Recent Updates
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NY court: Consider harsher sentence in terror case
Lawyer Blogs 12/24/2009A federal appeals court in New York City says a judge who sentenced a disbarred lawyer to just over two years in prison should consider a harsher sentence in light of the case's terrorism connection. The Manhattan federal appeals court on Wednesday r...
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NC court backs video poker ban off Cherokee land
Lawyer Blogs 12/24/2009North Carolina's appeals court on Tuesday upheld a statewide ban on video poker machines except those operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in their Smoky Mountains casino.A three-judge court panel ruled unanimously that a 2006 state law g...
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Court rejects Polanski move to have case dismissed
Lawyer Blogs 12/22/2009A California appeals court on Monday rejected Roman Polanski's bid to have his 32-year-old sex case dismissed, but cited grave concerns over possible judicial and prosecutorial misconduct.The California 2nd District Court of Appeal announced it had d...
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Settlement reached in farmworkers' suit in Miss.
Lawyer Blogs 12/21/2009A lawsuit filed on behalf of 27 Mexican farm workers against a Mississippi sweet potato operation has been settled.A joint notice filed with the U.S. District Court shows the settlement was reached this past week in the suit against Ryan Alexander an...
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US transfers 12 Gitmo detainees to home countries
Lawyer Blogs 12/21/2009The U.S. has transferred a dozen Guantanamo detainees to Afghanistan, Yemen and the Somaliland region as the Obama administration continues to move captives out of the facility in Cuba in preparation for its closure.The Justice Department said Sunday...
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NC lawyers try to block release of 2 killers
Lawyer Blogs 12/18/2009The attorney general's office in North Carolina is petitioning the state Supreme Court to block the release of two convicted killers who had been serving life sentences.Lawyers filed their petition Friday, a day after the state appeals court rejected...
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Ohio justices: Cell phone searches require warrant
Lawyer Blogs 12/16/2009The Ohio Supreme Court said Tuesday police officers must obtain a search warrant before scouring the contents of a suspect's cell phone, unless their safety is in danger.The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio described the ruling as a landmark ca...
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NC appeals court temporarily halts inmate release
Lawyer Blogs 12/15/2009North Carolina's appeals court has temporarily blocked the release of two convicted murderers sentenced under a 1970s law that limited life terms.The court clerk issued an order Monday afternoon approving a request to halt the case, but he gave no ex...
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Senators revise climate bill to court GOP support
Lawyer Blogs 12/11/2009Senators trying to craft bipartisan climate legislation offered a revised proposal Thursday that would add incentives for building nuclear power plants and open the way for expanded oil and gas drilling off the nation's coastlines in hopes of attract...
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Appeals court puts Mattel's Bratz takeover on hold
Lawyer Blogs 12/10/2009The pouty-lipped Bratz dolls can strut their stuff a little longer.A federal appeals court panel in Pasadena on Wednesday suspended an order that MGA Entertainment stop selling Bratz products this year, recall remaining toys and give ownership of the...
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Unions pressure Democrats on health insurance tax
Lawyer Blogs 12/10/2009Unions leaders, among the most passionate backers of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, pressed Democratic senators Thursday to drop a tax on high-value insurance plans to pay for remaking the nation's system.As the Senate entered its 11t...
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Court skeptical of federal anti-fraud law
Lawyer Blogs 12/09/2009The Supreme Court appeared inclined Tuesday to limit federal prosecutors' use of a fraud law that has helped win convictions of high-profile corporate executives and public officials, or throw out the law altogether.The justices, hearing two challeng...