It is becoming abundantly clear why Kelsey Grammer did not play a lawyer on television. The Frasier star is about to divorce his third wife, Camille Donatacci, who reportedly refused a $30 million settlement because it did not include child support or alimony. He did not have a prenup. However, Grammer, 55, wants to hurry along the divorce so he can marry his fourth wife, 29-year-old Kayte Walsh. However, he is again refusing to do a pre-nup because he is certain this time that they are meant for each other. The case is a textbook account of the limits on lawyers being able to protect clients from themselves.
Continue reading “Hope Over Experience: Kelsey Grammer Preparing for $50 Million Divorce Payout To Third Wife While Refusing Pre-Nup With Fourth Wife To Be”
Category: Lawyering
The Chinese government has cut off access of lawyers to leading human rights advocate, Liu Xianbin, 42. He was charged in June for subversion for “incitement to subvert state power” for his articles that included his reflections on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and the arrest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
Continue reading “China Cuts Off Access Of Lawyers to Leading Human Rights Advocate”
Some judges are lionized for their record of moving cases along. Nevada judge Valerie Vega, however, is being ridiculed when she pushed jurors to work through the night in a murder case so that the trial would not interfere with her vacation plans. It appears that things that happen with Vegas do not stay with Vega.
Continue reading “Justice Delayed is a Judicial Vacation Denied: Judge Orders All-Nighter For Jury in Murder Case To Accomodate Her Vacation Plans”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
An Ohio Judge and two public defenders are in the Spirit. Hearing the plight of a formerly homeless woman attempting to expunge her record of a minor felony, the three came up with the $57.00 needed to pay her restitution and allow the Cleveland native a new lease on life. Said Judge Timothy McCormick, “it seemed like the easiest and best thing to do, especially given the season.” Amen.
Source: msnbc.com
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
The Arizona state supreme court has suspended attorney Cynthia Leyh over a conflict of interest and other misconduct in her representation of her convicted boyfriend, Walter Stringer.
Well, our friend Lottakatz has certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest. Various posters on the blog have contacted me about the sudden surge of over 100 votes on Legal Satyricon to take it from just 15 votes to the lead in the ABA competition. There was a surge of over 100 votes in less than an hour. I have discouraged (and even deleted) a few postings on the issue to keep the matter civil. After all, this is just a fun distraction for bloggers and we tend to have more fun than most. However, with some sleuthing, Lottakatz appears to have found a campaign of misinformation on pro-gun sites where an alleged regular on LS claims that I am a leading anti-gun advocate. The false representation promptly made opposition to our blog as cause celebre for gun rights advocates. Given the emails from our regulars, I wanted to address the controversy.
Continue reading “Misinformation Campaign Alleged in ABA Journal Competition”
We often discuss jury nullification in class, but usually such a controversial decision to refuse to convict someone on clear evidence of guilt comes at the end of a trial. Not in Montana this month when potential jurors announced that they would not convict a person of possession of a small amount of marijuana regardless of the evidence. In polling the potential jurors, District Judge Dusty Deschamps found only 5 of 27 were willing to convict someone on a small possession of pot.
Continue reading “Pre-Trial Jury Nullification? Potential Jurors in Montana Excused After They State That They Would Not Convict On Possession of Small Amount of Marijuana”
When Malcolm Alarmo King went to Theo Lacy jail in Orange County, he was shocked by the menu: salami sandwiches. A fit former model, King demanded a healthier meal. At the suggestion of his attorney, Fred Thiagarajah, he claimed double portions of kosher (non-salami) meals as part of his belief in Festivus — made famous by a “Seinfeld” episode. To surprise of many, Judge Derek G. Johnson agreed and ordered the special meals to celebrate Festivus.
Continue reading “California Judge Orders Special Meals For Inmate To Celebrate “Festivus””
Attorney Robert Yousefian has brought suit against two Glendale (Cal.) police officers and his estranged wife in a case that reads like a made-for-tv movie. Yousefian was arrested on drug and assault charges by Glendale Police Officer Michael Lizarraga, whom was allegedly having an affair with Yousefian’s wife. He was prosecuted and acquitted of all charges and claims that his wife, Lizarraga, and police Det. Petros Kmbikyan conspired to set him up.
Continue reading “Attorney Claims Wife’s Lover Arrested Him and Planted Drugs in Failed Frame Up”
Former Anaheim police officer Bradley Stewart Wagner, 62, is going to jail for four years after pleading guilty to sexual assaults against various women. His chosen victims were illegal immigrants whom he threatened to deport if they did not have sex with him.
Continue reading “Former Police Officer Sent to Prison After Sexually Assaulting Illegal Immigrants”
There is a bizarre case in Oregon where a prosecutor has been sentenced to jail for allegedly seeking sex from a woman in a child-support case. Rand E. Overton, Lincoln County deputy district attorney, agreed to a plea deal involving statements made to a women seeking child-support. In a rare sentencing, Overton will actually go to jail for 30 days for the statements and receive two years probation.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Author’s note: This is my third submission about events of historical significance following pieces about George Washington and The Boston Tea Party. It is quite lengthy and for that I apologize, but the story and the people involved are both larger-than-life and fascinating. I hope you enjoy reading this history as much as I do writing about it.
Clutching the mahogany bannister of his elegant home located in the Shockoe neighborhood of Richmond’s River District, the old man haltingly descended the steps. Sweating profusely, and doubling up in pain, he could not even summon the energy to cry out. Almost falling numerous times, the ‘father of American jurisprudence,” finally reached the kitchen only to find his freed-slave housekeeper, Lydia Broadnax, and her son, Michael Brown, writhing in distress and afflicted with the same intestinal ailment. Hours later when one of the triumvirate of Richmond’s elite medical establishment would arrive, the Judge would purposefully sit-up in his bed to declare, “I am murdered.” It was May 25, 1806. Fourteen agonizing days and numerous repetitions of the charge later, that prediction would come true.
Continue reading “The Curious Death of George Wythe: “I Am Murdered!””
Thomas Drummond is a resourceful fellow. Driving in the unfamiliar wilds of southeastern Missouri, Drummond spun out on icy roads and ended up in culvert. In his last-“ditch” effort to notify someone of his plight, he texted his girlfriend about the accident around 2:00 a.m., but, in a curious omission, forgot to tell her the location. Two hours later, a soused (0.148 BAC) Drummond was found by the highway patrol and promptly arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
Continue reading “Get Lost, Get Cold, Get Drunk, Get Acquitted”
Circuit Court Judge F. Lee Russell in Shelbyville, Tenn., clearly does not get that whole “justice delayed is justice denied” thing. Russell has been reprimanded for “excessive delay” after he waited nearly 11 years to rule on a case.
Continue reading “Tennessee Judge Reprimanded For Waiting 11 Years To Rule On Case”
The United States Senate will convene with all 100 members on Tuesday, December 7th for the final arguments in the impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous. Our weekend crew of contributors has agreed to keep the shop going until after the final vote — likely on Wednesday, December 8th.
Continue reading “THE PORTEOUS IMPEACHMENT: THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS TO BE HEARD ON TUESDAY”