UPDATES FOR ATTORNEY & JUDICIAL NEWS

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays

July 1 - July 2, 2008

CALIFORNIA  

Man acquitted in wife's death accused of killing San Jose lawyer

By Sean Webby, Linda Goldston and Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

7-2-08 -- After Jason Cai was acquitted two years ago of murdering his wife, her family - convinced of his guilt - pursued a wrongful-death lawsuit. Tuesday, one of their attorneys was gunned down - and now police have arrested Cai on suspicion of killing Xia Zhao. . . . Police released few details of the case, but the Mercury News has learned through sources that they suspect Cai shot Zhao outside her Hamilton Avenue office near the Westgate mall. The slaying came after Cai allegedly stalked and threatened Zhao - frightening her so much that she sought a restraining order to keep him away, according to court documents. . . . Zhao belonged to the legal team representing the family of Ying Deng, Cai's late wife. Deng was found floating in the couple's Cupertino pool in June 2003, six weeks after their wedding. The case gripped the local Chinese immigrant community and was dubbed "the Chinese Laci Peterson case."

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA  

Young Lawyer Takes Victory Lap After Supreme Court Gun Case Win

Joe Palazzolo, Legal Times

7-2-08 -- A group of gun rights advocates roared with approval as Alan Gura descended the stairs of the Supreme Court on the morning of June 26, having just learned of the high court's decision in the landmark Second Amendment case, District of Columbia v. Heller. . . . "Goodbye, gun ban!" they chanted. Gura, whom history will remember as the lawyer who successfully argued that Americans have an individual right to keep and bear arms, smiled broadly. Goodbye, gun ban. . . . Sixteen-year-old Tommy Estopare had negotiated around a clump of reporters and photographers to get up next to Gura. The high school student from Imperial, Mo., came away with his autograph. "I don't think I agree with most of the things he says, but he's a great lawyer," Estopare explained. . . . A few minutes later, Mary Mitchell Purvis, a senior at the University of Mississippi, caught Gura between interviews with Associated Press Television News and National Public Radio. She presented the 37-year-old lawyer with a copy of the Heller opinion. "Would you sign this? I'm doing my thesis on your case." But of course he would. . . . When libertarian activist Robert Levy, the lawsuit's financier, tapped Gura to argue the case before the Supreme Court earlier this year, more than a few Court watchers questioned the young lawyer's qualifications. Though he won the case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit -- in his first federal appellate arguments -- it was presumed that the high court work would go to a veteran. . . . And now here was Gura, with his shaggy brown hair and iPhone, signing opinions like they just went gold. . . . Once he and his co-counsel had finished the stakeout interviews, Gura and Levy caught a ride to the Cato Institute on Massachusetts Avenue Northwest in Washington, D.C.

BigLaw Partner Faces Suit for Keeping Client's Woes on the Downlow

New York Lawyer, By Leigh Jones, The National Law Journal

7-2-08 -- A media company can move ahead with an alleged fraud case against a Foley & Lardner partner that claims he kept quiet about a threatened lawsuit against his corporate client to avoid a decrease in its sales price. . . . The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a lower court decision and found on June 27 that a reasonable jury could conclude that attorney Stephen I. Burr and other defendants misled the buyer, Media General, about a pending $6 million claim against his client, Park Communications. . . . The court determined that a jury could find that Burr, a partner with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot at the time, and two of Park Communication's executives made misleading omissions and misrepresentations under federal securities law.

FLORIDA  

Supreme Court Disciplines 24 Attorneys

CONTACT: Karen Y. Kirksey, The Florida Bar / TELEPHONE: 850/561-5666 / kkirksey@flabar.org

7-1-08 -- The Florida Bar, the state's guardian for the integrity of the legal profession, announces that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 24 attorneys, disbarring five, suspending 15 and placing one on probation. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Four attorneys were reprimanded and three were ordered to pay restitution. . . . As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 84,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida. Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been posted to attorneys' individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The Florida Bar's Web site, www.floridabar.org. . . . The following lawyers are disciplined (Please note that court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline):

Vincent Paul Andreano, 11413 N.W. 20th Court, Coral Springs, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a May 22 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) Andreano plead guilty to several charges. As the closing attorney for a house purchased by a client in 2007, Andreano accepted closing fees to cover the transaction and collected money from the seller for costs related to the deed filing. When the client attempted to mortgage the house five months later, she learned that the sale was not recorded, the house was still in the seller's name and there was a lien on the property. Andreano tried to correct his errors by forging the seller's signature in a quit-claim deed filed with the court. He paid the client the fees in dispute in exchange for a letter withdrawing the Bar complaint. Andreano never responded to The Florida Bar's request for a response to the allegations. (Case No. SC08-74)

