite neighborhoods: skilled burglars in ski masks are stealing from the homes of the rich and famous, evading security systems and sometimes taking entire…

Jul 20, 2007 1:25 AM CDT

Slowdown for Fast-Track Pa. Lawyer

Only a year ago, Michael A. Adler was on a seeming fast track to major career success. For one thing, he had been named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by a legal publication in 2006, and had been elected as a Republican committeeman in Lower Merion Township in suburban…

Jul 20, 2007 12:24 AM CDT

Texas Lawyer Ordered to Repay $35.7 M

A big-name Houston plaintiffs lawyer has been ordered by an arbitration panel to repay $35.7 million in improper legal fees he charged to some 3,000 plaintiffs he represented in breast implant litigation. Including interest and attorney fees to be paid to the plaintiff lawyer who brought the claim, the total…

Jul 19, 2007 10:09 PM CDT

Gang Issues Up as ‘Boston Miracle’ Fades

Back in the 1990s, Sinbad from the X-men, the Mayor from Castlegate, and Butch from Intervale were hailed as critical components of the “Boston Miracle,” an innovative crime-fighting effort featuring former gang members that was credited with an almost unbelievable 80-percent reduction in the city’s homicide rate during the ’90s.…

Jul 19, 2007 8:45 PM CDT