Recent Updates
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Iowa, Vermont gay marriages spark debate in Calif.
Lawyer Blogs 04/09/2009Both sides of the gay marriage ban approved by California voters are debating how Iowa and Vermont's recent moves to allow same-sex unions will affect their state's running legal battle. Gay marriage supporters are particularly interested in the Iowa...
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3.5M award reviewed over crooked Pa. judges' role
Lawyer Blogs 04/08/2009Pennsylvania's highest court is revisiting a $3.5 million defamation verdict against The Citizens' Voice newspaper because of the role played in it by two former judges at the center of a juvenile justice scandal. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday a...
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Court rules against Navajo Nation in coal case
Lawyer Blogs 04/06/2009The Supreme Court has ruled against the Navajo Nation for a second time in its battle with the federal government over whether the tribe should have gotten more money for coal on its land. The high court, in an unanimous opinion Monday, reversed a de...
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Iowa court says gay marriage ban unconstitutional
Lawyer Blogs 04/03/2009The Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Friday finding that the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making Iowa the third state where marriage is legal. In its decision, the court uphe...
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Ex-Madoff customers seek swindler's personal assets
Lawyer Blogs 04/02/2009Some of jailed swindler Bernard Madoff's defrauded customers moved on Wednesday to try and get access to his personal assets and any other items that may have been transferred to his family or other people. Papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manh...
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Court ends Philip Morris appeal of $79.5M award
Lawyer Blogs 03/31/2009The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a cigarette maker's appeal of a $79.5 million award to a smoker's widow, ending a 10-year legal fight to keep her from collecting. In a one-sentence order, the court left in place a ruling by the Oregon Supreme ...
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Phil Spector murder retrial in hands of LA jury
Lawyer Blogs 03/27/2009The murder case against music producer Phil Spector is in the hands of a California jury again. The case was turned over to the Los Angeles Superior Court jury Thursday after the prosecution concluded a rebuttal to the defense closing arguments.Spect...
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Geithner Calls for Major Overhaul of Financial Rules
Lawyer Blogs 03/26/2009The Obama administration on Thursday detailed its wide-ranging plan to overhaul financial regulation by subjecting hedge funds and traders of exotic financial instruments, now among the biggest and most freewheeling players on Wall Street, to potenti...
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Appeals court OKs Schwarzenegger contempt hearing
Lawyer Blogs 03/25/2009A federal appeals court is refusing to block hearings to decide whether California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should be held in contempt for refusing to provide funds for health care at state prisons. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesda...
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Alleged 'enemy combatant' faces trial in Illinois
Lawyer Blogs 03/23/2009Ali al-Marri followed his older brother to central Illinois in the mid-1980s to pursue a business education unavailable in his native Qatar, becoming a Bulls fan and honing his pool-playing skills. He returned for further study more than 10 years lat...
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WA bill would smooth voting restoration for felons
Lawyer Blogs 03/23/2009For tens of thousands of convicted felons in Washington state, only one thing stands between them and the ballot box: debt. Under current law, felons can't vote until they have served their sentences, including the completion of any parole or probati...
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Ga. court revives Web hotel price scheme challenge
Lawyer Blogs 03/23/2009A ruling by Georgia's top court has revived a lawsuit by the city of Atlanta claiming it's been shortchanged out of "untold" millions in taxes by online travel companies. The Georgia Supreme Court ruling Monday throws out an appeals court's dismissal...