Douglas Wayne Baker, 3137 Curving Oaks Way, Orlando, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a May 12 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) In April 2006, Baker received a public reprimand and was placed on probation for an indefinite period of time for issues related to substance abuse. The terms of his probation included following all recommendations by Florida Lawyers Assistance,Inc. and paying a registration fee of $250 and a probation monitoring fee of $100 per month to The Florida Bar. Baker failed to comply. (Case No. SC07-967)

Ann Bitterman, 3721 S. Le Jeune Road, Coconut Grove, suspended for six months, effective immediately, following a May 22 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1986) In September 2004, Bitterman was suspended for 91 days and placed on probation for three years. Bitterman violated the terms of her probation. She has six prior disciplines dating back to 1996. (Case No. SC06-957)

William Rudolph Boose, III, 515 N. Flagler Drive, Suite 1900, suspended for three years, effective retroactive to Aug. 3, 2007, following a May 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1969) Boose plead guilty to a felony in July 2007. In January, he was sentenced to 24 months in prison, a $25,000 fine and one year of supervised release. Additionally, he has forfeited $400,000 as part of the plea agreement. (Case No. SC07-1406)

Ana-Maria Carnesoltas, P.O. Box 47423, St. Petersburg, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar's Board of Governors, following a May 15 court order. She is further ordered to attend The Florida Bar's anger management workshop. (Admitted to practice: 1979) Carnesoltas plead guilty to charges that she referred to a witness in a court hearing as “a liar.” When questioned about it by the presiding judge, she denied making the comment. Carnesoltas later admitted to it. (Case No. SC08-533)

Spencer Anthony Emison, 1001 Brickell Bay Drive, Suite 1200, Miami, disbarred effective immediately, following a May 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1990) Emison neglected specific legal matters and abandoned his law practice, without proper notice to his clients. In one case, Emison's neglect led to a default judgment against a client for $372,585.60 and seizures of goods and equipment at his business. Emison failed to respond to Bar inquiries and he did not appear at the final hearing despite proper notice. (Case No. SC07-1537)

Donald Robert Goodwin, 625 Antioch Ave., Apt. 409, Fort Lauderdale, to receive a public reprimand from the Florida Bar's Board of Governors following a May 15 court order. Goodwin is further ordered to attend The Florida Bar's Professionalism Workshop. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Goodwin was found guilty of intentionally failing to appear in court, leaving clients unrepresented at hearings and causing case delays. Goodwin neglected to meet or speak with another client during the entire period he represented him. (Case No. SC07-481 and SC07-785)

Benjamin Hines Haire. 1125 N.W. 66th Terrace, Margate, disbarred for five years, effective immediately, following a June 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1980) In two separate cases in 2006, Haire was hired to represent clients. He accepted fees for the representation and subsequently failed to communicate with them. When one client went to Haire's office to speak with him, he learned that Haire had been evicted and left no forwarding address or telephone number. Haire also failed to respond to inquiries from The Florida Bar regarding the cases. (Case SC07-1817)

Craig Francis Hall, 317 N.E. 1st St, Gainesville, suspended indefinitely, effective 30 days from a May 21 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) Hall was found guilty of possession of child pornography, a federal felony. (Case No. SC08-925)

Caswall Adington Hart, 13899 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 314, Miami, suspended indefinitely, effective immediately, following a May 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) A Florida Bar audit shows that Hart has misappropriated thousands of dollars in client funds. (Case No. SC08-890)

David Franklin King, 2308 N.E. 9th St., Apt. 2, Fort Lauderdale, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a May 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1989) He will also pay restitution of $825 to one client. King was hired to represent a client and after accepting a fee for his services, he took little or no action on the case. King refused to respond to the client's numerous attempts to contact him and he failed to return her file or the fee he collected from her. King also failed to respond to The Florida Bar's request for information regarding the case and he neglected to appear at a final Bar hearing. (Case No. SC07-2215)

Warren Thomas LaFray, 300 Turner St., Clearwater, disbarred effective immediately, following a May 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1976) In four separate cases, LaFray accepted money to represent clients, but failed to communicate with them afterwards. LaFray has a prior disciplinary record. In January, he received a 36-month suspension and two years probation in another case. (Case No. SC07-1678)

