Recent Updates
-
Mich. court gives judges say in witnesses' dress
Lawyer Blogs 06/17/2009The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday voted to give judges authority over how witnesses dress in court after a Muslim woman refused to remove her veil while testifying in a small claims case. A statewide court rule letting judges regulate the appea...
-
High court won't review 'Cuban 5' espionage case
Lawyer Blogs 06/16/2009Cuban exiles said Monday they were relieved the Supreme Court refused to review the convictions of five intelligence agents for the communist country, despite calls from Nobel Prize winners and international legal groups to consider the case. The con...
-
Court goes further spelling out deportation rules
Lawyer Blogs 06/15/2009The Supreme Court says immigration officials do not have to have a jury determine the financial impact of an immigrant's crime in their deportation decisions. The court, in an unanimous decision Monday, turned away Manoj Nijhawan's appeal. Nijhawan, ...
-
Supreme Court turns down Conrad Black bail request
Lawyer Blogs 06/12/2009The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down former media executive Conrad Black's request to be released from a Florida prison while he appeals his fraud conviction. Black has served nearly 15 months of a 6 1/2-year prison term following his conviction...
-
Judge finds violation in Calif. forest planning
Lawyer Blogs 06/12/2009Federal agencies violated the Endangered Species Act by developing plans for four national forests in California without adequately addressing the impact on endangered animals, a judge ruled. The judge's order will require estimates of how forest pro...
-
2 Alaska lawmakers could be freed, review ordered
Lawyer Blogs 06/11/2009Two former Alaska state lawmakers could be released from prison soon after a federal appeals court Wednesday ordered their corruption convictions reviewed. The orders were expected after the U.S. Justice Department last week concluded prosecutors imp...
-
Ill. horse racing tracks hope for riverboat money
Lawyer Blogs 06/10/2009Four Illinois riverboat casinos failed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their challenge to a law requiring them to share their profits with the state's ailing horse racing tracks. The court's Monday decision means Illinois tracks expect to share...
-
Ex-US Rep. Jefferson faces federal bribery charges
Lawyer Blogs 06/09/2009Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson faces several obstacles to being acquitted of bribery, racketeering and other federal charges — and topping the list is explaining the $90,000 cash stashed in his freezer. Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat who represe...
-
Burned retirees sue Madoff trustee over claims
Lawyer Blogs 06/09/2009Some elderly investors have sued the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's assets, saying the system being used to pay claims against the disgraced financier is unfair. The lawsuit filed in bankruptcy court Friday in Manhattan said s...
-
Appeals court to hear argument vs. Chrysler sale
Lawyer Blogs 06/05/2009The decision on whether Chrysler can sell the bulk of its assets to a group led by Italy's Fiat as part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection heads to a federal appeals court Friday. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is to hear argumen...
-
Federal judge tosses warrantless wiretap cases
Lawyer Blogs 06/04/2009A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out more than three dozen lawsuits filed against the nation's telecommunications companies for allegedly taking part in the government's e-mail and telephone eavesdropping program that was done without court approv...
-
Appeals court to hear appeal of Chrysler sale
Lawyer Blogs 06/03/2009A federal appeals court late Tuesday halted Chrysler's sale of the bulk of its assets to Italy's Fiat pending an appeal by a trio of Indiana state pension and construction funds. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear arguments in...