Recent Updates
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Louisiana lawyer suspended, could be disbarred
Headline News 02/09/2009A veteran Baton Rouge lawyer has been suspended indefinitely by the Louisiana Supreme Court for alleged misconduct and now faces disbarment. Donald Ray Smith began practicing law in Louisiana in 1976. He's now accused of practicing law without a lice...
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Court to consider how long lawyer request lasts
Headline News 01/26/2009The Supreme Court has agreed to clarify how long a suspected criminal's request for a lawyer during police interrogation should be valid. The high court on Monday said it will consider allowing prosecutors in Maryland to use a confession from convict...
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Judge delays Internet streaming of court hearing
Headline News 01/22/2009A judge has postponed a hearing that would have been the first in federal court in Massachusetts to be streamed online. Judge Nancy Gertner postponed oral arguments set for Thursday in the copyright infringement lawsuit that pits a Boston University ...
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Federal judge indicted on additional sex charges
Headline News 01/07/2009U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent, the first federal jurist indicted on sex crimes, is now facing more serious charges.Kent was set to be arraigned Wednesday, a day after a federal grand jury in Houston added three new charges to the indictment it issu...
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Calif. court sides with Episcopals over property
Headline News 01/06/2009The state's high court ruled Monday that three Southern California parishes that left the U.S. Episcopal Church over its ordination of gay ministers cannot retain ownership of their church buildings and property.In an unanimous decision, the Californ...
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Fla. judge strikes key charge against lawyer
Headline News 12/23/2008In a ruling hailed as a victory by defense lawyers, a federal judge on Monday dismissed a money-laundering conspiracy charge against a prominent attorney accused of illegal dealings with a Colombian drug lord.The issue was whether $5.2 million transf...
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Prominent NY law firm seeks bankruptcy protection
Headline News 12/19/2008The receiver assigned to run a prominent Manhattan law firm after its founder was charged in a massive fraud says the firm will seek bankruptcy protection.In a recent letter to a federal judge, the receiver said founder Marc Dreier also may seek prot...
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Report: Justice lawyer leaked surveillance program
Headline News 12/14/2008A former Justice Department lawyer says he tipped off the news media about the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program because it "didn't smell right," Newsweek magazine reported Sunday.Thomas Tamm, whose suburban Washington home was ...
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High court hears dispute over religious monument
Headline News 11/12/2008Supreme Court justices warily confronted a free speech dispute Wednesday over a small religious group's efforts to place a monument in a public park.The justices seemed reluctant to accept the arguments put forth by the religious group known as the S...
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Rail agency sues contractor over LA collision
Headline News 10/31/2008The Southern California Regional Rail Authority has filed a lawsuit against a contractor stemming from the deadly collision of one of its Metrolink commuter trains and a freight train on Sept. 12.The contractor, Connex Railroad, provides the engineer...
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Court denies appeal of judge's sentencing goof
Headline News 10/07/2008The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from an Alabama man who was sentenced to five years in prison when a judge wrongly thought the law required him to serve time.U.S. District Judge William Steele didn't want to order Patrick Lett, a ...
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Lawsuits likely over NYC mayor's bid for 3rd term
Headline News 10/02/2008Mayor Michael Bloomberg is almost certain to face a legal challenge if he tries to alter the city's term-limits law and seek four more years in office.Several lawyers and government watchdog groups said Wednesday they are mulling legal action to bloc...