Cedric Eugene Lewis, 631 Heather Glen Loop, Winter Haven, suspended for 10 days, effective 30 days from a June 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2000) Lewis is also ordered to attend a Trust Accounting Workshop. In March 2003, Lewis was paid approximately $3,800 to represent a client. After filing the lawsuit on his client's behalf in August 2003, the matter remained inactive until 2005 when he was contacted by the court. The case was subsequently dismissed because the court had not received required information from Lewis. In another case, Lewis failed to properly supervise an employee in the handling of trust accounts. Between September 2006 and April 2007, Lewis' former employee converted $25,000 from the law firm's escrow accounts. A Florida Bar audit revealed that the majority of the stolen funds belonged to Lewis and no clients were harmed by the conversion. (Case No. SC08-78)

Samuel A. Malat, 214 White Horse Pike, Haddon Heights, N.J., disbarred effective 30 days from a May 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) In June 2007, Malat was disbarred by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Charges included misrepresentation and failure to: communicate with a client, supervise a non-lawyer assistant and safeguard client funds. In prior disciplinary cases in New Jersey, Malat received two public reprimands in 2000, two consecutive three-month suspensions in 2003, and an admonishment and a suspension in 2006. (Case No. SC07-2153)

Samuel Raymond Mallard, 4406 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland, suspended for nine months, effective 30 days from a May 8 court order. He will also pay restitution totaling $4,299 to three clients. (Admitted to practice: 2000) Upon applying for reinstatement, Mallard must provide proof that he is compliant with his physician's treatment plan and that he has been found fit to resume the practice of law. (Case No. SC07-2046)

James Robert Mann, 291 Bal Bay Drive Apt. 312, Bal Harbour, suspended for 10 days, effective 30 days from a June 5 court order. He will also pay restitution totaling $1,861.02 to two clients. (Admitted to practice: 1997) Mann plead guilty to charges surrounding his representation of clients in a music copyright infringement claim in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The matter was settled prior to trial and Mann's clients were to receive $30,000 in the settlement. Mann drafted a settlement statement detailing costs and fees of $18,076.54. An investigation by the Bar concluded that Mann overcharged his clients an additional $1,861.02 in court costs and court reporter fees. (Case No. SC07-2167)

Cecile Angela Martin, 18350 N.W. 2nd Ave. Fl 5, Miami, suspended for 90 days, effective July 28, and further placed on probation for two years, effective immediately, following a May 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) Martin plead guilty to failure to provide competent representation to clients and failure to respond in writing to official inquiries by The Florida Bar. In one case, Martin was retained by a couple to handle an estate matter. They became dissatisfied with her services and lack of communication and subsequently filed a complaint against Martin with the Bar. In another instance, Martin was appointed by the court to represent a client in a guardianship case. The court ordered Martin to produce certain documents, which she did not do. (Case No. SC08-26)

Darryl Gene Mitchell, 3652 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar's Board of Governors, following a May 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) Mitchell was paid $2,500 to represent a client in post dissolution proceedings against her former husband. After accepting the case, Mitchell took little or no action. He has since repaid the client. (Case No. SC08-83)

Anthony Vincent Scalese, 14298 N.W. 23rd Street, Pembroke Pines, disbarred for five years, effective immediately, following a June 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) Scalese misappropriated and stole client funds, with an audit showing $94,000 missing. (Case No. SC08-671)

Karen Marie Smith, P.O. Box 4935, Winter Park, suspended effective 30 days from a May 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Smith is charged with failure to comply with a Florida Bar subpoena to appear for deposition and produce files and trust account records. (Case No. SC08-559)

Stuart Leonard Stein, P.O. Box 29598, Santa Fe, New Mexico, suspended until further notice, following a May 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1977) The Florida Bar petition for emergency suspension states that because of his recent disbarment in New Mexico and based on facts, Stein appears to be causing great public harm by repeated intentional dishonest misconduct. (Case No. SC08-893)

Joseph J. Weisenfeld, 1901 Brickell Ave., Suite B202, Miami, suspended until further notice, following a June 3 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1971) The Florida Bar petition for emergency suspension states that Weisenfeld appears to be causing great public harm. A Bar audit provides convincing evidence that Weisenfeld misappropriated client funds. (Case No. SC08-963)

