Attorneys in the News
Click headline for full story
February 28--March 1,
2010
GENERAL
FTC to Appeal Ruling in 'Red Flags' Case
David Ingram, The National Law Journal
03-01-10 --
The Federal Trade Commission will appeal a ruling from October
that stripped the agency of its authority to enforce new
anti-fraud rules against lawyers. . . . The so-called "Red
Flags" regulations are designed to prevent identity theft, and
the FTC argues that the regulations must apply to all
"creditors" in order to comply with federal law. The agency
includes lawyers in its definition of "creditors" because
lawyers frequently begin working for a client on credit,
accepting payment some time later. . . . But the American Bar
Association disputes that interpretation, citing a 2005 decision
by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that ended
another attempt by the FTC to impose regulations on lawyers. The
ABA also says the "Red Flags" rules would be costly for the
operation of law firms nationwide.
Plaintiffs Lawyer's 'Reptile' Strategy Bites Back
Manual for plaintiffs lawyers
advises focusing on jurors' survival instincts; co-author says
strategy didn't apply to lost case
Andy
Peters, Fulton County Daily Report
03-01-10 --
For $95, plaintiffs lawyers can buy a book that teaches them how
to appeal to jurors' basic survival instincts, those that
emanate from humans' "Reptilian" brains. . . . "When the Reptile
sees a survival danger, she protects her genes by impelling the
juror to protect himself and the community," write co-authors
Don C. Keenan, an Atlanta plaintiffs lawyer, and David Ball, a
North Carolina jury consultant. . . . But in a DeKalb County
wrongful death trial last month, Keenan found that defense
lawyers will also buy the book, "Reptile:
The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff's Revolution"
-- and use it against him. . . . Representing a movie theater
and a security company accused of not doing enough to prevent a
fatal gang shooting in the theater parking lot, W. Winston
Briggs and Matthew G. Moffett read from the book and referred to
it during closing arguments.
Diversity Scorecard 2010
One Step Back / For the first
time in years, the population of minority lawyers at big law
firms is shrinking.
The
American Lawyer, By Emily Barker
03-01-10 --
Large U.S. law firms became less diverse last year. That's the
key finding to emerge from the latest version of our annual
Diversity Scorecard, which counts attorneys of color in the U.S.
offices of some 200 big firms. In each of the previous nine
years that we've compiled the Scorecard, the percentage of
minority attorneys at all participating firms increased, rising
from less than 10 percent in 2000 to 13.9 percent in 2008. In
2009, for the first time, that proportion dipped, to 13.4
percent. . . . The drop in law firm diversity may be small, but
it's important. Overall, big firms shed 6 percent of their
attorneys between 2008 and 2009--and, amid the bloodletting,
lost 9 percent of their minority lawyers. (Here and elsewhere in
this story, we've calculated such percentages only for the 191
firms that provided numbers in both years, in order to have a
consistent basis for comparison.) Diversity advocates call the
drop a warning sign that shouldn't be ignored. "I think [that]
when you're looking at any numbers of a population you're trying
to increase, and you see a decrease, that's significant," says
Venu Gupta, executive director of the Chicago Committee on
Minorities in Large Law Firms. "I guess I hoped we wouldn't be
going backward," echoes Fred Alvarez, chair of the American Bar
Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the
Profession and a Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati partner.
Republicans Slam Attorney General Eric Holder Over
Terrorist Defense Lawyers at Justice Department
'Serious Concerns' About Obama
Appointees Who Backed Gitmo Detainees
By
Jonathan Karl, ABC News
02-26-10 --
In an escalating war of words with Attorney General Eric Holder,
Senate Republicans are raising "serious concerns" about
political appointees at the Justice Department who previously
worked on behalf of terror suspects. . . . The Republicans told
Holder in
a letter obtained
by ABC News that "unanswered questions" about these political
appointees "raise serious concerns about who is providing advice
on detainee matters." The letter, signed by all seven
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also accuses the
Justice Department of being "nonresponsive" and "intentionally
evasive" to questions on this issue. . . . The Senators are
demanding answers about these political appointees by March 12,
when Holder is next scheduled to appear before the Senate
Judiciary Committee. . . . "The Department's attorneys are
subject to ethics and disclosure rules as required under both
Department guidelines and this administration's own ethics
rules, which are the strongest in history," Department of
Justice Spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said in a statement today.
