Utah

Receiver Seeks Clawback of Legal Fees Paid to Paul Hastings & Fulbright Firms

Asked by a federal judge in Utah to recover money on behalf of investors allegedly fleeced by a claimed Ponzi scheme operator, Val Southwick, a receiver has focused on two major law firms. Contending that money from the Ponzi scheme was used to fund legal defense fees, the receiver filed…

Mar 10, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

BYU Law Prof with ALS Gets Baseball to Raise Money for Cure

A law professor with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, has spurred Major League Baseball to raise money for research in an event on July 4, the 70th anniversary of the baseball great’s farewell speech. Michael Goldsmith, 57, is a law professor at Brigham Young University and…

Feb 4, 2009 12:53 PM CST

Judicial Diversity is Lacking, But Here’s What to Do to Improve, Report Says

Women and minorities are still underrepresented on the state trial and appellate court bench, regardless whether the judges are elected or appointed to their positions. But there are things that can be done to include their chances of winning seats proportionate to their representation in the general population, according to…

Feb 2, 2009 9:13 PM CST

Ex-TSA Counsel Accused of Hiding Full-Time State Job

A former legal counsel for the Transportation Security Administration has been charged with making a false statement by hiding a second full-time job with the state of Utah. Prosecutors claim Richard David Wyss held a full-time job as legal counsel for the TSA at the same time we was paid…

Nov 25, 2008 7:29 PM CST

Utah Federal Judge’s $300 Obama Donation Won’t Lead to Sanction

The chief federal judge for Utah won’t face a misconduct complaint for donating $300 to the election campaign of Barack Obama. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell has apologized and agreed not to make any more donations. Because of those actions, the chief judge of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court…

Nov 20, 2008 6:39 PM CST

Utah Supremes: Lack of Qualified Lawyers Could Force Death Penalty Reversals

The Utah Supreme Court has refused to impose Rule 11 sanctions against two capital defense lawyers for raising “unwarranted and unjustifiable” claims in a habeas appeal. But the court’s opinion contained a warning to legislators: A lack of funding to train defense counsel could force the court to reverse capital…

Nov 10, 2008 1:15 PM CST

Utah Lawyer Who Didn’t Pay $197K in Taxes Takes Misdemeanor Plea

A Utah lawyer has pleaded to three misdemeanors in what was originally a felony tax case. According to charging documents in the state court case, Robert Bradley Neff, 48, failed to timely pay $197,000 in income tax after he established the R. Bradley Neff law firm in Sandy in 1994,…

Sep 24, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

AG’s Sanctions Request Called ‘Personal Attack’ on Capital Defense Lawyers

Lawyers for a death-row inmate told the Utah Supreme Court yesterday that a prosecutor’s attempt to obtain sanctions against them had put them at odds with the interests of their client. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Brunker is asking the court to sanction the lawyers for raising 43 issues that were…

Sep 5, 2008 2:12 PM CDT

Why the Happy Sumo Is Happier Now

A Utah sushi restaurant is undergoing a remodeling after a federal judge ruled its décor copied that of a competitor. The Yapona restaurant located in American Fork, Utah, is undergoing the $15,000 renovation as a result of an early ruling in a lawsuit brought by The Happy Sumo, with locations…

Sep 3, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

Utah AG’s New Website Posts Suspect Video, Sparks ACLU Complaint

In a move that has raised the hackles of the ACLU, the attorney general of Utah has publicly posted on his newly redesigned website additional photographs and other documentary material related to suspects who are charged but not yet convicted of crimes. What has attracted the most critical attention, reports…

Aug 28, 2008 7:13 PM CDT

Sect Leader’s Daughter Tells Attorney Ad Litem to Step Aside

The daughter of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs has told her attorney ad litem in an e-mail to step aside. She sent a copy of the missive to the Salt Lake Tribune. The teen, 16-year-old Teresa Jeffs, told the newspaper in an interview that Texas lawyer Natalie Malonis is restricting…

Jun 23, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Meet Polygamous Sect Lawyer Rod Parker

The man who served as both spokesman and lawyer for the polygamous sect that fought to regain its children got the job by happenstance. Rod Parker, a lawyer with Snow, Christensen & Martineau in Salt Lake City, had just returned to the law firm after a stint at the Justice…

Jun 11, 2008 3:38 PM CDT

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Accused Kidnapper’s Forcible Medication Appeal

An accused kidnapper will be forcibly medicated to make her competent to stand trial after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear her case this week. The defendant, Wanda Barzee, is accused along with her husband of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart from her home in Salt Lake City at the age…

May 22, 2008 1:52 PM CDT

Judge Rules Utah Tribe Is Phony, Throws Out Arbitration Awards

A federal judge has ruled that an Indian tribe formed during a meeting at an Arby’s restaurant in Provo, Utah, is a “complete sham” and the judgments awarded to the group by an arbitration council are phony. The group calls itself the Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band, and…

May 6, 2008 2:24 PM CDT

Texas Ranch Raid Sparks Senate Leader’s Call for Federal Task Force

Sparks flew in Arizona, Nevada and Utah last week after the Senate majority leader criticized prosecutors in those states for not being as aggressive as Texas authorities in pursuing claimed child abuse among a religious sect that reportedly advocates polygamy and “spiritual” marriages of underage teenage girls to much older…

May 5, 2008 11:04 PM CDT