Matthew James Wells, 206 Mason St., Brandon, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar's Board of Governors, following a May 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) Wells is further ordered to attend Ethics School. In one case, Wells was hired to represent a client in a bankruptcy proceeding. He began representation, but eventually stopped prosecuting the claim. In another case, Wells never communicated directly with the client after he was retained to obtain post-conviction relief. When the appeal was denied, Wells did not directly inform the client, nor did he discuss available options. (Case Nos. SC07-2396 and SC08-246)

Branch Lamar Winegeart, III, 4130 Salisbury Road Suite 1250, Jacksonville, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a June 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1979) In June 2005, Winegeart was paid $1,500 to establish paternity and custody of the client's minor daughter. After promising to file the petition within 20 days, Winegeart took almost two months to file it. The client received no information regarding case from Winegeart from August 2005 until March 2006, when he complained to The Florida Bar. In May 2006, Winegeart set the custody and paternity matters for hearing at the end of September 2006. The first time the client learned of this was at the grievance committee hearing on his complaint on Sept. 14, 2006. (Case No. SC07-916)

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EDITORS: Please note The Florida Bar is not an association and "Association" is not part of our name. Proper reference is "The Florida Bar." Local bar organizations are properly termed "associations."

KENTUCKY  

Jury Clears One of Three Lawyers in Fen-Phen Trial

Brett Barrouquere, The Associated Press

7-2-08 -- A federal jury acquitted one attorney Tuesday of defrauding clients in a diet-drug settlement, but was sent back to deliberate on two others. . . . Jurors acquitted Melbourne Mills, 77, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They were told to keep considering the case against attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., who face the same charge. Jurors ended deliberations for the day without a verdict and were scheduled to start again at 9 a.m. Wednesday. . . . The three were accused of conspiring to defraud clients out of $65 million in a settlement involving the diet drug fen-phen. The case caught the attention of the horse industry because Gallion and Cunningham were the original owners of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin. They have since sold an 80 percent share of the horse. . . . The Mills verdict came in the sixth day of deliberations, just after jurors sent the judge a note saying they could not reach a unanimous verdict on all the defendants. . . . Mills' attorney, Jim Shuffett, said he was pleased but could not pinpoint what part of his defense had swayed the jury. He had argued that Mills was "a bad alcoholic" who was unable to form the intent to defraud his clients out of settlement money.

MISSISSIPPI  

Sentencing delayed for attorney

Kosciusko Star Herald

7-2-08 -- Kosciusko attorney Jim Davis Hull, 60, sentencing has been postponed until Sept. 2 at 10 a.m. according to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi clerk’s office. . . . Hull has pleaded guilty to three counts of false statement relating to health care matters in late March and was supposed to be sentenced on Friday. . . . Hull was arrested by the FBI and charged with 19 counts of health care fraud, including conspiracy charges, associated with his partial ownership and operation of Mississippi Care Partners, Inc., Oct. 2, 2007. Pamela Hull of Moss Point, Jacqualine Crawley of North Carolina and Cheniqua G. Ellis of Franklin, Tenn., were also charged in the indictment. . . . Mississippi Care Partners, Inc. claimed to provide medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients in their Moss Point and Cleveland offices.

NEW YORK  

2nd Circuit Upholds Sanctions Against Cleary Gottlieb

Anthony Lin, New York Law Journal

7-2-08 -- The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed sanctions against Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for allegedly trying to convince a non-party witness not to attend a deposition. . . . The circuit's summary order came less than a week after Cleary appeared before the appeals court to argue for the reversal of the sanctions imposed last August by Southern District of New York Judge Loretta Preska. . . . But the panel of Judges Ralph K. Winter, Roger J. Miner and Jose A. Cabranes said in Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton v. Kensington International, 07-4075-cv, that nothing in the record indicated Preska had ruled incorrectly. . . . The sanctions arose in a case in which Cleary had represented the Republic of Congo in litigation with Kensington International Ltd., an investment fund trying to collect on some of the nation's sovereign debt. . . . With the aim of locating Congolese assets, Kensington, represented by Dechert, had sought to depose Médard Mbemba, a French-Congolese businessman who had formerly been a close friend of Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso. When Cleary lawyers proved unable to attend the Washington, D.C., deposition and Kensington declined to reschedule, Cleary partner and executive committee member Jean-Pierre Vignaud reached Mbemba directly.

