Recent Updates
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Mentally disabled detainees granted class status
Legal News Center 12/21/2011A federal judge has granted class-action status to a case brought on behalf of mentally disabled detainees who lack legal representation in immigration court. The order issued under seal in November by U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee was made pub...
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Calif. company due in court for Colo. fire deaths
Legal News Center 12/19/2011A California specialty painting company is expected to plead guilty in the 2007 deaths of five workers at a Colorado power plant, in the rare prosecution of a company. RPI Coatings Inc. of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., is expected to plead guilty Monday ...
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Next ICC prosecutor warns against sex crimes
Legal News Center 12/14/2011The next chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court pledged Tuesday to strengthen efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of sexual and gender crimes. A day after her election by the 119 countries that support the tribunal, Gambian law...
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Court: Can lawsuit against casino go forward?
Legal News Center 12/12/2011The Supreme Court will decide whether a lawsuit attempting to shut down a new tribal casino in southwestern Michigan can move forward. The justices on Monday agreed to hear from the government and the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indi...
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Ark. court affirms $50M verdict for rice farmers
Legal News Center 12/09/2011The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a nearly $50 million verdict for farmers who say they lost money because a company's genetically altered rice seeds contaminated the food supply and drove down crop prices. Bayer, the German conglomerat...
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Court upholds landmark California water pact
Legal News Center 12/08/2011A state appeals court on Wednesday upheld a landmark agreement on how Southern California gets its water, overruling a judge who called the method unconstitutional. The decision by California's 3rd Appellate District Court is a major victory for back...
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Blagojevich team says he's guilty, asks for mercy
Legal News Center 12/07/2011After all his claims of innocence and facing years in prison, Rod Blagojevich let his lawyers make an admission that he has so far avoided - that he is, in fact, guilty of public corruption. The former Illinois governor will get a chance to do the sa...
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Hells Angels biker in Nevada court over shootout
Legal News Center 12/02/2011A California member of the Hells Angels pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree murder for his role in the death of his chapter president in a September shootout in a Nevada casino. Cesar Villagrana of Gilroy also pleaded not guilty to shooting ...
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Wis. office wants to suspend former DA's license
Legal News Center 12/01/2011The Wisconsin office that regulates attorney conduct asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to suspend a former prosecutor's law license for trying to spark an affair with a domestic abuse victim through a barrage of racy text messages and allege...
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US court won't block its Texas redistricting map
Legal News Center 11/28/2011A federal court refused late Friday to block a congressional redistricting map it drew up for Texas, rejecting a request from the state's attorney general just hours after the Republican accused the court of "undermining the democratic process." Texa...
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Guilty plea planned in Palin lawyer harassment
Legal News Center 11/22/2011A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of making harassing phone calls in a case involving Sarah Palin's lawyers. Shawn Christy filed notice Monday in U.S. District Court that he intends to plead guilty in an ex...
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RI pension overhaul may head to the courts
Legal News Center 11/18/2011Rhode Island is taking dramatic steps toward fixing one of the nation's most underfunded public pension systems, but the true battle with public-sector unions may be just beginning. State lawmakers ignored jeers from public workers and the threat of ...