"In a week that this Department secured a guilty plea from
Najibullah Zazi for attempting to attack the New York subway
system and indicted two of his co-conspirators for their alleged
role in the attack, it should be clear that fighting terrorism
and keeping the American people safe is our number one
priority."
DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA
Plaintiff Seeks to Dismiss Age Discrimination Suit Against
Crowell & Moring
Jeff
Jeffrey, The National Law Journal
03-01-10 --
A federal judge shot down on procedural grounds Friday a former
Crowell & Moring employee's effort to drop the age
discrimination suit she had filed against the firm. . . . In
July, Mona Saunders, 54, brought a $300,000 lawsuit alleging
that she was fired after 18 years with Crowell because of her
age. On Thursday, Saunders' lawyer filed a motion to voluntarily
dismiss the suit. . . . But Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia answered back
that Ardra O'Neal of The O'Neal Firm no longer has the power to
drop the suit on behalf of her client.
FLORIDA
Suit:
Law Firm, Medical Clinic Made Reciprocal Referrals
By
Sarah Randag
, ABA
Journal
03-01-10 --
A Kentucky woman has filed a suit against a law firm and medical
clinic that she says both deceived her and deprived her of her
right to treatment by her own doctors. . . . Sharon Langford of
Louisville, Ky., went to Tampa, Fla.-based Winters Yonker &
Rousselle after she was injured in a car accident in 2008. She
says in her suit that the firm told her that her health
insurance wouldn't cover injuries suffered in car accidents, the
Louisville Courier-Journal
reported. She said the firm referred her to 1st Physician
Rehabilitation Inc. for treatment and then later to a Florida
clinic for surgery. . . . The suit says Langford later found out
that both clinics had the same owner, Gary Kompothecras, who
also owns the 1-800-ASK-GARY referral service, which sends
callers seeking a lawyer to Winters & Yonker. Kompothecras'
clinics don't accept health insurance, the Courier-Journal said.
. . . Langford's lawyer, Sam Carl, said of the $200,000
settlement Winters & Yonker obtained for Langford, the firm
received $70,000, the clinics received $64,518, and Langford
received $62,738—which covered the medical expenses she incurred
before hiring Winters & Yonker, according to the
Courier-Journal.
Fla. Attorney
Disbarred
By
Jeff Gorman, Courthouse News Service
03-01-10 --
A Florida attorney was disbarred for falsely representing
herself as counsel for a woman in jail to gain access to her
car. . . . The Florida Supreme Court took the action against
attorney Ann Bitterman. She had given a vehicle to a friend who
later ended up behind bars. . . . Bitterman, whose legal license
was suspended at the time, used her Florida Bar card to gain a
private visit with the friend in jail. . . . Bitterman asked for
an ownership interest in the car. The friend angrily refused.
Ex-longtime Barefoot Bay attorney faces state
disciplinary action
FLORIDA TODAY, Staff writer Lamaur Stancil contributed to this
report.
03-01-10 --
The former longtime attorney for the Barefoot Bay Recreation
District is facing disciplinary action from the state. . . .
After several hearings into complaints filed by former clients,
employees and law partners, a state-appointed referee has
recommended a nine-month suspension from law practice for
Richard Torpy, along with payment of disciplinary costs. . . .
The proposed punishment, which must be approved by the Florida
Supreme Court, takes into account Torpy’s 2004 probation for
taking an improper loan from a client. . . . “The record in this
matter shows that respondent has continued to engage on the same
type of misconduct,” hearing referee Cynthia Cox wrote in a Feb.
14 report. “Respondent borrowed money from clients to pay a
portion of the restitution.”
Fort Myers
attorney admits guilt and others fix their mistakes
Melanie Payne • The News-Press
03-01-10 --
I don't know if stand-up behavior would completely eliminate the
Tell Mel column, but it sure put a dent in what I have to write
about. . . . Still, you would be surprised how often the right
thing happens. Someone makes a mistake, apologizes and fixes it.
I usually don't hear about it, and if I do, I don't usually
write about it. But not today. . . .
Attorney admits guilt / If
this had been a leap year, attorney Joseph A. Troiano would have
held a record with me, making my column three times in one
month. . . . February, however, is a short month. And since this
is likely the last time I write about Troiano, he'll be breaking
no records with me. Except maybe for how fast he publicly agreed
to the punishment for his misdeeds. . . . Last Thursday, the
Fort Myers attorney was disbarred. He admitted to violating the
rules of conduct for an attorney handling trust accounts. . . .