Attorney Ordered to Repay $403,000 for Mishandling Ex-Judge's Affairs

Daniel Wise, New York Law Journal

7-2-08 -- A Brooklyn, N.Y., judge Monday assessed $403,000 in surcharges against a lawyer for mishandling the financial affairs of former Civil Court Judge John J. Phillips during the three years she served as his guardian. . . . Acting Supreme Court Justice Michael A. Ambrosio also denied in toto the request of the lawyer, Emani P. Taylor, that she be paid $853,000 for her work as the former judge's guardian. . . . Ambrosio lacerated Taylor's performance, calling her conduct "egregious" and reflecting "a fundamental lack of understanding of what her role as a guardian entailed." At one point, he called her explanation for not producing time sheets and other records a "dog ate my homework excuse." . . . The judge, however, recognized that Taylor stepped into a difficult job when she became Phillips' interim successor guardian in September 2003. At that point, he noted, the former judge's finances were "in shambles" and, of his real estate holdings, which at one point had been estimated to be worth $10 million, "virtually no properties" were left in his name.

Pair Sentenced for Stealing From NYC Legal Services

New York Lawyer, By Daniel Wise, New York Law Journal

7-2-08 -- A former New York City employee and her husband have been sentenced in federal court to home confinement for stealing $2.5 million from the city's program that provides free legal services to the poor with Family Court cases. . . . Eastern District Judge I. Leo Glasser also ordered the two to pay $2.5 million in restitution to the city. Judge Glasser sentenced the city employee, Raimma Tagiev, who processed payment claims for the Criminal Justice Coordinator's Office, to nine months of home confinement and 300 hours of community service. Her husband, Yan Blinder, was sentenced to 12 months of home confinement and 500 hours of community service. . . . The Criminal Justice Coordinator's Office administers the program that provides free lawyers to Family Court litigants. The couple had pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

PENNSYLVANIA  

Ex-lawyer prepares for prison sentence

Marlene DiGiacomo

7-1-08 -- Joseph Scafidi has worn many hats as a lawyer, mortgage broker, crook - and now a soon-to-be prison inmate. . . . Scafidi, 53, of Bucks County, was formally sentenced Tuesday to 18 to 36 months in state prison stemming from charges he scammed five victims from Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery counties who handed over mortgage payments to him. He promptly pocketed the cash and almost left the victims homeless. . . . He is also accused of preparing a fake court document utilizing a stamped signature of Delaware County President Judge Joseph Cronin, as well as perjuring himself by making a false statement in court. . . . Scafidi, who offered a tear-filled apology to the victims, is to report to prison July 11. . . . Deputy District Attorney Gregory Hurchalla said the total bilked from the victims is $42,000 and that Scafidi is required to make restitution for that amount.. . . "Nobody's going to see all of it (the money). But they will see a portion," said Hurchalla. . . . Scafidi, who has prior charges in the 1990s involving residents who were scammed out of $200,000, lost his license to practice law. Following disbarment, he became a mortgage broker, ending in the latest crime spree.

TENNESSEE  

Assistant district attorney arrested on DUI, leaving scene of accident charges

7-2-08 -- Ken Shelton, Coffee County assistant district attorney, was arrested Saturday in Eagleville on driving under the influence charges and leaving the scene of an accident, following an incident on Highway 41A, according to the Tennessee High Patrol. . . . Patrol personnel said Shelton was arrested about 2 p.m. after he crashed his 2005 Chrysler on U.S. Highway 41A in Eagleville. . . . Department of Safety spokesman Mike Browning said Shelton apparently left the scene and was located later by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department personnel. . . . Deputies contacted Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Shawn Boyd to investigate the crash.

TEXAS  
Houston lawyer due in court today on child porn charges

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

7-2-08 -- A Houston lawyer is scheduled for a detention hearing and arraignment in federal court today after being indicted on charges accusing him of possessing child pornography. . . . Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Monday arrested Warren Reid Williamson, accusing him of attempting to receive, receiving and possessing child pornography as well as destruction of records, a spokesman for United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle said.

UTAH  

Judge sanctions civil rights lawyer for alleged frivilous lawsuit

By Kristen Moulton, The Salt Lake Tribune

7-1-08 -- A 2nd District judge is sanctioning Salt Lake City civil-rights attorney Brian Barnard for filing what the judge last fall called a frivolous lawsuit that attempted to push Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey off the ballot. . . .     Barnard said Monday he will appeal Judge Parley Baldwin's $10,000 sanction to the Utah Supreme Court. The judge, he said, "simply made a mistake." . . .     Barnard represented activist Dorothy Littrell and several dozen Ogden residents, who sued two city officials and Godfrey, accusing them of violating the city's campaign-finance laws. . . .     Baldwin dismissed the lawsuit before the election and ordered that Littrell and the others pay half the attorney fees for the defendants - City Recorder Cindi Mansell, City Attorney Gary Williams and for Godfrey, who hired his own attorney.

