Recent Updates
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Court hears appeal by DC sniper mastermind
Court Alerts 05/12/2009A lawyer for John Allen Muhammad says the sniper mastermind never should have been allowed to act as his own lawyer for part of his 2003 capital murder trial. Jonathan Sheldon told a federal appeals court Tuesday that the failure of Muhammad's trial ...
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Judge Blasts Law Firm Over Asbestos Suit
Court Alerts 05/08/2009A Los Angeles judge has blasted one of the nation's leading plaintiffs firms in asbestos litigation for attempting to obtain an upper hand in the case through what he called a "type of judicially sanctioned extortion." The judge's statements came in ...
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Feds want 3-year term for Mo. mom in MySpace hoax
Court Alerts 05/07/2009A Missouri mother should serve three years in prison for her role in a MySpace hoax on a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause outlined the governm...
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Former officer admits robbing Orange County banks
Court Alerts 05/06/2009A former police officer dubbed the "Polite Bandit" has pleaded guilty to robbing banks in Orange County. Vincent Cantu, who served eight years with the Pasadena Police Department, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court. Cantu admitted robbing two La...
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Ex-worker at Iowa plant withdraws ID theft plea
Court Alerts 05/06/2009Defense attorneys for employees at a kosher slaughterhouse accused of helping undocumented workers commit identity theft are trying to get some of the charges dismissed because of a new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled Monday that un...
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Reid hopes Obama makes unconventional Supco choice
Court Alerts 05/05/2009Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he hopes President Barack Obama will make an unconventional choice for a Supreme Court justice to succeed Justice David Souter. Reid on Tuesday paid tribute to Obama's past experience as a law professor and said...
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Mass. high court to consider recorded jail calls
Court Alerts 05/03/2009The highest court in Massachusetts will hear arguments this week on whether prosecutors can use recorded jailhouse phone conversations of a teenager charged in the killing of a student at a Sudbury high school. Lawyers for John Odgren say he was lega...
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NY trustee in Madoff scandal sues LA money manager
Court Alerts 05/02/2009A court-appointed New York City trustee is suing a Los Angeles money manager he says directed hundreds of millions of dollars in investments to financier Bernard Madoff. Trustee Irving Picard says in a complaint filed Friday in Bankruptcy Court that ...
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Feds dropping charges against pro-Israel lobbyists
Court Alerts 05/01/2009Federal prosecutors moved Friday to dismiss espionage-related charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of disclosing classified defense information, ending a tortuous inside-the-Beltway legal battle rife with national security intrigue...
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Supreme Court takes up special education case
Court Alerts 04/28/2009The Supreme Court is again trying to decide when taxpayers must foot the bill for private schooling for special education students. The court will hear arguments Tuesday in an Oregon case in which a local school district contends that students should...
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Court refuses appeal from reputed drug kingpin
Court Alerts 04/27/2009A reputed cocaine kingpin has lost his fight to reduce his 195-year prison term. The Supreme Court, acting Monday, rejected an appeal from Salvador Magluta, who was convicted of laundering at least $730,000 in drug money and bribing a juror at an ear...
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LA judge rules fraud in suits against Dole
Court Alerts 04/24/2009A California judge on Thursday dismissed two lawsuits by purported Nicaraguan banana plantation workers against U.S. food giant Dole and other companies on grounds of fraud and attempted extortion. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victoria Cha...