Verdicts & Settlements

After reading the most ‘intentionally disrespectful’ jury form he’d ever seen, judge scolds couple

Running late for work one day, Tina Keller asked her boyfriend to fill out a jury summons form. Bad idea. Drayke Jacobs-Van-Tol responded to questions such as “How many children do you have” with smart-aleck answers, including “none survived the abortions” and “The NSA knows everything. Ask them.” That led…

Feb 19, 2014 11:04 PM CST

New York promises sweeping reform of solitary confinement rules to settle prison suit

In a Wednesday court filing approved the same day by a Manhattan federal district court judge, the state of New York has agreed to sweeping reform of its solitary confinement rules concerning prison infractions to settle a class action lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union. Under the…

Feb 19, 2014 8:20 PM CST

Acquitted by jury in gun case, defendant is jailed by presiding judge for probation violation

Corrected: A jury in Illinois wasn’t convinced by the evidence against Andre Winters in a firearm-discharge case. But the presiding judge was, calling the main prosecution witness “incredibly credible.” That resulted in a revocation of probation for Winters, 28, in an earlier aggravated battery case, based on the same evidence…

Feb 19, 2014 4:30 PM CST

Insurer had duty to defend ‘Heavy Hitter’ law firm in deceptive advertising case, federal judge says

A malpractice exclusion in a law firm’s director’s and officer’s liability insurance policy did not excuse the carrier from providing a defense in a lawsuit against the firm over its alleged deceptive advertising, a federal judge has ruled. Finding that the exclusion, as interpreted by the insurer, would largely eliminate…

Feb 18, 2014 6:45 PM CST

9th Circuit agrees with 7th Circuit: Individuals have right to carry firearms in public

As a decision looms in a much-watched U.S. Supreme Court case over the right of Americans to carry firearms in public for self-defense, a federal appeals court in California has added its weight to an existing circuit split on the issue. In a Thursday decision, a divided panel of the…

Feb 13, 2014 10:31 PM CST

Suit challenges Justice Department’s $13B deal with JPMorgan

A group called Better Markets contends in a lawsuit that the Justice Department’s settlement with JPMorgan violates the separation of powers because it was never approved by a judge. The civil settlement resolved probes of the bank’s sales of troubled mortgage securities. But the Justice Department never filed suit against…

Feb 12, 2014 12:20 PM CST

Former district attorney gets 13 years in federal corruption case over his work as a prosecutor

Convicted last year on seven counts in a corruption case in which he was accused of running his Texas office as a racketeering enterprise, former Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in federal prison. Villalobos was one of a number of lawyers involved…

Feb 11, 2014 10:50 PM CST

2nd Circuit puts court-appointed monitor back to work in Apple e-book case but limits his duties

A federal appeals court has put a Washington, D.C., lawyer back to work as an $1,100-an-hour court monitor while an appeal of his appointment is pending in a hard-fought New York case in which Apple Inc. was accused of conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices. However, the role of…

Feb 11, 2014 9:30 PM CST

Lawyer jailed for 5 days over comment made at restaurant lunch wins appeal of contempt case

A Michigan lawyer who served five days in jail for comments he made during lunch at a Flint diner has won an appeal of his contempt conviction. A judge’s law clerk contended that longtime attorney F. Anthony Lubkin directed a comment including the word “guilty” at a jury in a…

Feb 10, 2014 4:20 PM CST

EEOC won record $372M in settlements last year, despite filing fewer employment-discrimination suits

The federal agency charged with overseeing the pursuit of employment discrimination claims throughout the country has had some setbacks during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2013. But despite a drop in the number of complaints, which topped out around 100,000 a few years ago and dropped to…

Feb 10, 2014 2:05 PM CST

Judge reverses contempt citation for prosecutor who was late to court

A Virginia prosecutor who was held in contempt and fined $250 for being late to court in Norfolk won a reversal on Friday after appealing the conviction. Calling the case “unusual to say the least,” Circuit Judge Charles E. Poston reversed the Jan. 7 conviction of Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Catherine…

Feb 10, 2014 12:45 PM CST

Man paralyzed by toppled portable toilet wins $5M settlement

A Pennsylvania man paralyzed when two of his relatives shook the portable toilet he was using, causing it to topple over, has obtained a $5 million settlement. Donald Adams III settled with the toilet manufacturer, Poly-San, the installer and the two relatives, who were cousins-in-law, the Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.)…

Feb 7, 2014 5:16 PM CST

Wrongfully convicted ex-cop imprisoned almost 20 years is awarded $9 million by jury

A federal jury in Tacoma, Wash., has awarded $9 million to a police officer who spent almost two decades in prison because two police department colleagues fabricated a case alleging he sexually abused his own children, the Columbian newspaper reports. Clyde Ray Spencer, who was a motorcycle patrolman with the…

Feb 6, 2014 9:11 PM CST

Law firm report: Ex-Mayor Daley didn’t influence initial failure to charge nephew in Chicago slaying

There was no attempt by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, his family and his officials to influence city police and Cook County prosecutors in a 2004 slaying case involving a Daley nephew that was not pursued for years, a special prosecutor says in a report released Tuesday. However, the lengthy…

Feb 4, 2014 7:15 PM CST

Previously suspended after fraud indictment, judge gets 3 months without pay in separate ethics case

A Las Vegas family court judge has been suspended without pay for three months and publicly censured for violating legal ethics rules in conjunction with a romantic relationship he had with a prosecutor who appeared in his courtroom. Although not all of the ethics counts against Judge Steven Jones were…

Feb 4, 2014 6:06 PM CST