Recent Updates
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Calif. seeks stay of inmate-release court order
Lawyer Blogs 09/03/2009The Schwarzenegger administration on Tuesday asked the federal courts to delay an order requiring California to reduce its inmate population over the next two years.Last month, a special three-judge panel gave California 45 days to decide how it will...
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Justice Stevens' hiring at high court slows
Lawyer Blogs 09/03/2009Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual, generating speculation that the leader of the court's liberals will retire next year.If Stevens does step down, he would give President Barack Obama his second high court ...
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Pfizer settles drug-promotion case for $2.3 billion
Lawyer Blogs 09/02/2009Pfizer Inc. will pay $2.3 billion to settle a U.S. investigation into illegal marketing of medicines, the largest agreement in such a case, and a subsidiary will plead guilty to a criminal charge. The amount, which Pfizer disclosed in January, includ...
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Fla. man agrees to plead guilty in ammo sales case
Lawyer Blogs 09/01/2009A U.S. military contractor accused in a scheme to illegally ship nearly $300 million in Chinese-made ammunition to Afghan soldiers has agreed to a plea deal that could send him to prison for up to five years.Under the deal, prosecutors will drop 84 c...
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Judge to consider Smart competency hearing date
Lawyer Blogs 08/31/2009A federal judge on Monday may set a date for a competency hearing for the man charged with the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart.Brian David Mitchell, however, was not expected to attend the hearing in U.S. District Court.Federal prosecutors sought t...
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Court limits Delaware betting to NFL parlays
Lawyer Blogs 08/31/2009A federal appeals court on Monday dealt another body blow to Delaware's plans for a new sports betting lottery, saying it must be limited to parlay bets on professional football games.A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decla...
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Ex-CIA spy's son pleads guilty to conspiracy
Lawyer Blogs 08/28/2009The son of an ex-CIA spy agreed to testify against his imprisoned father Thursday in a plea deal that could help him avoid jail time for taking money from Russian agents. Nathaniel Nicholson pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy to act as an agent...
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Court rejects FCC 30 pct cap on cable market share
Lawyer Blogs 08/28/2009An appeals court on Friday overturned a rule that said a cable TV company could not serve more than 30 percent of the nation's subscribers. The verdict was a victory for the largest cable company, Comcast Corp., which has 26 percent share and sued to...
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Crandall Canyon payouts moving through Utah courts
Lawyer Blogs 08/27/2009Judges have begun approving payouts from a multimillion-dollar settlement stemming from the collapse two years ago of a Utah mine that entombed six miners and led to three rescuers' deaths. Recently released court records show the claims also cover a...
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Fla. gay adoption ban goes to appeals court
Lawyer Blogs 08/26/2009A Florida appeals court is being urged to affirm a judge's ruling that the state's strict ban on adoptions by gay people is unconstitutional. Attorneys for parent Martin Gill and his two children argued Wednesday in Miami that there's no rational bas...
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Appeals court to hear sports betting arguments
Lawyer Blogs 08/24/2009A federal appeals court in Philadelphia will decide whether sports betting in Delaware should be put on hold until a legal challenge by professional sports leagues and the NCAA is decided. The court will hear arguments Monday over a judge's denial of...
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BofA's Countrywide loses court ruling on mortgages
Lawyer Blogs 08/24/2009A federal judge has ruled that Bank of America Corp cannot have a lawsuit by investors seeking to force it to buy back mortgages heard in federal court, saying he lacks jurisdiction to decide the case. Tuesday's ruling by Judge Richard Holwell of the...