Recent Updates
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Liberals hope to win after string of court losses
Lawyer Blogs 05/19/2009The men and women who gather around a table at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights on Friday mornings have ample experience fighting Supreme Court confirmation battles. Now they're hoping to win one. Already, they're combing through the records...
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Court will review Black's fraud conviction
Lawyer Blogs 05/18/2009The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider media executive Conrad Black's appeal of his fraud conviction. Black is serving a 6 1/2 year prison term. The justices will hear arguments later this year over the convictions of Black, the former chairman ...
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Court allows suit over deadly railroad derailment
Lawyer Blogs 05/18/2009The Supreme Court says it won't block a lawsuit against a railroad involved in a deadly derailment in North Dakota. The justices declined Monday to get involved in a dispute between the Canadian Pacific Railway and residents of Minot, ND. The Minot r...
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Michigan man pleads not guilty to sports bribery
Lawyer Blogs 05/14/2009One of two Detroit-area gamblers charged with conspiring to fix horse races and University of Toledo games is also accused of committing bank fraud in a land deal. Mitchell "Ed" Karam of Troy, a 76-year-old developer, appeared in federal court in Det...
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NY court: Police need warrants for GPS trackers
Lawyer Blogs 05/13/2009New York's top court ruled Tuesday that police cannot place GPS trackers on suspects' vehicles without first getting a court warrant showing probable cause that the drivers are up to no good. The Court of Appeals split 4-3 on the issue, with the majo...
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Court says gunmaker can't be sued over LA rampage
Lawyer Blogs 05/12/2009An appeals court has rejected a lawsuit against a gunmaker over a 1999 shooting rampage at a San Fernando Valley Jewish center. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled Monday that a federal law shielding gunmakers from suits over c...
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Demjanjuk offers no clues to possible surrender
Lawyer Blogs 05/10/2009Possibly days away from his deportation to Germany, suspected Nazi guard John Demjanjuk and his family are offering no clues about the 89-year-old's response to a government notice asking that he surrender to U.S. immigration authorities. All appeare...
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Ex-Top Democratic Donor Pleads Guilty To Fraud
Lawyer Blogs 05/09/2009Norman Hsu, a former top fund-raiser for the Democratic Party, pleaded guilty Thursday to running a fraudulent investment scheme but he continues to fight charges of making fraudulent political contributions. Hsu, 58 years old, pleaded guilty to five...
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Ex-Top Democratic Donor Pleads Guilty To Fraud
Lawyer Blogs 05/08/2009Norman Hsu, a former top fund-raiser for the Democratic Party, pleaded guilty Thursday to running a fraudulent investment scheme but he continues to fight charges of making fraudulent political contributions. Hsu, 58 years old, pleaded guilty to five...
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Appeals court says raid on Muslims' Va. home OK
Lawyer Blogs 05/07/2009Government agents searching for evidence of terrorist funding acted reasonably when they broke down a Muslim family's front door, entered with guns drawn and handcuffed a frantic woman and her teenage daughter, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday...
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Stocks could pose conflicts for court prospects
Lawyer Blogs 05/06/2009Some Supreme Court prospects have extensive corporate holdings, including shares in Fortune 500 companies such as General Electric and Microsoft and stock in a manufacturer that recalled lead-paint-coated "Flush & Sounds Potty" toilet seats. Sinc...
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Iowa plant ex-worker wants ID theft plea withdrawn
Lawyer Blogs 05/06/2009A former human resources employee at an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse where hundreds of illegal immigrants were caught in a raid last year has withdrawn her guilty plea to identity theft. Laura Althouse's attorney filed a motion Monday to withdraw the p...