Troiano agreed to cooperate with The Florida Bar's
investigations that could get his clients reimbursed for their
losses. If his clients are reimbursed through the Florida Bar's
Clients' Security Fund for things Troiano did, he agreed to try
to reimburse the fund the money paid to his former clients.
MASSACHUSETTS
Accused of misconduct,
prominent lawyer seeks to hold on to his license
By
Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff
03-01-10 --
Two years ago, he was both lawyer and de facto press agent for
the man who called himself Clark Rockefeller, flanking the
owlish accused kidnapper in court, arranging jailhouse
interviews between his client and reporters, and
enthusiastically making the rounds on network and cable news
shows. . . . Now Stephen B. Hrones, the well-known 68-year-old
Boston criminal defense lawyer, is heading to the state’s
highest court to fight to keep his law license, accused of
letting a paralegal in his office pass himself off as a lawyer
in the firm’s employment discrimination practice. . . . The
state Board of Bar Overseers recommended in October that
Hrones’s license be suspended for a year and a day for the
alleged misconduct. The Supreme Judicial Court plans to hear
appeals in May from Hrones, who says he deserves no suspension,
and from the state’s bar counsel, which had recommended a
two-year suspension.
Justice Department Settles Kickback Case With
Troutman Sanders Partner
Posted by Brian Baxter, Am Law Daily
02-26-10 --
The former head of the real estate investments and
capitalization practice groups at
Troutman Sanders
was one of five defendants to reach a $14 million civil
settlement with federal prosecutors in Boston on Friday stemming
from an alleged $50 million kickback scheme,
according to an announcement
by the Justice Department.
. . . The settlement comes nearly four months after prosecutors
filed civil claims against Troutman partner Leonard Grunstein,
real estate investor Rubin Schron, and investment banker Murray
Forman in connection to a
$98 million civil settlement
reached in November
between the Justice Department and Covington, Ky.-based
Omnicare, the nation's largest provider of pharmacy services to
nursing homes.
MICHIGAN
Divorcing couples leave out
lawyers
Metro Detroit's economy cited for
rise in do-it-yourself breakups
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News
03-01-10 --
Breaking up is hard to do -- especially in a recession. . . .
With depressed home values and a dicey job market, divorces in
Metro Detroit are down, as unhappy couples ride out the
financial storm, the theory goes. . . . But of those who do file
for divorce, more are financially strapped and duking it out
without attorneys, according to courts. These do-it-yourself
divorces are crowding legal aid offices and court dockets and
slowing proceedings with incomplete paperwork and tutorials
judges must deliver from the bench. And as more couples
represent themselves, many are losing out on property and
custody claims that are legally theirs, judges and attorneys
say. . . . Mark Switalski, chief judge of the Macomb County
Circuit Court, said couples in his courtroom are fighting over
division of home and credit card debts, a stark change from the
battles over the division of home assets in years past. . . .
"If I've got a pot of $100,000 to split up, it's different than
if I've got a pot of $5,000 to split up," Switalski said. "That
factors into their ability to retain counsel."
MINNESOTA
Ex-county attorney charged in
dressing room photo case
03-01-10 --
The man photographed by surveillance cameras after an incident
in a Minneapolis dressing room is a former county attorney,
according to police. . . . Former Morrison County Assistant
Attorney Jeff Rolloff is accused of trying to take a photo of a
woman while she tried on clothes at the Nu Look consignment
store at 4956 Penn Avenue S. in November.
NEW
JERSEY
Accused NJ lawyer won't face death penalty
The
Associated Press, phillyBurbs.com
02-28-10 --
Federal prosecutors won't seek the death penalty for a New
Jersey defense attorney accused of arranging the murder of one
witness and trying to set up the murder of another. . . . The
decision in the case against Paul Bergrin, a former federal
prosecutor, was made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Bergrin remains in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
to await trial. . . . "Obviously, he's relieved," Lawrence
Lustberg, one of Bergrin's attorneys, told the Asbury Park Press
of Neptune. "He still recognizes that while the death penalty is
off the table, his life is on the line. If he is convicted of a
number of these allegations, he could spend the rest of his life
in prison."
TEXAS
Beaumont attorney pleads
guilty to failing to file income tax returns
Scott Lawrence, KFDM-TV News
03-01-10 --
A Beaumont attorney who spent more than a decade in the U.S.
