This goes into the good news, bad news category. San Francisco-based attorney David Replogle (right), 60, is no longer facing a forgery trial in Riverside, California. The bad news is that he is now facing a murder trial in the death of Clifford Lambert (left), a 74-year-old retired art dealer.
Category: Lawyering
Most law professors relish any reliance of a court on their academic writings. This may not be what Seton Hall Law Professor Robert Martin had in mind. Martin wrote about his experience as a juror in the New Jersey Law Journal after he and his co-jurors found a grocery store liable for $876,000. A New Jersey appellate court has now ruled that the publication is a sufficient reason to overturn the verdict based on his described conduct.
Continue reading “Publish and Perish: Law Professor’s Writing on His Jury Experience Leads to the Overturning of Verdicts”
Roy A. Raspanti, a lawyer in Louisiana, has been reprimanded by the Louisiana Supreme Court for suing his own sister, Janine Raspanti, for repeatedly filing complaints against him. The Disciplinary Board had recommended a three-month suspension.
Continue reading “Lawyer Reprimanded for Suing His Own Sister”
The New Jersey Supreme Court has handed down an important ruling that prisoners cannot be forced to wear a prison uniform on the witness stand. The Court ruled that such prison garb “undermine[s] the credibility of the witness.”
Judge Richard Posner dressed down a federal prosecutor over expired salad dressing. Posner issued the ruling for his panel on United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which included criticism of Assistant U.S. Attorney Juliet Sorensen for misleading statements.
Continue reading “Dressing Down: Judge Posner Demands Discipline of Prosecutor Over Alleged Misconduct in Salad Dressing Case”
It was only recently that many of us put away our Square Root Day decorations. Yet, it is now time to celebrate Pi day in all of its irrational glory. The irrational number is rounded off to 3.14, making March 14th the special day for all math geeks — and circle circumference fanatics.
Continue reading “HAPPY Pi DAY!!!”
Lawyer Howard K. Stern and two doctors were charged Thursday with giving thousands of prescription drugs to Anna Nicole Smith for years before her death. Stern, who was also romantically involved with Smith, was charged with doctors Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich on criminal conspiracy charges and the delivery of fraudulent prescriptions. These illegal prescriptions continued until two weeks before her death.
Continue reading “Anna Nicole Smith Attorney and Partner Charged on Drug Charges With Two Doctors”
Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson was the subject of a judicial rebuke from United States District Court judge Nancy Gertner over his request to hold a deposition before a live law school audience in a classroom. Nesson is a respected academic and founder of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He has tried to incorporate his pro bono representation in a file-sharing case into teaching in novel ways.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Chastises Harvard Professor Charles Nesson For Effort to Hold Deposition In a Classroom”
The California State Bar Court Review Department has recommended that San Francisco attorney Francis T. Fahy was disbarred after he allegedly said that he would change his vote simply to get back to his law practice. This is an amazing case that reads like a scene out of Twelve Angry Men when Juror Number 7 (Jack Warden) announces that he is willing to change his vote just to be in time for a New York Yankees game.
A lawyer is in the midst of a bizarre case that intersects criminal law and academia. Raphael Golb, 49, is accused of impersonating a rival of his father, Norman Golb, a leading expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and University of Chicago professor. Norman Golb (left) is the author of “Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?” and is a rival of NYU Professor Lawrence Schiffman (right).
ROMNEY, W.Va. — Suspended Lawyer and Ex-County Commissioner Donald Paul Cookman has now been charged with three counts of embezzlement and four counts of forgery in West Virginia. The charging papers describe what is alleged to be a snowballing disaster for a lawyer in severe financial distress. This includes forging the signature of Mineral County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Frye and taking money given to him by Cheri Beverage. Ok, the puns were irresistible.
Continue reading “Cookman Takes Money From Beverage Account and Falsely Claims Frye Award”
There is growing speculation that the Office of Professional Responsibility will recommend the disbarment of Professor John Yoo who currently teaches at Berkeley law school. The release of new memoranda from the Justice Department has increased calls for disciplinary action. The memoranda concludes that the President can (1) use military forces domestically to deal with any individuals President Bush considers a terrorist threat, (2) suspend free press and free speech rights, (3) arrest citizens without legal process or access to the courts, and (4) a variety of other tyrannical measures. I discussed the memoranda on this segment of Countdown.
Continue reading “Will Justice Seek John Yoo’s Disbarment?”
A partner at the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emory has added another case of the danger of the “reply all” button that we have all experienced one time or another. On this occasion, the partner revealed that the firm was cutting back on coffee services in these tough economic times: a move the partner describes as “send[ing] a Message of Desperation.” In the meantime, other major firms are expected to be sending caffeine care packages to their under-caffeinated colleagues at McDermott.
Continue reading “Oh Baristas and Barristers: Under-Caffeinated McDermott Lawyers Revolt”
A Massachusetts court clerk in the Chelsea District Court is facing federal charges after being arrested for allegedly have sex with an accused prostitute in court after promising her to get a charge dismissed. James “Jim” Burke, 41, has been suspended without pay and charged with one count of attempted deprivation of rights under the color of law and one count of deprivation of rights under the color of law.
Assistant District Attorney William Michael Olson, 36, has resigned from his position as a prosecutor with Clarke County, Georgia after being arrested for a drunken fight with a hot dog vendor. The vendor says that Olson ate a hot dog and then tried to leave without paying for it, leading to a tussle.