We have been following the West Virginia case involving A.T. Massey Coal Co., involving a fundamental question of judicial ethics. A divided court voted 5-4 in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal, et al. (08-22) that West Virginia Justice Brent D. Benjmain violated the constitution by sitting on a case involving the major donor in his campaign, A.T. Massey’s chief executive, Don Blankenship.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Against West Virginia Justice in Landmark Ethics Case”
It comes to all of us with age. As hairlines recede and waistlines expand, cosmetic surgery becomes more attractive. While this blog is just around 2 years old, in human-to-blog years that is almost middle aged. In the last few weeks, various regulars have suggested that the site needs work to handle the large number of visitors and entries. This is an attempt to see what you would like to do with the site. I view this site as belonging to all of the regulars and I would like to solicit your thoughts on changes that you would like to see from different cosmetic touches to different structure. This entry will also allow discussion of those things (not people) that you least like.
Continue reading “DOES TURLEY BLOG NEED A NIP AND TUCK?”
The Justice Department has again conceded to acts of prosecutorial misconduct that will result in the release of two politicians from jail in Alaska. In a case with obvious similarities to the botched case of former Sen. Ted. Stevens of Alaska, former Representatives Pete Kott and Vic Kohring will likely be released soon after the Justice Department admitted that it withheld evidence that should have been turned over to the defense. What is most striking is that the same prosecutors were involved in both the cases of Stevens and these state legislators.
Continue reading “Justice Department Found to Have (Again) Withheld Evidence and Invalidating Convictions Through Prosecutorial Misconduct”
Among the material release this week by the White House is the disclosure that Judge Sonia Sotomayor belong to a private women’s-only group. The membership raises an interesting question given the controversies in the past over nominees who belong to men-only club. Should the standard be different for women or should exclusive club membership no longer be an issue in nominations?
Continue reading “Sotomayor Belongs to All-Female Club”
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously observed that “the life of the law has not been logic, but experience.” One adherent to this principle appears to be Paul Baldwin, 48, who was arrested for the 153rd time and told a New Hampshire judge “I don’t need a lawyer – I’ve been in this court more than you have.”
Continue reading “A Life in the Law: New Hampshire Man Arrested for 153rd Time Asserts His Self-Taught Legal Training”
Former New Jersey municipal judge Richard Sasso has been permanently banned from the bench by the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. Among the violations found by the committee was Sasso’s abuse of both lawyers and litigants; his presiding over cases while under the influence of alcohol and Vicodin, and improper public conduct including an unpleasant scene at a strip club called Torpedo’s Go-Go Club.
Continue reading “Torpedoed: Former New Jersey Judge Richard Sasso Banned For Life”
The bar lost a great advocate on Friday with the death of Susan Jordan, 67, who died in a plane crash in Utah. Jordan pioneered the battered women’s syndrome defense and represented controversial clients ranging from the Symbionese Liberation Army to the Black Panthers.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has handed down a decision that could play a role in the Sotomayor confirmation process. In National Rifle Association v. Chicago, the Seventh Circuit upheld a Chicago ordinance banning handguns and automatic weapons within city limits. In so doing, it held that the individual right to bear arms is not a fundamental right applicable to the states. It is precisely the hypothetical that some of us discussed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which recognized an individual right to bear arms in the Second Amendment. It also supports the view of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who has been criticized for two opinions (including one after the Heller decision) that rejected the right to bear arms as a fundamental right. Sotomayor received indirect support from two unlikely sources: conservative icons Frank Easterbrook and Richard Posner.
Veteran Miami-Dade prosecutor David Ranck, 51, has been charged with battery after allegedly assaulting a pizza delivery woman. He has been suspended by his office. Only the week before a Broward County prosecutor was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
Continue reading “Ranck Pizza: Florida Prosecutor Arrested for Assaulting Pizza Delivery Woman”
Former Connecticut lawyer Elizabeth Zembko, 48, achieved notoriety a few years ago when she was convicted of stealing half a million dollars from her former law firm and elderly clients to pay for shopping sprees. It appears that the shopping bug is not quite out of her system. After serving 15 months, she was re-arrested for shoplifting and burglary in two different incidents.
Continue reading “Former Connecticut Lawyer Elizabeth Zembko Arrested For Shoplifting and Burglary”
With hearings scheduled for House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Impeachment, U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent has decided to turn in this resignation to President Barack Obama. His lawyer Dick DeGuerin says that the hearings are now unnecessary and Judge Kent will not participate. However, his resignation will reportedly only be effective June 1, 2010.”
Continue reading “Judge Kent Resigns On Eve of Impeachment Hearing — Effective One Year From Now”
Kenneth Kahn, a well-known Los Angeles criminal defense attorney and amateur stand-up comedian, was died in a fall while climbing the mountain above Machu Picchu. He was 66.
Continue reading ““World’s Funniest Lawyer” Kenneth Kahn Dies After Falling Off Mountain in Machu Picchu”
There is an interesting case of judicial ethics out of North Carolina where District Court Judge B. Carlton Terry Jr. was given a public reprimand for becoming “friends” on Facebook with the attorney for the defendant, Charles A. Shieck, in a child custody disputes. Terry was also reprimanded for not just posting statements about the case but googling the plaintiff in the case (and referencing what he had found).
Continue reading “North Carolina Judge Reprimanded for Facebook “Friend” and Googling Information on Litigant”
The United Nations has released a new report on human rights that has found the record of the United states to be “deplorable.” With the continuing refusal of the Obama Administration to investigate war crimes and to support the Bush policies in court, we have lost an opportunity to show the country has committed itself to change these policies and demand accountability for those who implemented them.
Continue reading “United Nations: U.S. Human Rights Record “Deplorable” — Including the Continuing Failure to Investigate Torture By the Obama Administration”
This week saw the demise of a landmark case in the area of constitutional criminal procedure: Michigan v. Jackson. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court rolled back on the protection of defendants that guaranteed that they had the advice of counsel before speaking with police at critical stages of a prosecution. In Montejo v. Louisiana (07-1529), Justice Antonin Scalia said that the protection was not worth the loss of confessions and only caused confusion. The Obama Administration supported the rollback on protections for criminal defendants and argued for Michigan v. Jackson to be overturned.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Overturns Landmark Case Michigan v. Jackson — With The Support of the Obama Administration”