Attorney's Office before going into private practice faces up to
one year in federal prison and up to a $100,000 fine following a
guilty plea Monday morning to once count of failure to file
income tax returns. . . . According to the Justice Department,
Olen Kenneth Dodd, 58, admitted that he knowingly failed to file
income tax returns for calendar years 2002-2005 despite
receiving gross income of: $373,931.60 in 2002; $267,735.00 in
2003; and, approximately $120,000.00 in both 2004 and 2005. The
court hasn't set a sentencing date. . . . Dodd worked for the
U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Texas for
about 13 years and hanadled primarily civil cases. He was based
in Beaumont and opened a law firm here in 2000 after he left the
U.S. Attorney's Office to go into private practice.
February 25--February
26, 2010
GENERAL
Malpractice Liability a Hot Topic at Health Care Summit
David Ingram, The National Law Journal
02-26-10 --
Thursday's televised "summit" on health care proved to be a new
forum in which Republican lawmakers could press again for limits
on medical malpractice awards, and another opportunity for the
plaintiffs bar to play defense. . . . At the start of the
meeting, taking place about a block from the White House, one
prominent Republican listed a tort overhaul as one of his
party's priorities. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who is third
in the U.S. Senate's GOP leadership, said there are too many
"junk lawsuits against doctors." . . . "In our state, [in] half
the counties, pregnant women have to drive to the big city to
have prenatal health care or to have their baby, because the
medical malpractice suits have driven up the insurance policies
so high that doctors leave the rural counties," Alexander said.
DOJ Unit That Prosecutes FCPA to Bulk Up
'Substantially'
David Hechler, Corporate Counsel
02-26-10 --
Anti-corruption enforcement is bulking up. Already the
acknowledged leader in global enforcement, the
Department of Justice unit that prosecutes Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act cases will soon grow "substantially,"
according to the lawyer who runs it. . . . Mark Mendelsohn,
deputy chief of the fraud section's criminal division, said his
section "may grow as much as 50 percent in size in the next year
or two." At the same time, he added, he expects companies to
play an increasingly aggressive role in thwarting corruption.
3rd Circuit Upholds Conviction of Former Rite Aid
General Counsel
However, judges agree that Brown,
who is about halfway through a 10-year prison term, is entitled
to a new sentencing hearing
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
02-25-10 --
A federal appeals court has
upheld the conviction of Franklin Brown, the former
general counsel of Rite Aid, on fraud and obstruction charges in
connection with the
$1.6 billion accounting scandal that sent half a
dozen executives to prison and cut the company's stock price in
half. . . . The unanimous three-judge panel rejected Brown's
claims that both the prosecutors and judge had engaged in
misconduct, and that secretly recorded tapes of his conversation
with another executive had been tampered with. . . . But the
appellate judges agreed that Brown, 82, who is now about halfway
through serving his 10-year prison term, is entitled to a new
sentencing hearing. . . . Third Circuit Judge Morton I.
Greenberg said the order for a new sentencing is automatic
because Brown's initial sentencing occurred during the window of
time when the Supreme Court had cast doubt on the
constitutionality of the federal sentencing guidelines, but had
not yet declared that the guidelines are merely advisory.
Former Client Moves to Disqualify Fish & Richardson
From New Patent Case
Zusha Elinson, The Recorder
02-25-10 --
Here's the great thing about patent prosecution: It's a steady
practice that can get your firm new clients. . . . Here's the
bad thing: It's not that profitable, and it can conflict you out
of lucrative pieces of patent litigation. . . . Patent firm
Fish & Richardson is facing that issue right now in a
case between new client
724 Solutions Inc. and former client
Openwave Systems Inc. Fish did $300,000 worth of
patent work for Openwave from 2000 to 2007, according to court
filings. And now Openwave and its lawyers at
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius want Fish disqualified from
representing 724 in what stands to be a much juicier piece of
litigation. . . . It's a constant challenge that faces the few
patent boutiques like Fish that have patent prosecution and
litigation practices. And it's why most big general practice
firms don't have big patent prosecution practices.
ARKANSAS
Lawyer has license suspended for 6 months
Associated Press, WXVT
02-26-10 --
An Arkansas Supreme Court committee has suspended the law
license of an Izard County attorney for six months for avoiding
a client. . . . The court's Committee on Professional Conduct
also ordered Stephen L. Lewis to pay $5,600 in restitution and
$50 in costs. The committee cited professional misconduct in
Lewis' handling of a case involving damage to a motorcycle
damaged while a potential buyer drove it in 2003.
