Legal News

UBS to Pay $780 Million Fine in Tax Case Settlement

2009-02-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz litigation partner John Savarese represented Zurich-based banking giant UBS as it entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on Wednesday with federal prosecutors that ends an investigation into whether UBS helped U.S. clients avoid paying taxes.

Under the terms of its agreement with the government, UBS will pay a $780 million fine and disclose the names of certain account holders to the Internal Revenue Service. While the government's indictment states its interest in the identities of between 17,000 and 20,000 UBS cross-border clients, the deferred prosecution agreement does not specify how many client names will be turned over to U.S. authorities.

UBS received permission from the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to move forward with the agreement, which has been approved by U.S. District Judge James Cohn in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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Judges plead guilty in sending kids to lockup

2009-02-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

Pair accused of taking $2.6 million in payoff to put away young offenders

SCRANTON, Pa. - Two Pennsylvania judges charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers pleaded guilty to fraud Thursday in one of the most stunning cases of judicial corruption on record.

Prosecutors allege Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, possibly tainting the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders.

The judges pleaded guilty in federal court in Scranton to honest services fraud and tax fraud. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years in prison. They were permitted to remain free pending sentencing.

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Florida Judge Who Sued Over Jail Overcrowding Faces Reprimand

2009-02-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

A Florida judge who filed a lawsuit seeking to change the way county officials handled jail overcrowding has been disciplined by the state's high court.

The Supreme Court of Florida ordered a public reprimand for St. Lucie County Court Judge Clifford Barnes, finding that he violated the state's Code of Judicial Conduct. The court determined that Barnes ran afoul of the rules regarding impartiality and that he committed acts that caused disrepute to the judiciary.

In affirming a recommendation by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, the decision requires Barnes to appear before the court at a later date to receive the reprimand.

"I was too hopeful for a better outcome," said Barnes, who has served as a county court judge in Florida since 2005. He previously was the St. Lucie County Commissioner for 12 years.

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Attorney Charged With Stealing Millions From Guardian Accounts

2009-01-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Law firm has been indicted for money laundering, grand larceny and a scheme to defraud

Brooklyn lawyer has been charged with stealing more than $4 million between 2001 and 2008 from guardianship bank accounts he supervised for incapacitated elderly people and children.

Steven T. Rondos, 44, and his law firm, Raia & Rondos in Brooklyn, have been indicted for money laundering, grand larceny, a scheme to defraud and offering a false instrument for filing, Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said in a statement.

Rondos, who was born in Canada but is a U.S. citizen, was arrested in his Ridgewood, N.J., home early Wednesday morning and taken to the Bergen County, N.J., jail. He was listed as a "fugitive from justice" on the jail's Web site.

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Judges to Serve More Than Seven Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty in Kickbacks Probe

2009-01-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

Agreement also calls for judges to resign from the bench and consent to disbarment, according to U.S. Attorney's Office

Two Luzerne County, Pa., judges have conditionally agreed to plead guilty and serve more than seven years each in prison for their roles in a Dickensian scheme to channel juvenile offenders into a private detention facility in exchange for payments from the owners.

The announcement by federal prosecutors of the conditional plea agreements with former President Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Judge Michael Conahan came Monday in Scranton. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Martin Carlson indicated that the indictment against the veteran judges was the first set of charges and that the investigation was ongoing.

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Mayor of Racine, Wis., resigns after sex sting

2009-01-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

Underage girl in online chat was police officer; he plans to plead not guilty

MILWAUKEE - The mayor of Racine, Wis., resigned on Tuesday, days after being accused of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he thought was an underage girl.

Mayor Gary Becker resigned, effective 5 p.m. Tuesday, in a one-sentence letter that made no reference to the six felonies he faces.

His attorney, Patrick Cafferty, said Becker decided to resign because "it was in the best interest of everyone involved." He said his client intends to plead not guilty to all charges during a Feb. 10 arraignment in Racine County Circuit Court.

