Recent Updates
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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...
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Court blocks rule allowing guns in national parks
Lawyer Blogs 03/20/2009A federal judge on Thursday blocked a federal rule allowing people to carry concealed, loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly halts a change in regulations issued in the waning d...
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Autistic murder defendant poses challenges in Ohio
Lawyer Blogs 03/20/2009Sky Walker watches recordings of "The Price is Right" over and over again on a TV positioned just outside his jail cell, a calming ritual for the autistic teenager, who is prone to erratic behavior swings when his routine is changed. He also gets his...
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Lawmakers Debate Battlefronts in Economic Crisis
Lawyer Blogs 03/16/2009A top economic aide to President Obama defended the administration’s multi-front strategy to tackle a number of economic issues at once, calling it “the right medicine,” while a House GOP leader criticized those plans as a “lack of focus.” “It is an ...
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Madoff faces 150 years in alleged Ponzi scheme
Lawyer Blogs 03/11/2009Bernard Madoff has been placed under oath in a federal courtroom to answer questions from a judge about potential conflicts of interest with his attorney. After stating his name and age, the 70-year-old disgraced financier was asked by the judge Tues...
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Court rules for prosecutors in speedy trial case
Lawyer Blogs 03/10/2009A Vermont man's freedom from jail could be short-lived after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a state ordinarily is not responsible for a public defender's delays in bringing a criminal case to trial. The court by a 7-2 vote reversed a state ...
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Court turns down NYC case against gun industry
Lawyer Blogs 03/09/2009The Supreme Court has turned away pleas by New York City and gun violence victims to hold the firearms industry responsible for selling guns that could end up in illegal markets. The justices' decision Monday ends lawsuits first filed in 2000. Federa...