CALIFORNIA
Calif. Court Lets Bar Group Withhold Mailing List
Mike
McKee, The Recorder
02-26-10 --
The San Fernando Valley Bar Association won a victory Wednesday
that should be welcome news for
all 270 of California's other voluntary bar associations.
. . . In a suit involving a disbarred lawyer trying to get his
mediation business off the ground, Los Angeles' 2nd District
Court of Appeal unanimously held that such groups don't violate
the state's Unfair Competition Law if they reject requests to
buy their membership mailing lists. . . . And that's true, the
court said, even if the associations simply want to protect some
of their members from price competition.
Court lets blind grad use aids to take bar exam
Bob
Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
02-25-10 --
With belated approval from a federal appeals court, a blind Bay
Area law graduate is preparing to use computer-assisted reading
devices on the state bar exam, despite a testing company's
objections. . . . Hours after the exam began Tuesday, the Ninth
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued a brief
order denying a request by the National Conference of Bar
Examiners to stop Stephanie Enyart from using the accommodations
that a federal judge approved for her last month. . . . The
conference, a nonprofit company, makes multiple-choice portions
of the bar exam that most states use. Enyart is not due to start
the first of those sections until Saturday. . . . Enyart, 32, a
law clerk at Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, suffers
from macular degeneration and retinal dystrophy and was declared
legally blind at 15. At UCLA Law School, where she graduated
last year, she took tests on a laptop with software that
magnified the text and read the words into earbuds.
DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA
Capitol Hill couple get odd package with hefty street value
By
Paul Duggan, Washington Post Staff Writer
02-26-10 --
What happened to Eric Anderson and Melanie Sloan in their
Capitol Hill townhouse Monday night occurs quite often in the
city. So to D.C. police, it was fairly routine. . . . As for
Anderson and Sloan, though . . . well, imagine their surprise. .
. . "I was making dinner," Sloan said. "And the doorbell rang."
. . . It was a little after 6 o'clock, she said. When she opened
the door, she saw a FedEx truck pulling away. On the doorstep
was a roughly 2-by-2-foot box. She lugged it inside -- it was
very heavy -- and left it on the floor. Then, thinking nothing
of the package, she went back to the stove and stirred her
risotto. . . . "We have an 11-month-old," said Anderson, her
husband. "Sometimes somebody will send us a present, and we
don't know what it is." . . . About 8 p.m., Anderson said, he
opened the package, which proved to be no easy task. . . .
Inside the box was another cardboard box, heavily taped. He said
he cut open that box and found yet another, this one made of
Styrofoam, also bound with clear plastic tape. "You start to
think, 'Did someone send us something refrigerated?' "
Terrorists’ Lawyers at the DOJ
National Review Online Editors
02-25-10 --
The Obama administration promised Americans an era of
unprecedented transparency in the operations of government. At
his confirmation hearing and in subsequent testimony, Attorney
General Eric Holder professed a desire to work openly and
cooperatively with Congress. Given all that, why is Holder
stonewalling Senate Republicans on their demand that he identify
the political appointees in his Justice Department who have
represented or advocated on behalf of the terrorists detained at
Guantanamo Bay? . . . After months of delay, Holder finally
deigned last week to provide a response that was more like a
rebuke. He conceded that “at least nine” Justice Department
officials had formerly represented the detainees. But even
Holder admitted he was low-balling. He hadn’t, he said, made a
complete survey of DOJ political appointees (i.e., the thing he
was asked to do). Even if he had made the rounds, moreover, the
number nine would have been an understatement. It counts only
lawyers who directly represented the terrorists, not lawyers —
like Holder himself — whose former firms volunteered their
services to the detainees even if they did not personally do the
work.
ILLINOIS
Fitzgerald Makes Rare Court Appearance in Chicago Terrorism Case
Lynne Marek, The National Law Journal
02-26-10 --
U.S. Attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald is taking on a courtroom role for
the first time since he was the special prosecutor in the 2007
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial in federal court in Washington,
D.C. . . . Fitzgerald joined the prosecution team Wednesday at a
court hearing in the case against two alleged terrorists at the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. David
Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana were indicted last year on
charges that they conspired with the terrorist organization
Lashkar-e-Taiba in plans to kill employees at the Danish
newspaper that published drawings of Allah and that they helped
in reconnaissance missions for the 2008 attack in Mumbai. . . .
