Recent Updates
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No retrial for condemned man after judge-DA affair
Lawyer Blogs 09/17/2009A Texas death row inmate won't be able to argue for a new trial, despite admissions of an affair between his trial judge and the prosecutor, a court announced Wednesday. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 6-3 that convicted murderer Charles De...
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2 men plead guilty in teen prostitution ring
Lawyer Blogs 09/16/2009Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a ring that forced teenage girls to work as prostitutes in a half dozen states - Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Shaun Leoney, 28, of Boston, and Aaron Brooks, 2...
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War crimes court convicts journalist of contempt
Lawyer Blogs 09/15/2009The U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal on Monday found a former prosecution spokeswoman guilty of contempt for revealing confidential court decisions made by judges during the trial of Serbia's ex-President Slobodan Milosevic.The court fined French na...
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High court won't extend Calif. prison deadline
Lawyer Blogs 09/14/2009The Supreme Court on Friday turned down California's request to delay a federal court order related to state prison overcrowding.The justices refused to extend a deadline beyond Sept. 18 for telling a special three-judge panel how California will red...
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Court: Employer must pay for weight-loss surgery
Lawyer Blogs 09/11/2009The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that a pizza shop must pay for weight-loss surgery for an obese employee to ensure the success of another operation for a back injury he suffered at work.The decision is raising concern among businesses bracing ...
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Balsillie, NHL fight for Coyotes ownership
Lawyer Blogs 09/10/2009Finally, auction day has come for the Phoenix Coyotes. It's two days, actually.The NHL franchise is to be sold at auction in a two-day hearing that began Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in downtown Phoenix.Only two bids have been made.One by Canadi...
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Court: Microsoft OK to sell Word during appeal
Lawyer Blogs 09/08/2009The U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit says Microsoft Corp. can keep selling its Word desktop software as it appeals an unfavorable patent ruling.In May, a Texas district court said some versions of Microsoft's word processing software infrin...
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Calif. seeks stay of inmate-release court order
Lawyer Blogs 09/03/2009The Schwarzenegger administration on Tuesday asked the federal courts to delay an order requiring California to reduce its inmate population over the next two years.Last month, a special three-judge panel gave California 45 days to decide how it will...
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Justice Stevens' hiring at high court slows
Lawyer Blogs 09/03/2009Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual, generating speculation that the leader of the court's liberals will retire next year.If Stevens does step down, he would give President Barack Obama his second high court ...
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Pfizer settles drug-promotion case for $2.3 billion
Lawyer Blogs 09/02/2009Pfizer Inc. will pay $2.3 billion to settle a U.S. investigation into illegal marketing of medicines, the largest agreement in such a case, and a subsidiary will plead guilty to a criminal charge. The amount, which Pfizer disclosed in January, includ...
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Fla. man agrees to plead guilty in ammo sales case
Lawyer Blogs 09/01/2009A U.S. military contractor accused in a scheme to illegally ship nearly $300 million in Chinese-made ammunition to Afghan soldiers has agreed to a plea deal that could send him to prison for up to five years.Under the deal, prosecutors will drop 84 c...
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Judge to consider Smart competency hearing date
Lawyer Blogs 08/31/2009A federal judge on Monday may set a date for a competency hearing for the man charged with the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart.Brian David Mitchell, however, was not expected to attend the hearing in U.S. District Court.Federal prosecutors sought t...