States

CA’s Asset Seizure Policy is Changing

In recent years, the California officials have increased the amount of money they spend to locate dormant assets that the government can seize. But they’ve decreased the amount of money they spend to notify owners first—to almost zero. As a result, even when owners could be located with relative ease,…

Jul 9, 2007 10:28 PM CDT

Case Over for NJ Man Jailed 22 Years

A New Jersey man jailed for 22 years after being convicted of murdering his former girlfriend’s two children has been freed and will not face new charges after a DNA test linked another man to the crimes. A state prosecutor announced today that Byron Halsey, 46, will not be recharged…

Jul 9, 2007 9:15 PM CDT

Grads: School’s Not Out for Summer

After three years of hard work, the nation’s newly graduated law students aren’t done with their studies yet. The vast majority are still buried in the books as they put in long hours preparing for the next major hurdle in their lives—the bar exam, typically held in July. That’s certainly…

Jul 9, 2007 8:27 PM CDT

First Banana Workers Get US Court Trial

It has been some 30 years since thousands of banana workers in Central America claim to have been exposed to carcinogenic pesticides on plantations there. Intended to kill worms infesting the roots of banana trees, the pesticides dripped from the leaves onto unprotected workers and leached into the water supply…

Jul 9, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Fearful Witnesses Protect Gangs

Police fighting gang crimes in Trenton, N.J., are stymied by witnesses who are too afraid to come forward. At least 20 people were present during a gang gunfight more than a year ago that injured an innocent bystander: 7-year-old Tajahnique Lee who was struck in the face by a bullet…

Jul 9, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

N.Y.P.D. Will be Watching

New York is installing a surveillance system designed to capture terrorists that rivals the one used in London. The city plans to install more than 100 live-transmission cameras by the end of the year and 2,900 more by the time the $90 million project is complete, the New York Times…

Jul 9, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Co-Worker Spying

A former legal aid lawyer in New York has been charged with using secret cameras to spy on five female co-workers in their offices, taping one woman who was undressing. Peter Barta has pleaded not guilty, the New York Law Journal reports. An investigation was launched after a lawyer from…

Jul 9, 2007 3:11 PM CDT

Fieger Fights and Fetes

A pending indictment and a continuing feud with judges isn’t fazing controversial Michigan attorney Geoffrey Fieger. He remains on the attack, vowing to appeal a recent ruling reinstating a formal reprimand against him and running TV ads critical of a government investigation of him. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last…

Jul 9, 2007 2:52 PM CDT

Opinion Opens Door to MDP

A New Jersey ethics opinion gives a boost to law firms that invest in outside businesses. The private opinion, made public in the July 2 edition of New Jersey Lawyer, according to the New Jersey Law Journal, says lawyers may refer clients to investment companies in which they have an…

Jul 9, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Owners Blame Cities for Bad Homes

As builders throughout the country rushed to profit in the recent construction boom, a number of homes and developments went up that were badly built or otherwise created problems. But in the resulting blame game, many homeowners are now saying municipalities large and small gave builders free rein instead of…

Jul 7, 2007 12:39 AM CDT

CA Attys Sue Over $100 K Average Pay

Contending that lawyers employed by the state of California make significantly less than those working in federal and local government jobs, a union representing 3,500 attorneys and hearing officers has sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The June 29 action seeks the appointment of a special master by a Sacramento County Superior…

Jul 6, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

$160,000 to Start in NYC—and Seattle

An intellectual property boutique has raised its starting pay in Seattle to $160,000, matching the salary its first-years earn in New York City. The move by Darby & Darby is the latest in a series of such salary increases by West Coast law offices, according to the National Law Journal…

Jul 6, 2007 10:13 PM CDT

Young Trial Atty Wins Big Katrina Case

A renowned trial lawyer on the Mississippi gulf coast who had a big influence in the life of novelist John Grisham, attorney Will Denton made a name for himself as a plaintiff lawyer after Hurricane Camille hit the state in 1969. He didn’t live to see the devastation wrought on…

Jul 6, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

City Didn’t Discriminate re Bipolar Atty

A former city attorney in Lake Geneva, Wis., says he won’t appeal a state administrative law judge ruling that he wasn’t discriminated against due to his bipolar disorder. Michael Rielly had contended the city didn’t reasonably accommodate his disability last summer when it fired him from his elected position several…

Jul 6, 2007 9:19 PM CDT

Immigrants Face County Crackdown

Illegal immigrants wouldn’t be able to go to public schools, get free medical care or check out library books if Virginia’s second-largest county approves an anti-immigrant measure that is among the toughest in the nation. Prince William County is likely to approve the resolution on Tuesday, although it could be…

Jul 6, 2007 9:03 PM CDT