In the nine years that Fitzgerald has led the U.S. attorney's
office in Chicago, he has rarely argued in court. The last time
came during the 2002 prosecution of Enaam Arnaout, who
prosecutors alleged was linked to al-Qaida and charged with
racketeering and other offenses. Arnaout pleaded guilty the
following year before going to trial.
LOUISIANA
Jefferson Parish attorney placed on administrative leave
Reported by: Val Bracy, Reporter, FOX 8 News WVUE-TV
02-25-10 --
Two Jefferson Parish attorney's, including the parish attorney
himself, have been been placed on paid leave. The other
attorney, Anne Marie Vandenweghe, filed a Whistleblower
protection lawsuit and now her suspension has peaked the
interest of federal investigators. . . . Parish President Steve
Theriot placed Wilkinson on paid administrative leave on
Thursday morning. . . . "I can't really discuss why, but I put
him on leave this morning," said Theriot. . . . Wilkinson is
under investigation by the parish Personnel Board. Board members
believe he may have violated a parish law that prohibits most
employees from engaging in political activity. Wilkinson
declined to comment on his suspension. . . . "I found 10 years
worth of documentation that showed Tom Wilkinson was either an
officer or the campaign manager for the Tim Coulon election
campaign between 1999 and 2009," said Rafael Goyeneche.
MICHIGAN
Guilty: Former city attorney sex assault plea
Carl Gabrielse gets six months in
prison
By
Megan Schmidt, The Holland Sentinel
02-25-10 --
The former deputy attorney for the city of Holland could lose
his license to practice law after pleading guilty to a felony
sex charge on Wednesday. . . . For now, Carl Gabrielse’s
attorney’s license will likely remain suspended until a state
attorney grievance commission begins discipline proceedings. . .
. “The discipline could be anything from a public reprimand,
which doesn’t interfere with the ability to practice law but is
a public notice you’ve done something improper, up to revocation
of the license,” said Patrick McGlinn, senior associate counsel
for the Attorney Grievance Commission, an arm of the Michigan
Supreme Court that handles allegations of attorney misconduct.
***** He admitted to sexually assaulting a 21-year-old Zeeland
woman in a Holland District Court bathroom after telling her he
would reduce her charge in exchange for sex.
NEVADA
Attorney Admits to Felony Obstruction
By
Nick Divito, Courthouse News Service
02-25-10 --
An attorney pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of justice in
what federal prosecutors call a network of doctors and lawyers
who protected doctors from malpractice suits and shared
kickbacks from legal settlements. Noel Gage, 71, entered his
Alford plea before U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush.
. . . His co-defendant, Howard Awand, also made a plea
agreement, and is set for a change of plea hearing in March. . .
. Gage was charged with one count of obstruction of justice for
concealing documents from the grand jury investigating the case,
the U.S. Attorney's Office said. As part of the plea agreement,
conspiracy and fraud counts against Gage will be dismissed. . .
. Gage also agreed to return $702,600 in attorney's fees to a
woman who said she was a victim of fraud.
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
Bankruptcy case stretches law firm
By
Daniel Barrick, Monitor staff
02-26-10 --
Since two Lakes Region investment firms abruptly shut their
doors last year, dozens of former investors have claimed the
closures caused them severe financial strain. Add another name
to that list: the law firm handling the companies' bankruptcy
case. . . . Donchess & Notinger, the Nashua law firm appointed
to help the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Financial
Resources Mortgage and CL&M, said in court filings yesterday
that the case has "created financial hardship for the firm." So
far, the firm has rung up nearly $250,000 in legal fees and
expenses from the case, according to the court filings. . . .
Donchess & Notinger yesterday asked the judge in the case to
authorize the payment of half that amount. But it could be a
while before that money is forthcoming. Both Financial Resources
Mortgage and CL&M, which officials say managed a massive Ponzi
scheme, closed their doors with virtually no cash in their
accounts. And since the companies closed in early November,
Donchess & Notinger have recovered just $60,000 in loan payments
from some of the companies' borrowers and their former law firm.
. . . The firm "has spent a lot of time working through the
tangled web of transactions and transfers set up by CL&M and
(Financial Resources Mortgage) to further its Ponzi scheme," the
firm's request said.
