Archives
Justices back parents in special ed case (AP)
AP - Parents need not hire a lawyer to sue public school districts over their children’s special education needs, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
Court rules in favor of telecom firms (AP)
AP - The Supreme Court on Monday sided with the nation’s largest local phone companies in a lawsuit by consumers alleging anti-competitive business practices.
O’Connor: Court should follow precedent (AP)
AP - Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says the Supreme Court should generally follow its prior rulings so the public has confidence that laws do not change just because justices come and go.
O’Connor: Court should follow precedent (AP)
AP - Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says the Supreme Court should generally follow its prior rulings so the public has confidence that laws do not change just because justices come and go.
Lawyer Who Sued BAR/BRI Now Questions the Settlement
A McGuireWoods partner is objecting to his firm’s settlement of a class action against the nation’s largest provider of bar review courses — a move that threatens the $49 million deal that was to end the antitrust case. McGuireWoods inked a settlement in February with West Publishing — BAR/BRI’s corporate parent — and Kaplan Inc., a West Publishing marketing partner. In papers filed Thursday by three of the lead plaintiffs, partner Eliot Disner argues the settlement lets West Publishing off too lightly.
Help Wanted: Deputy AG McNulty Leaves Troubled DOJ
Few in Washington have envied Paul McNulty over the past three months. But with the deputy attorney general’s resignation amid the scandal over the firings of at least eight U.S. Attorneys, there’s one person whose position might be even less desirable: McNulty’s yet-to-be-named successor. McNulty’s replacement will confront a posse of hostile Democrats in Congress, serious questions over whether AG Alberto Gonzales will remain in place, and a dysfunctional department demoralized by its current leadership.
Bryan Cave to Open Office in Italy
Bryan Cave is starting a Milan, Italy office, expected to open Aug. 1. The firm raided Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Milan office for Paolo Barozzi and Fulvio Pastore-Alinante, who will lead the operation. Joining them will be four partners and counsel, who also practice in Milan. They come from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and from Ashurst.
Silent Justice Thomas: Not a word spoken (AP)
AP - Justice Clarence Thomas sat through 68 hours of oral arguments in the Supreme Court’s current term without uttering a word.
Prosecutors Feeling Impact of ‘Duke Effect’
After rape charges were dropped against three Duke University lacrosse players, the prosecutor in the case was hit with ethics charges for allegedly withholding DNA evidence. Now prosecutors across the country are seeing fallout from the case, as defense attorneys use it to discredit other criminal cases and paint them as overzealous prosecutors with something to prove. “It’s becoming a tool and a buzz word for defense attorneys to say, ‘Look what happened at Duke,’” New Jersey prosecutor Paul DeGroot said.
Litigation Mounts Over Retail Chains’ Data-Rich Sales Receipts
A 2003 federal law designed to combat identity theft has triggered a series of putative class action suits against nationally known retailers over the amount of information they put on credit card and debit card receipts. And even more lawsuits are on the way. A defense attorney says large retail chains could face billions of dollars in claims if a wide-scale error resulted in thousands of electronicaly produced receipts that do not comply with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.