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Eli Lilly to Pay $1.42 Billion to Settle Zyprexa Marketing Suits

2009-01-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

Anti-psychotic drug was allegedly improperly pushed for treatment of myriad ailments

Eli Lilly & Co. will pay a combined $1.42 billion, including the largest criminal fine in history -- $515 million -- to settle charges that it illegally marketed the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa for off-label use, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Zyprexa was approved by the Food and Drug Administration only as a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, prosecutors said, but Lilly allegedly set out to market the drug to elderly patients as a treatment for dementia, Alzheimer's, agitation, depression and generalized sleep disorder.

In doing so, prosecutors said, Indianapolis-based Lilly ignored explicit warnings from the FDA that Zyprexa should not be so widely prescribed because of side effects such as weight gain that could lead to obesity and even the onset of diabetes in some patients.

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San Beranrdino County assessor arrested on drug charges

2009-01-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

After months of investigation, San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus was arrested this morning on charges that include possession of methamphetamine, the district attorney’s office said.

More than 50 investigators searched numerous locations in the Inland Empire and Orange County to collect evidence against the embattled assessor, who recently said he had battled and overcome drug addiction. Authorities found illegal drugs inside Postmus’ Rancho Cucamonga home, according to a press release put out by the district attorney's office. He was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, a felony, and possession of paraphernalia for unlawful use, a misdemeanor.

Read full sotry Los Angeles Times

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Kennedy kin Skakel claims key evidence hidden

2009-01-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

Claims witness at his murder trial would have been discredited

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's lawyers have filed a new appeal of his murder conviction, claiming that police and prosecutors failed to provide them with evidence that pointed to another suspect and discredited a key state witness.

The motion filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Haven seeks a hearing and the setting of bail. A judge has not ruled on the requests.

A state jury convicted Skakel in 2002 of killing 15-year-old Martha Moxley in their Greenwich neighborhood in 1975. He's serving 20 years to life in prison.

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Gotti neighbor allegedly dissolved in acid

2009-01-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

Man vanished after accidently killing mobster's 12-year-old son

EW YORK - It's been one of the last unsolved mysteries from the gangland career of John Gotti.

Whatever happened to the neighbor who accidentally ran over and killed the mobster's 12-year-old son Frankie — and then vanished?

The answer may be found in Brooklyn court papers filed this week by federal prosecutors.They say 51-year-old John Favara was shot to death on orders of the outraged Gambino crime family boss — and his body was dissolved in a vat of acid.

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N.J. rules against church group in lesbian case

2008-12-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Group was wrong not to rent out property for couple's civil union, state says

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - A church group that owns beachfront property discriminated against a lesbian couple by not allowing them to rent the locale for their civil union ceremony, a New Jersey department ruled Monday in a case that has become a flash point in the nation's gay rights battle.

The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights said its investigation found that the refusal of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association to rent the oceanfront spot to the couple for their same-sex union in March 2007 violated the public accommodation provisions of the state's Law Against Discrimination.

While the ruling is decisively in favor of the couple, Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster, it does not end the case. An administrative law judge still must decide on a remedy for the parties.

Read full stroy MSNBC

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Dad charged after girl, 11, dies walking in snow

2008-12-30T07:59:00.000-08:00

Daughter was sent on 10-mile trek after truck got stuck on Christmas Day

TWIN FALLS, Idaho - The father of an 11-year-old girl who died, likely of hypothermia, after trying to walk 10 miles in the snow on Christmas Day has been charged with second-degree murder and felony injury to a child.

Robert Aragon, 55, of Jerome, made an initial appearance Monday in 5th District Court, where Judge Mark Ingram appointed a public defender for him. The judge denied Aragon's request to lower his $500,000 bond. He was being held in the Blaine County Jail.

Aragon was emotional during the short hearing. He banged his head on the defendant's table as Ingram read the charges against him, The Times-News reported. After Ingram noted that second-degree murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, Aragon said "Oh my God" as he banged his head on the table one final time.

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Sex slavery: Living the American nightmare

2008-12-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

Shadowy multibillion-dollar industry far more widespread than expected

When FBI and immigration agents arrested a 28-year-old Guatemalan woman three months ago in Los Angeles, they announced that they had shut down one of the most elaborate sex trafficking rings in the country. It was also the family business.

