Recent Updates
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Woman Poses as Attorney to Smuggle Cigs
Ethics 02/11/2009A woman who police say posed as a lawyer to sneak into the Duval County jail no longer has any need to sneak in. Investigators say 37-year-old Louise Cortese has been arrested after smuggling tobacco products into the jail for her boyfriend, who's al...
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CitiGroup Cheats Cardholders Class Says
Ethics 02/09/2009Citibank/Citigroup cheats credit cardholders who buy "CreditShield" unemployment and disability insurance, a class action claims in Federal Court. Plaintiffs say that after they file a claim, the defendant insurance companies make late payments to th...
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Woman Sues TCU for Alleged Gang Rape
Ethics 10/14/2008Three football players at Texas Christian University drugged andgang-raped a freshman and the college covered it up because they areathletes, the woman claims in Tarrant County Court. She says theplayers fed her drug-laced Gatorade, gang raped her, a...
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Cop Says He Was Fired For Reporting Police Dog Attack
Ethics 09/03/2008The City of Hernando, Miss., illegally fired a police officer for testifying truthfully about another officer's use of unreasonable force - letting a police dog attack and bite a citizen who already was in custody - Steven English claims in Federal C...
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Bipolar Lawyer Who Stole: Suspended, Not Disbarred
Ethics 07/16/2008An attorney will not be disbarred for misappropriating client's funds during a manic bipolar episode that lasted for 4 years, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision. Mark Belz was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1975 and had been on me...
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Judge Blasts Curbing Frequent ADA Filer
Ethics 04/10/2008The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has again upheld a “vexatious litigant” order against a frequent filer of disability discrimination lawsuits -– but over the strenuous objections of nine dissenting judges.Chief Judge Alex Kozinski was particular...
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Op-ed: Standing Up for Rule of Law in Pakistan
Ethics 04/08/2008We have witnessed with admiration and empathy the heroism of lawyers and judges in Pakistan as they squarely faced beatings and stood up to soldiers and police to defend the rule of law. Thedissolution of the Supreme Court, the silencing of a f...
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Improper Handling of Client Trust Accounts
Ethics 04/07/2008Managing money is always tricky, especially when it belongs to someone elseThat's why, in 2006 alone, more than 20 lawyers found themselves before the State of Michigan Attorney Discipline Board after having grievances filed against them for mismanag...
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Lawyer to be Suspended Over Conduct
Ethics 04/03/2008The former head of the Wayne County, MI Prosecutor Office's drug unit will be suspended with pay Friday and now faces an investigation that could lead to criminal charges for her actions in a 2005 cocaine case.Prosecutor Kym Worthy, in a prepar...
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DOJ Presses Bribery Case
Ethics 04/02/2008A US Department of Justice spokesman said Monday that the department would continue to press its bribery case against Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) despite the US Supreme Court's refusal to review an appeals court ruling that held the FBI's conduct d...
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New Hampshire Adopts Rule for Clients Who Email
Ethics 03/28/2008New Hampshire adopted a rule that clearly protects persons who, in good faith, e-mail confidential information to a lawyer from having the lawyer use the information against the prospective client. The comments to New Hampshshire Rule 1.18 prov...
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Detroit Mayor Faces Felony Charges
Ethics 03/24/2008DETROIT, Michigan -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and an ex-aide were charged Monday with perjury and obstruction of justice after prosecutors said sexually explicit text messages between the two contradicted their sworn court testimony.Detroit May...