Zoloft Defense Loses in S.C.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a youth who claimed he was involuntarily intoxicated by antidepressants when he shot his grandparents. Christopher Pittman was sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting his grandparents while they slept and then setting fire to their home. He…

Jun 12, 2007 5:43 PM CDT

DC Firm Racks Up Big Bill in RI Case

A well-known Washington, D.C., law firm is sending the state of Rhode Island six-figure monthly bills for ongoing representation in a huge environmental clean-up case. When the state asked Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan to represent R.I. in the case concerning a Southern Union Co. site in Tiverton, it anticipated monthly…

Jun 12, 2007 1:00 AM CDT

10-Year Teen Oral Sex Sentence Axed

A controversial 10-year mandatory prison sentence has been thrown out, in a case involving what has been described as consensual oral sex between a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old Georgia youth at a New Year’s Eve party three years ago. A habeas corpus petition was granted today by a Georgia…

Jun 11, 2007 11:41 PM CDT

Bounty-Hunters Irk Calif. AG

About a dozen law firms are filing lawsuits that help enforce a California law requiring businesses to tell consumers when they are exposed to cancer-causing substances. Their suits generate 100 to 150 settlements totaling about $10 million a year, according to the state attorney general’s office. It has taken issue…

Jun 11, 2007 3:22 PM CDT

Lawyer Seeks New Trial in Sex-Cash Case

A Texas lawyer will seek a new trial following his theft conviction for pressuring men for money after they had sex with his wife, who is also a lawyer.

San Antonio lawyer Ted Roberts will argue in his new trial motion that the charges proved by prosecutors did not match those in the indictment, Texas Lawyer reports.

Last week Roberts was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime.

Jun 11, 2007 1:46 PM CDT

White House Counsel Hires 10 Attorneys

Ongoing investigations of the Bush administration by the Democrat-controlled Congress are good news for attorneys seeking work in the White House. White House Counsel Fred Fielding announced today that his office has hired nine lawyers, five of them for newly created positions, reports the Washington Post. A source says a…

Jun 9, 2007 4:35 AM CDT

Celebrity Cuts No Ice with CA Judge, Who Sends Paris Hilton Back to Jail

At a scheduled hearing today about whether Paris Hilton should be sent back to jail to serve a 45-day sentence for repeatedly violating her probation in an alcohol-related traffic case, Judge Michael T. Sauer made no secret of his displeasure with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office. It had released…

Jun 8, 2007 11:37 PM CDT

Hard Time for Others, But Not Hilton

There’s one obvious reason why Paris Hilton was released from a California prison, after serving only three days of a 45-day sentence for violating her probation for an alcohol-related driving offense, many believe. Celebrity clout. An undisclosed medical condition reportedly prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff to release the 26-year-old…

Jun 8, 2007 6:37 PM CDT

Same-sex Couple Splits a $3.5 M Home; New York Judge Applies ‘Divorce’ Rule

A Manhattan judge treated a same-sex couple as if they were married when deciding recently how to divide their $3.5 million home after they split up. Although the two were tenants in common, which ordinarily calls for a 50-50 share in the equity after the partners sell, the judge instead…

Jun 7, 2007 9:46 PM CDT

‘Defending the Damned’ Isn’t Pretty

A new book on the work being done by public defenders in and around Chicago doesn’t sugarcoat the aggressively adversarial nature of their practice. But “Defending the Damned” does provide a fascinating in-your-face, fly-on-the-wall view of what actually happens in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, as lawyers go about…

Jun 7, 2007 7:19 PM CDT

Prof’s Law Blog Led to 11th Circuit Case

Blogging can be a legal minefield for lawyers and parties to litigation, as a Boston doctor defending a malpractice case found out recently when he outed himself as “Flea” and abruptly settled. But this minefield can also produce gold, as an Ohio State University law professor has seen. After former…

Jun 7, 2007 1:42 AM CDT

CA Atty Gen’l Eyes De Anza Rape Case

In the controversial rape case originally filed against three former Duke University lacrosse players last year, a North Carolina prosecutor went too far too quickly, relying on flimsy evidence at best, most observers now agree. But, in the wake of the public furor over the dismissal of the unfounded charges…

Jun 6, 2007 9:40 PM CDT

Suit Claims Racist Tobacco Marketing

A Miami attorney has filed a $1 billion suit that claims tobacco companies targeted blacks with racist marketing tactics. Solo practitioner J.B. Harris filed the suit on behalf of Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother died of smoking-related illness, the Daily Business Review reports. The suit claims the…

Jun 6, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Ex-N.Y. Judge Gets Up to 10 Years in Prison

Jun 6, 2007 1:22 PM CDT

Paralegal Pleads Guilty to Escrow Thefts

A paralegal has pleaded guilty to taking nearly $700,000 from escrow accounts at the law firm where she worked. Amy C. Smith worked at Abel and Reynolds in Mount Pleasant, S.C., according to the Post and Courier. Smith said she thought she could move money in and out of the…

Jun 5, 2007 8:21 PM CDT