The woman, Maribel Rodriguez Vasquez, was the sixth member of her family to be rounded up in the two-year multi-agency investigation. Vasquez, five of her relatives and three other Guatemalan nationals were charged with 50 counts, alleging that they lured at least a dozen young women — including five minors as young as 13 years old — to the United States with promises of good jobs, only to put them to work as prostitutes. All remain in custody as investigators attempt to unravel the complex case.

Read full story MSNBC

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Bush v. Gore Still Influencing Court Decisions

2008-12-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

The Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore, issued eight years ago this month, was widely understood to work like that tape recorder in “Mission: Impossible.” It was meant to produce a president and then self-destruct.

“Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances,” the majority famously said, “for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities.”

That sentence, translated from high legal jargon into English, was generally taken to mean this: The decision was a ticket for one ride only. It was not a precedent. It was a ruling, yes, but it was not law.

But now, as the petitioner leaves the national stage, Bush v. Gore is turning out to have lasting value after all. “You’re starting to see courts invoke it,” said Samuel Issacharoff, a law professor at New York University, “and you’re starting to see briefs cite it.”

Read full story New York Times

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Police: 1981 murder of Adam Walsh solved

2008-12-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Boy's father later gained fame as the host of 'America's Most Wanted'

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Authorities in South Florida planned to announce on Tuesday that they've finally solved the 1981 killing of a little boy whose father later gained fame as the host of "America's Most Wanted."

Hollywood police scheduled a news conference to close the case of the abduction and homicide of 6-year-old Adam Walsh.

Adam's parents, John and Reve Walsh, long ago derided the investigation as botched. Both were expected to attend the news conference.

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Graves at reform school investigated

2008-12-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Former inmates of Florida institution think abused boys are buried there

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating what lies beneath more than 30 unidentified graves near a reform school where boys were abused in the 1950s and '60s.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wrote the head of the law enforcement agency Tuesday, asking authorities to determine the origin of the graves and whether any crimes were committed. The agency said it will immediately begin investigating.

A group of former inmates, now in their 60s, believe the graves contain the bodies of boys who were beaten to death at the detention center. The men say they were severely beaten when they were there.

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Supreme Court to Consider Pensions and Pregnancy Leave

2008-12-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

In the 30th anniversary year of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the "second generation of pregnancy discrimination" has arrived at the U.S. Supreme Court, say some civil rights and women's rights lawyers, in a case that could affect thousands of female workers, retired or about to retire, as well as company pension plans.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act treats discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions as unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the nation's major job bias law.

The act has helped "to change the nation's mindset about childbearing and working moms, and it continues to provide significant civil rights protections for women," said Linda D. Hallman, executive director of the American Association of University Women, adding it also has helped "to pave the way for a generation of working women and strengthened the American work force in the process."

Read full story Law.com

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N.J. church shootings suspect captured

2008-11-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

California man sought in deaths of estranged wife, man, caught in Georgia

NEW YORK - A man accused of driving across the United States and fatally shooting his estranged Indian immigrant wife and another man inside a church has been captured in Georgia.

Joseph M. Pallipurath was arrested around midnight Monday in Monroe, east of Atlanta, said New Jersey district U.S. Marshal James Plousis.

Pallipurath, of Sacramento, California, is suspected of shooting and killing 24-year-old Reshma James inside the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton, New Jersey, a suburb about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

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Amber Alert systems vary greatly by state

2008-11-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

AP review: Differences can heighten tension if suspect crosses state lines

ATLANTA - Authorities count hundreds of Amber Alert cases across the country as success stories when they start explaining why the media-friendly and politically popular bulletins are so important.

Yet despite a federal law meant to create a uniform system, an Associated Press review shows wide variations in what triggers an Amber Alert from one state to the next, which can heighten the tension when a suspect crosses state lines.

The AP examined Amber Alert records from all 50 states and found that some barely keep track of the alerts they've issued, let alone whether they worked. A few states don't have anyone designated to oversee their programs.

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Despite Obama Victory, Will Supreme Court Justices Sit Tight?

2008-11-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

Who among the high court's four liberal judges might step down? And how would it happen?

At her law clerks' reunion last June, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg put the word out in no uncertain terms.

"If anyone asks you, 'When is she retiring?'" Ginsburg said, according to several who were there, "tell them I have a great role model in Justice [John Paul] Stevens, who is going strong at age 88."