Daggett county attorney let go under suspicious circumstances

By Alex Cabrero

7-1-08 -- Daggett County Attorney Bryan Sidwell had a contract for four years, but today county commissioners told him he was being fired. The commissioners didn't give a solid explanation as to why they were letting Sidwell go, but many in the county say it's because he was doing his job almost too well. . . . Unlike other county attorneys, Sidwell is an appointed attorney, not an elected one. His contract states he can be let go with six-month's notice. Today he got that notice, and residents who were there to witness it say it's just another example of the "good ole boy" network in action. . . . Daggett County resident Carolyn Smith said, "I think there are some issues in this county that need to be finished and resolved." . . . Daggett County residents spent more than an hour explaining to commissioners why they felt Sidwell should stay in office. In less than 10 seconds, they fired him anyway.

WISCONSIN    

Attorney challenges ruling over justice's links to 'gays'

Lawyer in preacher's defamation case hit with $90,000 penalty
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

7-1-08 -- A Wisconsin attorney is challenging a state Supreme Court decision that he should pay a $90,000 penalty because the deciding vote was cast by a justice who accepted money from the attorney's opponents. . . . The case that sparked attorney James Donohoo's dispute with the high court was brought against a "gay' activist group called Action Wisconsin, which later called itself Fair Wisconsin. That group had described visiting pastor Grant Storms, who appeared at a conference on homofascism, as having advocated the murders of homosexuals. . . . Donohoo, on Storms' behalf, brought a defamation action, which a trial court judge, Patricia McMahon, dismissed as frivolous. An appeals level panel reversed the decision, concluding that the jury should have been given the dispute to resolve. . . . The state Supreme Court, however, stepped in and with the vote of Justice Louis B. Butler Jr., who had accepted campaign contributions from those opposing Donohoo, reinstated the order for him to pay about $90,000 in legal fees incurred because of the case.

June 28 - June 30, 2008

CALIFORNIA  

Local Attorney Accused Of Sexual Assault

Attorney Previously Arrested In Separate Incident

KCRA.com

6-29-08 -- A family-law attorney awaiting trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a female client was arrested Saturday and charged with 14 more counts of alleged inappropriate sexual manner during attorney-client visits, police said. . . . Gary Appleblatt, 57, was charged with nine felony counts of sexual battery, one count of forcible penetration with a foreign object and four misdemeanor counts of sexual battery for incidents that happened at his American River Drive office dating back to 2003. . . . Appleblatt was arrested on March 6 after being accused by a female client of inappropriately touching her.

CONNECTICUT  

Lawyer's Phony Letter That Got Her Boss Fired
Could Get Her Disbarred

New York Lawyer, By Douglas S. Malan, The Connecticut Law Tribune

6-30-08 -- It started as a political story. Attorney Maureen Duggan was working for a state agency boss who, she claims, pressured her to go out for drinks with him, who worked fewer than 40 hours a week, and who played fast and loose with administrative rules in his position of power. . . . As the sole provider for her family, Duggan told officials that she couldn't risk losing her job by challenging his actions. So she crafted an anonymous letter, filled with typos, purportedly from a parking lot attendant at the State Ethics Commission office in Hartford, and used it to kick-start a state investigation that led to the ouster of her boss, former Ethics Commission Director Alan S. Plofsky. . . . Now, however, the focus is on Duggan and her future in the legal profession. . . . Judicial Branch officials who investigate attorney misconduct say the reported fact pattern surrounding Duggan's case is extremely rare and most likely falls under Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(3), which involves "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation."

Hundreds of Local In-House Counsel May Run Afoul
of New Law

New York Lawyer, By Douglas S. Malan, The Connecticut Law Tribune

6-30-08 -- At the close of business on Monday, there could be hundreds of in-house counsel for Connecticut companies practicing law illegally in the state. But whether they will be prosecuted is another matter, as the state's budget crisis will likely hamstring the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel. . . . July 1 is when lawyers who work for corporations in Connecticut, but who lack a state license, lose the opportunity to register with the state's Bar Examining Committee under a "safe-harbor" provision that's been available since Jan. 1. . . . Newly created Section 2-15A of the Connecticut Practice Book allowed these lawyers to qualify as authorized house counsel by filing a notarized application and a $1,000 application fee to avoid being guilty of practicing without a license. . . . But based on the number of applications Bar Examining Committee Administrative Director Kathleen B. Wood had received by last Wednesday, there are many lawyers who will be violation of Unauthorized Practice of Law rules, which is a misdemeanor.

