Texas

Lawyer Found Guilty of Contempt for Lewd Courtroom Gesture

A Texas defense lawyer who was briefly jailed for making an obscene courtroom gesture was found guilty of contempt yesterday after he offered this defense: His hand motion was aimed at the prosecuting attorney rather than the judge. Lawyer Adam Reposa of Austin testified that he made the gesture because…

Apr 16, 2008 12:31 PM CDT

Mothers in Texas Ranch Raid Case Protest Removal of Children

Updated: As all involved gear up for a huge child custody hearing Thursday over 416 children removed from a Texas ranch run by a renegade Mormon group that allegedly promotes polygamy and underage marriages, a number of mothers are protesting that their children have been removed from their custody without…

Apr 15, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Dozens of Lawyers at Custody Hearing for 416 Kids from Texas Ranch

In preparation for a massive custody hearing Thursday concerning 416 children taken by the state of Texas from a ranch run by a renegade Mormon group that advocates polygamy, a preliminary hearing was held today that drew some 48 lawyers. District Judge Barbara Walther “was clearly struggling with how to…

Apr 14, 2008 4:16 PM CDT

Meet Gerry Goldstein, Lawyer for Polygamy Sect in Texas Ranch Raid

Known for taking challenging constitutional cases, Gerry Goldstein apparently didn’t hesitate when he got a chance to defend a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy, concerning a controversial raid of their Texas ranch. The gray-haired 64-year-old San Antonio lawyer wouldn’t condone the alleged child abuse that led authorities to search…

Apr 11, 2008 3:19 PM CDT

Texas Scrambles to Prep for Sect Hearing

The state of Texas has dispatched about 300 welfare workers to interview 416 children removed from a polygamous sect in preparation for a hearing Thursday before a Texas judge who will decide whether to place the youths in foster care. The Texas Bar Association is trying to recruit almost 100…

Apr 11, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Utah AG Mulled Texas-Style Raid on Polygamous Group

In the wake of a controversial raid by Texas authorities on a ranch at which multiple teens allegedly may have been sexually abused by a fringe Mormon group promoting underage “spiritual” marriages and polygamy, the Utah attorney general says he, too, considered such an action concerning a polygamous group there.…

Apr 10, 2008 4:22 PM CDT

State Takes Custody of 416 Children in Raid on Polygamist Ranch

Updated: In what is apparently the largest child abuse case in state history, officials in Texas have taken custody of 416 children from a Texas ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. “Officials have completed removing all 416 children…

Apr 8, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Ranch Run by Warren Jeffs Followers Raided in Texas Child Abuse Probe

In what may be the largest child abuse investigation in Texas history, state workers have removed nearly 200 children and a number of women from a ranch run by followers of Warren Jeffs, a leader of a fringe Mormon group that advocates polygamy. The ongoing operation, which began Thursday evening,…

Apr 7, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Dallas Courts Consider Sealing Records to Protect Witnesses, Agents

Dallas may become the next jurisdiction to seal some or all of its plea deal data to protect identities of cooperating witnesses and undercover agents. Federal officials in Dallas will review their public records and decide by June what steps to take. The move comes after the U.S. Judicial Conference…

Apr 2, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

Texas Court Nibbles on State’s ‘First Free Bite’ Rule

In Texas, dogs get a “first free bite,” a sort of get-out-of-jail-free card for owners to escape legal liability if their previously gentle pooch gets rough. But on Friday the state’s supreme court ruled that dog owners still have a responsibility to stop an attack once it begins, the Austin…

Mar 31, 2008 8:18 PM CDT

Ex-Jenkens Lawyers Land on their Feet at Hunton

One year ago, Jenkens & Gilchrist disbanded after a probe into the law firm’s work on aggressive tax shelters. But many lawyers and staffers go to the same office and even sit at the same desks at Fountain Place in Dallas. They’re working at Hunton & Williams, thanks to a…

Mar 31, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Ex-Houston DA Fined $19K for ‘Venomous’ Deletion of E-Mails

A federal judge has ordered Houston’s former district attorney Charles Rosenthal to pay almost $19,000 for his “venomous” deletion of thousands of e-mails. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt imposed the sanction after finding Rosenthal in contempt of court for violating a subpoena for the e-mail in a civil rights lawsuit,…

Mar 31, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Texas Defense Lawyer Jailed Over Lewd Courtroom Gesture

A Texas defense lawyer representing a client in a DUI case was jailed briefly last week after he allegedly made a lewd gesture to let the judge know what he thought of a prosecution complaint in the case. Adam Reposa, 33, was held in criminal contempt of court and jailed…

Mar 21, 2008 6:03 PM CDT

Entrepreneur Pays $200K for Bail Money for 40 Immigrants

A former high-school history teacher who made a fortune trading Latin American bonds during the 1980s anted up a highly unusual $200,000 to bail 40 strangers out of jail last year. Bob Hildreth’s generosity, which has just become known, was sparked by a well-publicized immigration raid in the Boston area…

Mar 19, 2008 6:59 PM CDT

$4.4M Legal Fees Sought in Texas Case that Brought Down DA

A lawyer who won a $1.7 million settlement for two brothers in a high-profile Texas civil rights case that brought down the local DA is now seeking $4.4 million in attorney fees. Lloyd Kelley says in his fee application that the county tried to defend an “indefensible” case concerning two…

Mar 19, 2008 12:41 AM CDT