Apparently, not enough people asked, so tucked away at the end of a speech at Columbia University on Oct. 25, she made the point again. Referring to the legendary Justice Louis Brandeis, Ginsburg said he "became a justice at age 60, as I did. He remained on the bench until age 83. My hope and expectation is to hold my office at least that long."

Now 75, Ginsburg would have to remain on the Court until 2016 to match Brandeis and 2021 to match Stevens.

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The Campaigns Are Over, and So Are the Ads -- but Not the Lawsuits

2008-11-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Nasty campaign ads did more than push ridiculed candidates over the edge this election. They drove them into court.

Negative campaign ads triggered several defamation lawsuits nationwide, with candidates crying foul and some lawyers saying enough is enough.

In North Carolina, Democrat Kay Hagan has filed a defamation lawsuit against her Republican opponent, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, over a television ad that accused her of having ties to an atheist political action committee. The ad linked Hagan to a group called the Godless Americans, stating "A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser in Kay Hagan's honor." It ended with a female voice saying, "There is no God."

Hagan ended up beating Dole.

In Minnesota, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman is suing Democratic challenger Al Franken over TV and radio ads that allegedly contained lies about him. The ads included statements that Coleman was named "the fourth most corrupt senator in Washington" and lives in a Washington apartment "almost rent free." A recount has been ordered in the Coleman-Franken race. Coleman led Franken by 727 votes out of about 2.9 million cast.

Read full story Law.com

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Body found as police search for missing teacher

2008-10-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

No identification yet; female corpse was found 13 miles from teacher's car

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A woman's body was found Wednesday in a wooded area about 13 miles from the abandoned car of a teacher who had disappeared two days before, police said.

The body was believed to have been in the wooded area for more than 24 hours, Nassau County Police Lt. Kevin Smith said.

Police confirmed the body was that of a woman but were continuing to investigate any possible connections to the disappearance of Leah Walsh, 29, of Glen Cove.

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Police seek motive in TV anchorwoman attack

2008-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Little Rock’s Anne Pressly is in critical condition: ‘Does not have an enemy’

Popular and beautiful Anne Pressly, an up-and-coming Little Rock, Ark., news anchor, had dinner with a friend, talked about her small role in the movie “W.” and went home, where she exchanged cheery text messages. And then she was beaten nearly to death.

While the 26-year-old Pressly remains in critical but stable condition in a Little Rock hospital, her family, many friends and police are all trying to discover who would have attacked a person who is said to have had no enemies, and why.

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Corporate Liability Key in Chevron Case

2008-10-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Focus on protest deaths at Nigerian facility

Pamela A. MacLean
The National Law Journal
October 20, 2008

An epic legal battle going to trial in federal court in San Francisco this week will ask jurors to decide whether oil giant Chevron Corp. sanctioned human rights abuses that killed and wounded protesters at its Nigerian facilities, or was simply protecting its employees from belligerent kidnappers.

The decade-long legal fight has produced a 2,000-item court docket with mountains of paper in what may become a rare, and potentially precedent-setting, test of company liability for injuries to foreign nationals at the hands of a foreign government.

Read full story Law.com

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Big Wave of Layoffs Hits Heller

2008-10-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day for most of the remaining Heller Ehrman staff, a source confirmed on Thursday.

Affected employees were notified by a Thursday morning e-mail, which was obtained by The Recorder and which was widely posted on the Internet. The e-mail from the dissolution committee was largely the same as an e-mail sent out last Friday, when at least 100 employees were laid off. While it is unclear how many employees are being laid off today, employees in the firm estimate the number to be in the hundreds.

The e-mail said that staff would receive health insurance through the end of the month, but it is unclear whether insurance for current or former employees will continue beyond that point.

Read full story Law.com

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US cutbacks continue as Chicago duo cut 80 jobs

2008-10-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

The US legal market faced another round of job cuts this week as Chicago duo Katten Muchin Rosenman and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal laid off more than 40 associates, reports The National Law Journal.

Katten this week confirmed the loss of 21 associates and counsel "across multiple offices and practices," firm spokeswoman Tasneem Goodman said. No adjustments are being made to the first-year associate class and no legal staff members were laid off, she said.

