‘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

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