Trials & Litigation

Collaring the Clergy

Jeffrey Anderson goes global with his pursuit of pedophiles

Jun 5, 2007 8:14 AM CDT

Judge v. Jury

Forget what you know about who’s more likely to convict

Jun 5, 2007 7:06 AM CDT

2nd Circuit: F-Word Not Really Indecent; FCC: Enforcement Threatened

The F-word isn’t indecent enough to trigger Federal Communications Commission penalties when inadvertently used in television and radio broadcasts, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided today. Its ruling focused on a 2003 Golden Globes presentation on NBC television by U-2’s lead singer, who made the comment “f-ing brilliant”…

Jun 5, 2007 2:06 AM CDT

6th Circuit Axes Late-Term Abortion Ban; Fallout over Supreme Court Decision

A Michigan law banning late-term abortions is unconstitutional because it is overly broad and “unduly burdens” a woman’s right to an abortion, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided today. This is the third time that a Michigan law targeting so-called partial birth late-term abortions has been struck down,…

Jun 5, 2007 1:37 AM CDT

DUI Prosecutor’s Drunk Driving Death a Hard Lesson for Profession

The recent drunk driving death of a renowned Chicago area prosecutor is a hard lesson for the legal profession – and a number of those who could learn from it haven’t necessarily done so. Too often, those in charge of enforcing the law against others don’t apply it to themselves.…

Jun 4, 2007 11:15 PM CDT

Pal Tipped Plaintiff Attorney about ‘Flea’

One question remained unanswered – until today – about “Flea,” the once-anonymous physician whose biting blogging about his ongoing medical malpractice case recently led to a Perry Mason moment at his Boston trial. How did the plaintiff lawyer learn that the defendant doctor might have authored the blog? Another lawyer…

Jun 4, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

Death Suit Dismissed in Holloway Case

A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a California wrongful death suit filed over the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. The parents of the Alabama teen, who vanished on May 30, 2005 while on vacation with high school classmates on the Dutch Caribbean island, have no jurisdiction to sue in…

Jun 4, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

Doc: Vaccine Claims Risk Child Health

Litigation over some 4,800 autistic children allegedly injured as a result of being vaccinated could mean the end of much-needed programs to protect millions from potentially fatal diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. Even though the link between childhood vaccination and at least many of the injuries claimed,…

Jun 4, 2007 6:52 PM CDT

$176 M to Wife in Divorce Case a Record?

Marriage is traditionally considered an equal partnership – until it’s time to divide the couple’s assets in a divorce. At that point, husbands who have made it big in business routinely walk away with the lion’s share. A groundbreaking divorce case in Chicago, though, may set a new record by…

Jun 4, 2007 6:27 PM CDT

Peremptories Re-Examined

A black death-row inmate is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his challenge to a prosecutor’s use of peremptory challenges to help keep blacks off his jury. In his Sidebar column for the New York Times (sub. req.), Adam Liptak writes about Allen Snyder, sentenced to death for killing…

Jun 4, 2007 4:48 PM CDT

Fen-Phen Plaintiffs Seek Curlin Victory

Plaintiffs who claim their lawyers defrauded them out of money due in a pharmaceutical settlement are betting that a horse will help them recover some of the money. Lawyers William J. Gallion and Shirley A. Cunningham Jr. paid $57,000 to buy a one-fifth interest in Curlin, the horse that won…

Jun 4, 2007 2:43 PM CDT

Exxon Valdez’s Next Stop is High Court

Litigation in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill case will come to an end if the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a punitive-damages appeal. About 22 percent of the $2.5 billion award will go to attorney fees, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Last month the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Jun 4, 2007 2:11 PM CDT

CA Supreme Court: Lawyer May Be Guilty of Murder in Dog Mauling Death

A former lawyer convicted of manslaughter after her two uncontrolled dogs killed a San Francisco neighbor on the doorstep of her home could face additional prison time due to a California Supreme Court ruling today. However, the ruling is something of a victory for Marjorie Knoller, 52, because it leaves…

Jun 1, 2007 1:47 AM CDT

UN Tribunal Controversial in Hariri Case

A vote yesterday by the U.N. Security Council to establish a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination two years ago of Lebanon’s former prime minister has drawn cheers and jeers from the international community today. The vote led to celebration in the streets of Lebanon by some supporters of…

May 31, 2007 11:36 PM CDT

Judge to ID Supporters of Light Sentence for Scooter Libby

Some 150 supporters of a light sentence for former White House top aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby should soon be identified, including a number of current and former government officials. That’s because U.S. Dist. Judge Reggie B. Walton said today he will make public all of the letters he received…

May 31, 2007 10:10 PM CDT