A state judge has struck down one of the most obnoxious rules of the NCAA: a ban on college baseball players hiring lawyers to assist them in discussions with baseball clubs. The NCAA suspended Oklahoma State pitcher Andrew Oliver after her allowed legal advisers to listen to contract negotiations after being drafted by the Minnesota Twins in June 2006. It is amazing that it took so long to strike down this abusive rule that appears designed to maximize the opportunity of these clubs to take advantage of college players.
Category: Lawyering
With the recent sentencing of Richard “Dickie” Scruggs on mail fraud charges, there was great speculation as to the fate of Mississippi Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, who was the alleged recipient of a bribe. The speculation is now over with the indictment of the judge with conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction. The bribery involved a promise to help secure a federal judgeship with the help of Senator Trent Lott (R., Miss.).
Continue reading “Mississippi Judge Bobby DeLaughter Indicted”
Florida Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr. has resigned after the disclosure of his dealings with a stripper, Christy Yamanaka, 48. Stringer was accused of helping Yamanaka of hiding assets from their creditors. The allegations were previously discussed on this blog.
Continue reading “Florida Judge Thomas Stringer Resigns Over Dealings With Stripper”
Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell has invoked his privilege against self-incrimination to refuse testimony before Congress. It was the smart move. Parnell is in the same position as Roger Clemens and other baseball players accused in the steroid scandal. The most likely charge that they faced was not from the original allegations but their testimony before Congress, the grand jury, or statements to investigators.
Continue reading “No Nut: Peanut Company President Parnell Takes the Fifth Before Congress”
Drugs appear to have claimed another leading lawyer — cautionary tale for law students and lawyers alike. Ken Lawson has assembled a reputation in Kentucky for his defense of celebrities and suing police departments. Various clients have sued Lawson for malpractice and Lawson, 45, will be sentenced on federal drug-conspiracy charge.
Continue reading “Ken Lawson to Be Sentenced for Drugs While Former Clients Sue Over Malpractice”
You would think that Timothy Cole would be a happy man. Texas State District Judge Charles Baird has expunged his conviction of a 1985 rape in Lubbock, Texas of Texas Tech University student Michele Mallin. The problem is that he died in prison ten years ago.
Continue reading “Texas Court Finally Clears Man of Rape . . . . Ten Years After He Died in Prison”
Further entries on Sunday will be delayed due to my deployment on the Cutter U.S.S. Taney (USCGC Taney (WPG/WHEC-37)).
My two eldest sons and I are scheduled to sleep over on the Taney on Saturday night. Men going off to sea on a warship is nothing new, but not since the Fighting Sullivan brothers has one family decided to serve in the same ship.
The California State Bar conducted a rare sting operation recently when it sent fake clients into the offices of Walter S. Martinez and L and M Services. The bar found that clients had no interaction with Martinez and that all of the works was being handled by non-lawyers in violation of state law. The bar went even further to secure an order from Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick Horn Monday, giving the State Bar authority to assume jurisdiction over the Law Office of Walter S. Martinez and L and M Legal Services. What is curious is that the assistants are being criminally charged, but there are no charges of any kind made thus far against Martinez.
Continue reading “California Bar Association Seizes Control of Office of Attorney Walter Martinez”
Lawyers are often asked to litigate over cars, cats, and every form of chattel. However, the attorney representing Daniel Bennett is seeking damages over his client’s loss of an invaluable bag of giant lizard dung. Bennett spent years collecting the dropping of the rare Butaan lizard, only to have Leeds University throw the bag of poop in the trash. The University has offered £500 for the 35kg bag. Bennett insists that that is an insulting offer for the loss of my “bag of lizard shit”.
Continue reading “Dung Damages: English Researcher Seeks Damages for Loss Lizard Dropping”
Englewood attorney Harold M. Hoffman has achieved a curious notoriety in legal circles after his prolonged effort to sue a company for false advertising of a penis enlargement product that did not meet his expectations. He lost another round before the New Jersey appellate court.
Balgovind Prasad, 75, has been sent to prison for three months for accepting a bribe of 25 rupees (or 51 cents) from a street sweeper in 1985 to issue a federal medical certificate. He was originally sentenced to a year, but the court recently reduced the sentence due to the small size of the bribe.
A Harvard Law School student has lost his job with the District Attorney’s office and faces criminal charges after an embarrassing encounter with the Boston Police Department. Charles C. Simpkins, a third-year law student has been charged with two counts, including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
The Canadian courts are facing an important issue involving a free press — and they seem to be failing the test. The Quebec Court of Appeal this week refused to remove a gag on Daniel Leblanc, a Globe and Mail reporter ,who was barred from disclosing facts about negotiations in a civil lawsuit. It is a prior restraint by Justice Jean-François de Grandpré that would be viewed as an outrage in the United States.
Kenneth Heller has earned the reputation as “New York’s most obnoxious lawyer” and his record is hardly improving. A New York appellate court has upheld a finding of contempt and sentence (30-day in prison and $10,000 fine) after Heller refused to turn over his files in a wrongful death case.
Continue reading “Court Rules Against “New York’s Most Obnoxious Lawyer””
In Florida and Texas, the courts are known to be pretty harsh on DUI and other offenses. However, at least one Texas judge and Florida prosecutor seem to have found ample due process and mercy in the handling of their own DUI cases. In Waco, District Judge Elizabeth Berry, 43, has been able to keep out the result of a blood test that showed that she was driving drunk. In Tampa, former Pinellas-Pasco prosecutor Lydia Wardell, 41, (known for her own unforgiving treatment of DUI offenders) avoided jail time for her second DUI arrest.