States

Phil Spector Jury Still Deliberating

The jury in the Phil Spector case is still deliberating, more than two weeks after it began considering a second-degree murder charge against the famed music producer. The nine-man, three-woman panel asked for a VCR yesterday, but it isn’t clear why, reports the Associated Press. In an unusual move after…

Sep 25, 2007 6:51 PM CDT

Feds Sue IL Over New Immigration Law

In an action that puts the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution at issue, the federal government is suing the state of Illinois over a new law that bans employer participation in a new voluntary federal program that verifies the identity of legal immigrants. Filed in federal court in Springfield,…

Sep 25, 2007 6:11 PM CDT

Cert Accepted in Voter ID Case

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether voter ID laws are constitutional. The court will consider an Indiana law that requires voters to show photo identification before they can cast a ballot, the Associated Press reports. The en banc 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld…

Sep 25, 2007 6:05 PM CDT

Jury Starts Over in Church Leader Case

After one day of deliberations, a jury in a high-profile Utah accomplice-rape trial against the leader of a fringe Mormon group reportedly was near a verdict on at least one of two counts. But then it was told to start deliberating again from scratch after the judge replaced one juror…

Sep 25, 2007 5:42 PM CDT

FBI Investigates White Backlash re Jena

A white backlash reportedly is under way against six African-American high school students in Jena, La., who are being prosecuted in what many perceive as a racially discriminatory manner. The FBI is investigating apparent Internet threats made against some of the six defendants in a racially charged high school attack…

Sep 25, 2007 4:04 PM CDT

Discipline Study: Schools Unfair to Blacks

Nationwide statistics show that African-American students are disciplined far more than they should be, based on their percentage in the overall public school population. Yet the federal office charged with investigating such discipline disparities doesn’t seem to be focusing on the issue. “In every state but Idaho … black students…

Sep 25, 2007 3:27 PM CDT

Court Accepts Diabetes Drug Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether Michigan plaintiffs may sue the maker of the diabetes drug Rezulin despite a state law that restricts pharmaceutical suits. The Food and Drug Administration asked that the drug be removed from the market after concerns arose that it caused liver damage in some…

Sep 25, 2007 3:21 PM CDT

Cert Granted in Drug Evidence Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether courts may consider cocaine evidence seized as a result of an illegal arrest for driving on a suspended license. Five federal appeals courts and four state supreme courts allow consideration of evidence seized in violation of state arrest laws. But the Virginia Supreme…

Sep 25, 2007 3:06 PM CDT

Iraqi Escapes Danger, Hired by NY DA

Baghad native Khalid Abood put his life on the line as an interpreter for the U.S. Marines. He received death threats and some of his relatives were gunned down. Thanks to the tireless work of an Iraq war veteran who lobbied to bring Abood to the United States, Abood has…

Sep 25, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

Lawyer May Sue Nasdaq for $600 K Loss

A Miami-area lawyer who lost a $600,000 investment in WorldCom stock may pursue his suit against Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. because of an en banc ruling of a federal appeals court. The full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Nasdaq did not have immunity for ads…

Sep 25, 2007 12:03 PM CDT

Deposition Distress Suit Tossed

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that contends a lawyer’s questions during a deposition went “beyond any acceptable behavior of a civilized human being,” causing emotional distress for parents of a baby who had died. The suit targeted lawyer Judith Wahrenberger of Springfield, N.J., for asking a medical malpractice plaintiff…

Sep 25, 2007 11:38 AM CDT

Small Firm Pays Big, But Not Right Away

A smaller Manhattan-based law firm gives students from lower-tier schools a chance to attain salaries comparable to that of the big firms—if they can make it through the first few years. Fifty-lawyer Duval & Stachenfeld pays first-year associates only $60,000, well below the starting salary of $160,000 paid by many…

Sep 25, 2007 10:37 AM CDT

DLA Piper Recruiting Rampage

A mega-firm has gone into mega-recruitment mode, luring seven corporate partners laterally from Chicago-based law firms. DLA Piper’s recruitment rampage has reeled in Drew Chapman, as the new chair of the fund services group, from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, where he headed its fund services practice; Jack Kantrowitz, a corporate…

Sep 24, 2007 10:48 PM CDT

ABA Prez Seeks Ohio Death Penalty Halt

After a 30-month study, a group of legal experts associated with the American Bar Association called today for a temporary moratorium on enforcement of the death penalty in Ohio until a “flawed” criminal justice system can be corrected. Inadequate legal representation, among other problems, means that the interests of many…

Sep 24, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

Dad Gives Up Losing Custody Battle

John McHugh knows a lot more about Brazilian family law than he used to. His wife and their 7-year-old daughter now live in Brazil, and, unlike their counterparts in the U.S., judges there routinely award sole custody to the mother. Initially, McHugh, now 47, wasn’t too worried, even when his…

Sep 24, 2007 9:45 PM CDT