Lawyer Told to Testify Against Client or Face Jail

New York Lawyer, By Thomas B. Scheffey, The Connecticut Law Tribune

6-30-08 -- New Haven criminal defense lawyer Gregory Cerritelli may face prison if he doesn’t testify about his client, a woman who pled no contest to charges of tricking an elderly neighbor couple out of almost $90,000. . . . Just like New Haven Public Defender Thomas A. Ullmann, whose objections to testifying against a criminal defendant in 1992 led to a landmark state Supreme Court decision, Cerritelli is upset that he has been ordered to change his role from defense counsel to witness for the prosecution. . . . “I’m shocked and outraged. It’s counter to everything I’ve imagined our adversarial system is about,” Cerritelli said. “It’s appalling.” . . . Last year, Cerritelli, of New Haven’s Knight, Conway & Cerritelli, negotiated a misdemeanor plea deal for Lisa Lantz with three years’ imprisonment suspended, plus three years of probation and repayment of the money. . . . Last fall, Lantz paid $53,350, and was arrested Oct. 27 for the probation violation of incomplete restitution. This year, a relative offered a check for about $29,000 on the balance, which the state calculated as $32,425. The lower figure is not good enough, said Meriden assistant state’s attorney James Dinnan.

FLORIDA  

Why should they be state attorneys?

Sarah Lundy and Ludmilla Lelis | Sentinel Staff Writers

The state attorney is a county's top prosecutor. This legal eagle is responsible for the office that determines who is prosecuted in criminal court. State attorneys, who serve circuits that can cover several counties, are elected to four-year terms and earn $153,140, an annual salary set by the state Legislature. . . . In Central Florida, several state attorneys face no opposition in the November election and are expected to ease into another four-year term. . . . Two circuits -- the seventh and the ninth -- have a race in which the incumbent faces another candidate. The Sentinel asked all of the candidates to answer a few questions so voters can get to know them as election season ramps up.

IOWA  

Legal group investigates wrongful convictions

Associated Press

6-30-08 -- A group of volunteer lawyers and legal students is working to investigate alleged cases of wrongful convictions in Iowa. . . . The group has created Iowa's first innocence project, which aims to increase the chances inmates will be cleared of crimes that didn't commit, experts said. . . . "There's no question that we have more of these cases now -- there have been more than 1,300 documented exonerations in the U.S. going back to the 1800s," said Rob Warden, who heads the innocence project at Northwestern University. "Before we had modern science, they were rare. Now with DNA evidence and more innocence projects, they are much more common." . . . There are at least 38 university-based innocence projects across the country that have been successful, Warden said.

MISSISSIPPI  

Editorial: Justice trumps arrogance

Daily Journal

6-30-08 -- The federal judiciary and its prosecutors delivered a humiliating blow on Friday to the enemies of integrity in the Mississippi state judiciary. . . . The sentencing of famed plaintiffs' attorney Richard Scruggs and his former law firm associate, Sidney Backstrom, on charges of attempting to bribe a state circuit court judge, reverberates among all who think they can get away with anything because they are above the law. . . . Both pleaded guilty earlier in conspiring to bribe Circuit Judge Henry Lackey of Calhoun County. Lackey turned to the federal prosecutor's office in Oxford after being approached about a bribe by Timothy Balducci, a lawyer from New Albany who was in cahoots with Scruggs, Backstrom, and Scruggs' son, Zack Scruggs, also an attorney in the Oxford-based firm. . . . Balducci has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. . . . Zack Scruggs pleaded guilty to misprison of a felony - knowing about the planned bribery but failing to report it. He will be sentenced in early July.

Attorney Minor files appeal of judicial bribery conviction

By Anita Lee

6-30-08 -- Biloxi attorney Paul Minor has filed an appeal of his judicial bribery conviction with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. . . . Minor, who is serving 11 years in federal prison, asks that the case be sent back to U.S. District Court for a new trial with a different judge. . . . The 120-page appellate brief points out that Minor was acquitted of some charges, with a hung jury on others, when federal prosecutors tried him in 2005. His conviction came after a second trial in 2007. . . . "Much had changed from the 2005 trial that resulted in acquittals and a mistrial to the 2007 trial that resulted in a hasty conviction and a significant sentence," his attorneys write. "This appeal addresses these changes - a series of constitutional, evidentiary, legal and sentencing errors by the district court that ultimately resulted in an unlawful conviction and sentence that cannot stand."

