Recent Updates
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World Court says US defied order in death row case
Lawyer Blogs 01/20/2009The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that the United States defied its order last year when authorities in Texas executed a Mexican convicted of rape and murder.The U.N.'s highest court said the U.S. remains obliged to review the cases of ...
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Federal court hits Bush White House over e-mail
Lawyer Blogs 01/15/2009A federal court is taking the Bush White House to task on the issue of millions of apparently missing e-mails, saying the administration has failed in its obligation to safeguard presidential records. In a four-page opinion issued Thursday, Magistrat...
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Wash. court: Sex between teachers, 18-year-olds OK
Lawyer Blogs 01/14/2009Washington state law does not bar teachers from having consensual sex with 18-year-old students, an appeals court ruled Tuesday in dismissing a case against a former high school choir teacher. The teacher, Matthew Hirschfelder, was charged with first...
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Report: US Marshals misused as sports escorts
Lawyer Blogs 01/13/2009Investigators say a lawyer for the U.S. Marshals Service used government cars and armed deputies to drive himself and broadcasters to major sporting events like the Super Bowl and the World Series. A report issued Monday by the Justice Department's i...
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Illinois county starts new court for veterans
Lawyer Blogs 01/13/2009With combat duty in Vietnam under his belt, Madison County Circuit Judge Charles Romani Jr. knows veterans often have special issues when it comes to drugs and mental illness. Soon, many of them may be getting his special judicial help.Taking a page ...
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Appeals court says NJ gov's e-mails private
Lawyer Blogs 01/12/2009Gov. Jon Corzine won a round Monday in his fight to keep private his e-mail exchanges with a state worker union leader he once dated. A New Jersey appeals court reversed a lower court ruling requiring the e-mails be made public and authorizing a judg...
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Calif. gay marriage foes want donors anonymous
Lawyer Blogs 01/09/2009Supporters of the ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California have filed a lawsuit seeking to block their campaign finance records from public view, saying the reports have led to the harassment of donors."No one should have to worry about ...
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Larry Craig dropping further appeals
Lawyer Blogs 01/08/2009A lawyer for former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says they won't ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to void Craig's conviction in an airport bathroom sex sting.Minneapolis attorney Tom Kelly says he concluded that the state Supreme Court would not accept a pe...
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FBI tapes might elude Illinois impeachment panel
Lawyer Blogs 01/07/2009State legislators weighing evidence against Gov. Rod Blagojevich may finish their work before getting any tapes of the governor's conversations that were made secretly by the FBI, attorneys indicated Monday.The House impeachment panel is racing to co...
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US appeals court: Detainee IDs can be secret
Lawyer Blogs 01/05/2009A federal appeals court has ruled that the government can keep secret the identities of detainees allegedly abused at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued the ruling Monday, reversing a lower court ...
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SEC watchdog to be questioned about Madoff scandal
Lawyer Blogs 01/05/2009The Securities and Exchange Commission heard rumblings about Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff's investment methods nearly a decade ago. Now a House panel wants to know how, despite those warnings, Madoff continued to operate without an agency...
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Man spits on court floor after traffic conviction
Lawyer Blogs 12/30/2008A northern Idaho man convicted of a traffic violation in Bonner County was ordered to spend two days in jail after he spit on the courthouse floor in anger. First District Court Judge Justin Julian found 59-year-old Daniel Malone in contempt on Wedne...