"This measure was taken to further improve the firm's efficiency, to allow for the continued growth of its associates and to ensure the firm's long-term success," Goodman said in the statement. "The firm's financial performance remains strong despite the current economic downturn."

Read full story Legal Week

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Mom of missing girl indicted on murder charge

2008-10-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

Mother of 3-year-old Caylee Anthony took months to report disappearance

ORLANDO, Fla. - The mother of a missing 3-year-old girl was arrested Tuesday and charged with killing her daughter, even though the child's body has not been found during an exhaustive four-month search.

A grand jury indicted Casey Anthony on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to investigators about the disappearance of her daughter, Caylee, State Attorney Lawson Lamar said. The mother is being held without bond.

If convicted of first-degree murder she could face the death penalty or life in prison. Prosecutors said no decision has been made on whether the death penalty will be sought.

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Marine fighting extradition, could delay trial

2008-10-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

He fled to Mexico before being charged with killing pregnant fellow Marine

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina - A Marine who fled to Mexico shortly before he was charged with killing a pregnant fellow soldier is fighting extradition in a move that prosecutors said could delay or endanger the chances of him going to trial in the United States.

A North Carolina prosecutor said Monday that Cpl. Cesar Laurean, 21, is appealing to the Mexican courts, arguing that North Carolina's life-without-parole sentence for first-degree murder is barred under the countries' extradition treaty.

Laurean is charged in the slaying of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who had worked with him at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune military installation and had accused him of rape. Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she disappeared in December.

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High court turns down Ga. death row inmate

2008-10-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

Justices halted cop killer's death to consider appeal; execution to resume

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for a Georgia man to be put to death for killing a police officer, two weeks after it halted his execution to consider his appeal.

In a case that attracted involvement by such luminaries as former President Carter and South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the man, Troy Davis, had asked the high court to intervene in his case and order a new trial because seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted their testimony.

The justices granted Davis, 39, a reprieve on Sept. 23, less than two hours before his scheduled execution. But they declined Tuesday to give his appeal a full-blown hearing.

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Former Gen Re Lawyer Could Face Life in Prison

2008-10-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Federal prosecutors want Robert Graham to be sentenced to 230 years in jail for his role in a sham insurance deal with AIG

Robert Graham, a former senior lawyer at General Re Corp., faces life in prison for doing what his defense attorney calls a "few hours work" on a fraudulent deal. Prosecutors want to sentence Graham to a "substantial" term -- up to 230 years behind bars -- for his role in a sham insurance deal with American International Group Inc. The government also wants Graham, who is 60, to pay millions of dollars in fines and restitution.

In February a U.S. district court jury in Hartford convicted Graham -- Gen Re's former assistant general counsel -- and four other executives of multiple counts of securities fraud. At a Sept. 25 sentencing hearing before Judge Christopher Droney, prosecutors argued that Graham should face a stiff penalty because he abused a position of trust and used his special skills and knowledge as a lawyer to further the fraud.

Read full story Law.com

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Court documents reveal Weil’s $5m Lehman advance

2008-10-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

Weil Gotshal & Manges received a $5m (£3m) advance in September from Lehman Brothers Holdings for work leading up to the bank's bankruptcy filing, according to court documents made public on Wednesday, reports the Am Law Daily.

Lehman reportedly retained Weil Gotshal on 10 September. Five days later, Lehman filed for bankruptcy. Lehman paid the firm a $5m advance to cover legal fees and expenses arising from Lehman's negotiations and efforts to remain in business and to prepare for the possibility of the Chapter 11 filing if negotiations failed.

"The negotiations were unsuccessful and the Chapter 11 cases resulted," said Harvey Miller, the senior Weil Gotshal partner representing Lehman. "[Weil] is applying the advance to the charges for the professional services performed and to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses."

Read full story Legalweek

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Iowa girl abandoned under Nebraska law

2008-10-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

Person who left 14-year-old could face prosecution in girl's home state

OMAHA, Neb. - A 14-year-old Iowa girl was abandoned Tuesday in Nebraska under its safe haven law, but the person who left her could face prosecution in the girl's home state, Nebraska health officials said.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said the girl is from Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the Missouri River from Omaha. She was left at Creighton University Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon, and her case was reported to Iowa authorities.