Minor's 5th Circuit appeal brief

NEBRASKA  

Former Omaha Attorney Gets Jail Time
By Chelsea Keeney, World-Herald Staff Writer

6-30-08 -- A former Omaha civil rights attorney must serve 30 months in jail and pay about $56,000 in restitution for mail fraud. . . . LaVon Stennis-Williams, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf after she pleaded guilty to mail fraud. . . . Stennis-Williams committed the mail fraud from September 2001 to November 2006, U.S. Attorney Joe Stecher said. . . . During that time, Stennis-Williams stole more than $238,000 from one of her client's estates and made misrepresentations to conceal the thefts.

NEW HAMPSHIRE  

Fines increased against anti-parkway lawyer

By Shira Schoenberg, Monitor staff

6-30-08 -- A U.S. District Court judge has increased the fines against attorney Rob Blakeney for motions he filed while representing the opponents of Langley Parkway. . . . Judge John Woodcock upped the amount of money Blakeney must pay the city of Concord by $1,900. . . . Woodcock opened his order by noting that the dispute between the city and parkway's opponents had been "contentious to the bitter end of the road." . . . Woodcock imposed sanctions against Blakeney last month because of a motion Blakeney filed that the judge said accused a city employee of obstruction of justice. . . . Woodcock said the serious allegations had no foundation and "should have been preceded by sober contemplation, convincing, if not irrefutable evidence of criminality, certainty of the applicable law, and . . . should not have been framed in the context of a motion seeking a civil advantage in the pending lawsuit."

NEW YORK  

Police corruption panel lawyer fired after she questions Taser zap of teen

By Alison Gendar, Daily News Police Bureau Chief

6-29-08 -- A lawyer for the Mayor's Commission to Combat Police Corruption said she was fired when she asked too many questions about the NYPD's use of force. . . . Willa Bernstein, one of the commission's investigating lawyers, said she thought her job was to critique the NYPD's Internal Affairs cases. . . . "The real job description should have been: 'Just go along. Don't rock the boat,'" she said. . . . Bernstein said she was fired from her $75,000-a-year spot in October after the chief of NYPD Internal Affairs complained to her boss that she had an "anti-police" bias. . . . Bernstein said there was a target on her back after she questioned why police officers Tasered a violent teenage suspect after he was shackled and handcuffed in a police stationhouse.

OHIO  

No crying in court

Butler's Piper says defense lawyers' tears can sway jury

By Sheila McLaughlin

6-20-08 -- Quit your crying and begging! . . . That's the theme of an offbeat motion that Butler County prosecutors filed this week trying to keep defense lawyers from getting emotional in death-penalty cases. . . . The request was filed less than two weeks after defense lawyer Greg Howard shed a few tears and begged jurors to spare Harvey Johnson's life for killing of Kiva Gazaway of Liberty Township. . . . It might have worked. Johnson got life in prison instead. . . . Prosecutors go toe-to-toe with Howard again in August in the case of James O'Hara, who is accused in the July 2007 fatal stabbing of Stanley Lawson, 38, of Middletown. . . . "Crying brings out almost a Pavlovian response in some people," Prosecutor Robin Piper said, denying that the motion is meant to single out Howard. . . . It doesn't accuse Howard specifically of crying on cue. But it mentions that defense lawyers are known to do that - even trained to do it - as part of their strategy.

OKLAHOMA  

City lawyer arrested on complaint of sexual battery

By Jay F. Marks and Nolan Clay, Staff Writers

6-30-08 -- An Oklahoma Bar Association official responsible for reining in misbehaving lawyers is free on bail after being arrested Saturday night on a sexual battery complaint. . . . Dan Murdock, the bar association's general counsel, refused to comment on his arrest Sunday, but his attorney maintains he did nothing wrong. . . . "We do not yet know the specific nature of the allegation, but we deny any inappropriate action occurred,” attorney Tom Riesen said. . . . Riesen said Murdock has been a well-respected attorney in the Oklahoma City area for almost 35 years, including nearly 20 years with the bar association. . . . Murdock, 62, was arrested at Remington Park shortly before midnight Saturday night by Oklahoma City police on a sexual battery complaint, authorities said.

Attorney disbarred for seeking sexual favors for representation