NEW
JERSEY
Montclair lawyer is charged in Internet sex sting after
detective poses as 14-year-old girl
By
James Queally/The Star-Ledger
02-25-10 --
A 58-year-old man was arrested Wednesday and charged with trying
to set up a sexual encounter with someone who he believed was a
14-year-old Queens girl he met over the internet, but was
actually a New York City detective, authorities said. . . .
Barry Schrager, 58, of Upper Montclair, was arrested Wednesday
and charged with second-degree attempted sexual assault,
second-degree attempted criminal sexual act, first-degree
attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors and
attempted endangering the welfare of a child, according to
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. . . . Investigators
said Schrager sent several sexually explicit instant messages to
the detective, whom he believed was 14-year-old girl, between
Jan. 25 and Feb. 23.
Lawyer Arrested in His Home Claims Civil Rights
Breach
Henry Gottlieb, New Jersey Law Journal
02-25-10 --
As an in-house counsel for the city of Newark, N.J., in the
1970s, Edward Petit-Clair defended police officers accused of
civil-rights violations. Now he knows what it's like to be a
plaintiff. . . . On a wintry evening two years ago, Petit-Clair
was about to take a shower in his home in an over-55 community
in Brick Township, N.J., when officers with drawn guns barged
in. They had seen suspicious signs that suggested a burglar who
had been plundering homes in the neighborhood was inside the
house. . . . Half-naked, but armed with a pistol, the
68-year-old Petit-Clair engaged in a tense standoff in the
darkened house until he could see that one of the intruders was
a K-9 officer. Later he was led away in handcuffs and charged
with making a terroristic threat and possessing an illegal rifle
accessory. . . . A judge dismissed the charges two months later.
It was all a mistake.
OHIO
Lawyer suspended for $32,600 theft
Columbus man stole money from
check-casher trust for almost 2 years
By
James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch
02-26-10 --
The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday suspended the law license of a
Columbus lawyer who was found to have stolen $32,600 from a
check-cashing business he represented. . . . James D. Thomas, a
lawyer since 1988 who specializes in debt collection, admitted
that he misappropriated at least $32,600 from funds that he held
in trust for a client, Checkcare Systems, according to Supreme
Court filings. . . . Another of Thomas' clients had been tardy
in paying him, so the lawyer wrote 38 unauthorized checks to
himself from the trust account between October 2004 and June
2006, the court's disciplinary counsel wrote. . . . Thomas did
not attempt to reimburse Checkcare until the company sued him,
and he later defaulted on the repayments, according to court
filings. . . . Supreme Court justices unanimously suspended his
law license indefinitely, finding that Thomas' conduct reflected
poorly on the legal profession.
PENNSYLVANIA
Judge Upholds Arbitration Award in Partner Retirement Dispute
Gina
Passarella, The Legal Intelligencer
02-26-10 --
A Philadelphia judge declined to vacate an arbitration award in
a case brought against
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis by a retired partner
over interpretations of amendments to the partnership agreement.
. . . In Stuntebeck v. Schnader Harrison, retired partner
Clinton Stuntebeck asked Senior Judge Esther R. Sylvester to
toss an arbitration award that found Schnader Harrison's changes
to its pension plan, in which the firm moved away from a formula
and lifetime benefits to a capped yearly payment and 10-year
limit on payouts, was applicable to Stuntebeck.
Judge admonishes Bonusgate attorneys about behavior
By
Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
02-25-10 --
Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Lewis admonished
attorneys for "rude, discourteous, obstructive and even
obnoxious behavior" during the ongoing Bonusgate government
corruption trial and threatened them with fines or imprisonment
if they don't behave. . . . "Any offensive behavior . . . will
be grounds for contempt and sanctions," he told attorneys this
morning before jurors entered the courtroom. . . . The warning
came after nearly four weeks of bickering among attorneys,
sometimes in the presence of jurors. . . . "The combativeness .
. . must cease immediately," Judge Lewis told attorneys. He also
warned them to stop "glaring" and "staring" at jurors and to
stop intimidating and shouting at witnesses.
TEXAS
D.A. Abusing His Power?