The girl is the 17th child overall and the first from another state to be abandoned since the law took effect in July.

Read full story MSNBC

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Judge rejects mistrial in Sen. Stevens case

2008-10-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

Defense wanted charges thrown out in dispute over evidence

WASHINGTON - A federal judge Thursday rejected a vigorous defense bid for a mistrial in the corruption case against Sen. Ted Stevens despite finding that prosecutors broke rules requiring them to turn over evidence favorable to the veteran Alaska lawmaker.

After a roller-coaster day of discord, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan told lawyers that ending the trial after several days of testimony would be too drastic. Instead, he ordered the government to give stacks of previously undisclosed documents to the defense and called a recess until Monday.

Read full story MSNBC

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Terrorism verdicts overturned in New York

2008-10-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Federal appeals court: Yemeni sheik and deputy were denied fair trial

NEW YORK - A federal appeals court Thursday overturned the convictions of a Yemeni cleric and his deputy, finding they were prejudiced by inflammatory testimony about unrelated terrorism links in a case the United States once touted as a victory in its war against terrorism.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that Sheik Mohammed Ali Al-Moayad and Mohammed Mohsen Zayed, convicted of supporting terrorists, can have new trials. The three-judge panel took the unusual step of ordering the transfer of the case to a new judge.

Read full story MSNBC

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Error-prone Detroit crime lab shut down

2008-09-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

State police to take over lab work after mistakes found in shooting cases

DETROIT - Officials have shut down the Detroit police crime lab because of errors found in evidence from shooting cases.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Thursday that Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. and Police Chief James Barren have closed the lab.

Worthy says Michigan State Police have found erroneous or false findings in 10 percent of 200 random cases. She says the lab was temporarily closed this spring after errors were found in evidence from a double slaying.

Read full story MSNBC

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Government Appeals $455.6 Million Award in Indian Trust Case

2008-09-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Mike Scarcella
Legal Times
September 22, 2008

There is no end in sight for the class of American Indian plaintiffs seeking billions of dollars from the Interior Department for the mismanagement of oil, timber, gas and other royalties flowing from the lease of Indian lands.

A federal judge in August ruled the class, whose lead plaintiff is represented by Kilpatrick Stockton, is entitled to nearly $456 million from the government. The judge's award against the Interior Department represents the aggregate amount of funds received into the Indian trust accounts between 1887 and 2007.

Lawyers representing Elouise Cobell and fellow plaintiffs appealed the ruling
-- arguing the monetary award is far short of the $47 billion owed to the class. The award, for instance, did not include any stolen or misappropriated money and assets sold or leased below market value.

Read Full Story: Legal Times

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6 children in custody after raid on compound

2008-09-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

FBI says children at facility may have been sexually and physically abused

FOUKE, Ark. - Six children have been placed in temporary state custody as they are interviewed in the wake of a raid on a church compound as part of a child-porn investigation, Arkansas police said Sunday.

The children will be under the care of the state Department of Human Services during the interviews, said state police spokesman Bill Sadler. He didn't say how long the interviews would last.

Read full story MSNBC

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FLORIDA MEN GUILTY IN HOMELSS BEATING DEATH

2008-09-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - A jury found two men guilty of fatally beating a homeless man with a baseball bat and viciously attacking two others.

Surveillance video of the 2006 rampage captured 21-year-old Brian Hooks and 19-year-old Thomas Daugherty repeatedly hitting one of the victims. The footage caused national outrage among homeless advocates.

Hooks and Daugherty were found guilty Friday of second-degree murder and two counts each of attempted second-degree murder with a weapon.

Read full story: MSNBC Florida men guilty in homeless beating death

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On the lookout for immigration raids

2008-09-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON -- Reeling from work-site raids that have jailed thousands of illegal workers, immigration organizations are quietly assembling informal networks to gather advance information about federal enforcement operations and to help locals and laborers prepare.

Students, union officials, waiters and others are volunteering to call in tips about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents checking into hotels or renting facilities, about the sudden appearance of out-of-town cars and about a surge in action at the local courthouse.

Read Full Story: LA Times On the lookout for immigration raids

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