Va. Tech Gets Gunman’s Mental File

Frustrated by federal privacy law that protects student mental health records from disclosure even after the subject’s death, a Virginia Tech advisory panel reviewing the on-campus massacre of more than 30 people won permission from the family of the student gunman to get his records. Seung-Hui Cho, who shot himself…

Jun 14, 2007 9:11 PM CDT

Proffered Pants Serve as Evidence

A lawyer for a dry cleaners sued for millions of dollars introduced a pair of proffered pants into evidence yesterday, saying the plaintiff was abusing the legal system. Custom Dry Cleaners contends the pants, found after they were initially lost, belong to plaintiff Roy Pearson, the New York Times reports.…

Jun 14, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Out of Medical Ward

Paris Hilton has been released from the medical ward at the Los Angeles County jail. Hilton was released from the treatment center around 11 p.m. yesterday, Associated Press reports. A judge who disagreed with Hilton’s home detention sent her to the treatment center for evaluation on Friday. Critics claimed Hilton…

Jun 14, 2007 2:06 PM CDT

Precedent Favors State in Teen-Sex Case

The youth whose 10-year sentence for consensual oral sex was tossed out may face an uphill battle on appeal. A Georgia judge granted a habeas corpus petition for Genarlow Wilson on June 11, saying his sentence for sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was age 17 was a “grave…

Jun 14, 2007 12:55 PM CDT

No Line for Hilton’s Parents at Jail Visit

Despite worldwide publicity critical of the special treatment Paris Hilton has already received, those in charge of the hotel heiress’ California incarceration for probation violation reportedly continue to bend the rules on her behalf. Family members of fellow inmates complained that their visits were delayed by several hours or cut…

Jun 13, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

‘Mockingbird’ Legacy: Remembrance of Racist Times Past

Although it is a novel, rather than non-fiction, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” has, perhaps more than any other book, impressed into the minds of many a consciousness of the racist justice system that characterized the segregated American south for much of the last century. An instant best-seller after…

Jun 13, 2007 9:53 PM CDT

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Officials Must Specify Subject of Public Meetings

Government officials must specify the subject of public meetings, particularly when they know the subject is likely to be controversial, the Wisconsin Supreme Court says. Ruling today on a parent’s protest that the state’s 30-year-old open meetings law had not been followed when the Tomah Area School District noticed an…

Jun 13, 2007 8:56 PM CDT

St. Louis Lead-Paint Suit Fails

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled the city of St. Louis may not sue the makers of lead paint under a market-share theory. The city needed to prove which paint manufacturers made the paint used in St. Louis homes to succeed in its suit seeking cleanup costs, the court said…

Jun 13, 2007 8:21 PM CDT

Seizure of Unproductive Land Blocked

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today that local governments may not seize land merely because it is unproductive and could be put to better use. The court said the state constitution permits seizure of land for redevelopment only if it is blighted, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Supreme Court Chief…

Jun 13, 2007 7:17 PM CDT

Glaxo Faces Suits Over Diabetes Drug

Investors in GlaxoSmithKline have filed a lawsuit in New York federal court that claims the drug company misled them about the safety of a diabetes drug. The suit says company officials failed to disclose that its tests showed Avandia was associated with a higher risk of heart attacks, the Wall…

Jun 13, 2007 6:07 PM CDT

Durham DA Defends Rape Prosecution

Durham County, N.C., District Attorney Michael Nifong asserted yesterday he was only doing his duty in pursuing allegations against three Duke lacrosse players. Nifong’s attorney said his client had reasons to believe a crime was committed, the Washington Post reports. “It is not unethical to pursue what some may see…

Jun 13, 2007 4:37 PM CDT

Courts Differ on Wal-Mart Suits

Courts in two states yesterday differed on workers’ quests for class action status in lawsuits against Wal-Mart.

A Missouri appeals court ruled that a class action suit could proceed after a trial judge revises definitions for subclasses, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

A New York court refused to certify a class in a similar suit, saying the claims should be tried individually.

Jun 13, 2007 2:37 PM CDT

Tears Flow as ALJ Presses ‘Pantsuit’

The administrative law judge who filed a $67 million lawsuit against a dry cleaners that lost his pants cried on the witness stand yesterday.

Roy L. Pearson Jr., a former legal aid lawyer, testified that he wanted to dress nicely for his new job as an ALJ and became annoyed when the cleaners lost his expensive pants, according to the New York Times.

He began to cry as he testified that the business tried to pass off a cheaper pair of pants as his.

The courtroom was packed with reporters from media outlets in at least five countries, along with a tort reform lobbying handing out green buttons protesting the “pantsuit,” the Washington Post reports.

Jun 13, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

PD Who Helped Partner Tie Sham Knot Seeks Legal Immigration Alternative

A St. Louis public defender who chose to break the law rather than lose the man he loves admits he made a serious mistake. But the lack of legally recognized marriage alternatives for same-sex couples is what tempted him to transgress, Eric Affholter says. Now facing criminal fraud charges for…

Jun 13, 2007 12:48 AM CDT

Ex-Felon on N.Y. Expert List

New York City will increase oversight of those on a roster of court-appointed experts following disclosures that a convicted felon on the list billed $61,000 for work never performed. Richard Gottfried was placed on the list as a mitigation expert, even though he was convicted of federal fraud charges in…

Jun 12, 2007 7:32 PM CDT