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Feds make last plea to keep Bonds' steroids tests
Law Center |
2009/02/10 09:25
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Federal prosecutors are again asking a judge to let them show a jury three drug test results they say show Barry Bonds used steroids.
The judge said last week she was inclined to throw out those results unless someone could directly testify to collecting the slugger's urine samples. The likeliest candidate to be able to do so is Bonds' former trainer, Greg Anderson. A lawyer for Anderson has said his client won't testify at Bonds' upcoming trial.
In a court filing Monday, prosecutors included snippets of Bonds' grand jury testimony saying Anderson collected the samples. It also included testimony from a former BALCO executive saying Anderson dropped off urine samples labeled with Bonds' name. Bonds is charged with lying to a grand jury about alleged steroid use. |
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Attorney general is reviewing state secret claims
Breaking Legal News |
2009/02/10 09:24
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Eric Holder, the new attorney general, has ordered a review of all claims of state secrets, which were used under President Bush to shield controversial anti-terrorism programs from lawsuits. The so-called state secrets privilege was invoked by the previous administration to stymie a lawsuit challenging the government's warrantless wiretapping program. "The attorney general has directed that senior Justice Department officials review all assertions of the state secrets privilege to ensure that is being invoked only in legally appropriate situations," Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said Monday. "It's vital that we protect information that if released could jeopardize national security, but the Justice Department will ensure the privilege is not invoked to hide from the American people information about their government's actions that they have a right to know," said Miller. Even as officials promised a thorough review, government lawyers continued to invoke the state secrets law Monday in a federal appeals court in San Francisco. That case involves a lawsuit over the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. Under that program, U.S. operatives seized foreign suspects and handed them over to other countries for questioning. Some former prisoners subjected to the process contend they were tortured. Proving that in court has been difficult, as evidence they have sought to corroborate their claims has been protected by the president's state secrets privilege. The American Civil Liberties Union has been urging the Obama administration to drop its state secrets claim. ACLU executive director Anthony Romero criticized the new administration's handling of the San Francisco case by continuing the legal arguments of the prior administration. "Candidate Obama ran on a platform that would reform the abuse of state secrets, but President Obama's Justice Department has disappointingly reneged on that important civil liberties issue," Romero said in a statement. |
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Madoff list: Celebs, athletes and ordinary people
Securities |
2009/02/09 08:34
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The scope of Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud is detailed in 162 pages of minuscule type — a list of the disgraced money manager's once-trusting customers, including a bevy of the rich, famous and powerful.
In between, though, are all the others — the names you've never heard. A retired teacher from the San Francisco Bay area. An emergency room doctor in Oregon. A carpenter from upstate New York. Thousands of mostly ordinary people, until now all but overlooked. Their voices reveal the true toll of Madoff's scheme, one that cannot be measured in dollars alone.
To do so, would overlook the anger, despair and silent shame they share. "My wife says, 'keep yourself busy and get your mind off it,'" said Alan English, a Florida business owner whose life savings were lost to Madoff. "But how can I take my mind off something that has destroyed my whole life?" English is one of thousands of Madoff customers whose names were made public late Wednesday in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, and serves as testament to the sweeping nature of Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud. The list includes scores of famous names, from Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, to World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein to actor John Malkovich and CNN host Larry King. But on a list with 13,000 entries, they are the exceptions. Run a finger down the list and what's most noteworthy is that so many of the names are people who might be just another neighbor or co-worker or friend. They are people like Dr. Bonnie Sidoff, 56, an emergency room physician in West Linn, Ore. Years ago, her mother told her if she ever wanted to invest some money, she couldn't do much better than Bernie Madoff. Evelyn Rosen had never met Madoff personally, but in her circle of Florida country club friends, having money with the New Yorker was "considered an honor," Sidoff said Thursday. |
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Iraqi court sets date for Bush shoe thrower
International |
2009/02/09 08:30
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The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush will appear at an Iraqi court on Feb. 19, a judicial official said on Sunday.
Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a reporter of Cairo-based Baghdadia Iraqi television, will stand trial on charge of assaulting a foreign leader, Abdula Sattar al-Beirqdar, spokesman of the Higher Judicial Council, told reporters.
Zaidi, 29, has been in custody after he threw his shoes at Bush during a joint statement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Dec. 14, 2008. Late on December, Zaidi was supposed to face an Iraqi court, but his defense team head Diyaa al-Saadi won a postponement after he presented an impugn for the charges against his client. Saadi wanted to reduce the charge of "assaulting a foreign head of a state during official visit" to simply an insult to Bush. However, the spokesman confirmed that the assault charge, which is an offense that carries a prison term of between five to 15 years under Iraqi law, will stand. |
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Over $1B in unpaid bail owed to Philadelphia
Law Center |
2009/02/09 08:29
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Court officials in Philadelphia say people who are released on bail but don't show up for their trials owe the city more than $1 billion.
Court officials compiled their first ever tally of bail jumpers in the city at the request of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Before the newspaper raised the issue, the magnitude of the problem was unknown. Court officials initially told the Inquirer that only $2 million was owed. A criminal defendant in Philadelphia is usually freed after paying 10 percent of the bail. Defendants who show up for trial get that money back, minus a small fee. People who don't show up forfeit the 10 percent and owe the remaining 90 percent, but the city has made little effort to collect that money. |
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O.J. lawyer's law firm opens metro offices
Law Firm News |
2009/02/09 05:35
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Johnnie Cochran -- O..J. Simpson's famous lawyer -- died four years ago, but remains a powerful brand for his law firm.
The massive visage of legendary defense attorney Johnnie Cochran has been gazing down from Twin Cities billboards in recent days. They're advertising his firm's recent arrival in the metro area. But if you harbor hopes of having your legal case handled by the lawyer who most famously won the acquittal of O. J. Simpson, there's one problem: Cochran has been dead for nearly four years. The departed Cochran remains a powerful brand for his law firm, which has expanded into 28 offices in 18 states from its original Los Angeles base. "It's absolutely a branding thing for us," said James Rolshouse, who is lead attorney in the firm. "If I move into a market and try to brand Jim Rolshouse, it'd be a waste of money." And, he added, it's not misleading just because the firm's founder is dead. "It's still the Cochran law firm," Rolshouse said. There's nothing subtle about the billboards. "INJURED?" one screams in bright red letters, adding that the firm has "aggressive personal injury attorneys." Locally, the firm opened offices in Burnsville and downtown Minneapolis late last year. Six attorneys work for it. The billboards have been up for just a couple of days. Eventually about 45 will be erected around the Twin Cities, Rolshouse said. The billboard rollout follows a few local radio and TV ads. Cochran was 67 when he died of an inoperable brain tumor in 2005. |
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Louisiana lawyer suspended, could be disbarred
Legal Business |
2009/02/09 04:32
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A veteran Baton Rouge lawyer has been suspended indefinitely by the Louisiana Supreme Court for alleged misconduct and now faces disbarment.
Donald Ray Smith began practicing law in Louisiana in 1976. He's now accused of practicing law without a license and taking money from clients without performing his legal duties. The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday suspended Smith indefinitely based on the charges brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which prosecutes alleged attorney misconduct. Court records show Smith has yet to dispute the allegations brought by the ODC since prosecutors took the first of a series of complaints against him in June 2005. Court records show Smith has been serving as an attorney in the state despite being ineligible to practice law in Louisiana since 2004.
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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