By Tak Landrock, KRDO
02-26-10 --
El Paso County District Attorney Dan May is coming under fire
for making calls to top officials trying to get them to close a
medical marijuana dispensary near his home. . . . Pure Medical
opened its doors two months ago near Delmonico and Rockrimmon on
the northwest side of Colorado Springs. Kevin Donovan, an
attorney for the dispensary, tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 the landlord
of the building, where his client rents, got a call last month
from Mr. May asking who was renting the space. . . . "The
landlord was a little intimidated that the district attorney
would be calling about a tenant," says Mr. Donovan. . . . NEWS-
CHANNEL 13 had been told Mr. May placed calls to the chief of
police, code enforcement and regional building in efforts to get
the medical marijuana dispensary closed down for violating city
code enforcement laws. . . The Internal Revenue Service was also
called, but the agency won't say why they placed a visit to the
dispensary.
VIRGINIA
Beach lawyers' contempt convictions thrown out
By
Tim McGlone, The Virginian-Pilot
02-26-10 --
The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the contempt
convictions of two Virginia Beach lawyers and their law clerk,
saying that a Circuit Court judge failed to give them their due
process rights. . . . The contempt case against Claude Scialdone,
his one-time law partner Barry R. Taylor, and their former clerk
Edward S. Jones dates back to a 2006 criminal trial before
Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Patricia L. West. . . . West
found the three in contempt after they offered into evidence a
document that had been altered and had the Internet username "westisanazi"
printed at the top.
WEST
VIRGINIA
Lawyer who beat client with baseball bat indicted
By
Gary A. Harki, Charleston Gazette Staff writer
02-25-10 --
The lawyer who beat his client with a baseball bat on
Charleston's East End was indicted on charges of malicious
wounding, embezzlement and obstructing justice by a Kanawha
County grand jury Thursday, said Kanawha County Prosecuting
Attorney Mark Plants. . . . Plants said Joshua Robinson was
indicted first on a charge of embezzlement for allegedly
stealing more than $1,000 from his client David Lee Gump II,
then on the malicious wounding charge for beating him with a
baseball bat when Gump came to his house to confront him about
the missing money. . . . After police started looking into the
beating, police said, Robinson lied to them about the incident,
attempting to manipulate the testimony of a witness. Plants said
that led to the indictment on obstructing justice. The
embezzlement and malicious wounding charges are felonies, the
obstructing justice charge is a misdemeanor, he said.
February 23--February
24, 2010
GENERAL
A Prosecutor's Perspective on the Fraction of Criminal Cases That Go
to Trial
Posted
by Eric Lipman, Legal Blog Watch
02-23-10 --
D.A. Confidential, a refreshingly candid, well-written
and insightful blog by Travis County Assistant District Attorney
Mark Pryor (that should cover me if I ever get a ticket for
jaywalking, the worst offense I'd ever even consider committing here
in my adopted hometown), has
a good post this morning attempting to explain why so few
cases, particularly misdemeanor cases, get to the "The people may
call their first witness" stage. Unlike on TV, where a trial is not
only a foregone conclusion, but also usually happens within two
Pepsi commercials of arrest. . . . The percentage is shockingly low,
at least based on Pryor's own experience. Of the 500 to 600 cases he
estimates he's resolved as a prosecutor, he can count the number of
trials on one hand (assuming he has five fingers, which I have no
reason to doubt). The reasons for the low number, though, are the
real meat of the post, and worth thinking about. Among them,
prosecutorial discretion intelligently exercised.
CALIFORNIA
79-year-old earns degree from McGeorge School of Law
Thomas held off on agreeing to a newspaper interview until she
landed the job she was seeking at a Reno law firm, where she will
work on legal issues involving the elderly.
By Blair
Anthony Robertson, The Sacramento Bee
02-23-10 --
Alice Thomas had the audacity to enroll in law school at an
uncommonly old age, the perseverance to remain as her longtime
companion battled and eventually succumbed to Alzheimer's disease,
and the tenacity to endure setbacks that included academic probation
before finally graduating from McGeorge School of Law. . . . Now, at
age 79, she is the oldest graduate in McGeorge history and one of
the oldest lawyers-to-be the nation has ever known. And she owes a
ton of money she borrowed to pay for her education – money she will
begin repaying after she takes the California or Nevada bar exam
this summer and, with any luck, begins life as a rookie lawyer at
age 80. . . . Yes, she's determined. Yes, she's stubborn, and yes,
finally, she is done with law school.
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
AG Holder Defends Prosecution of Terror Suspects in Civilian Court
Mike
Scarcella, The National Law Journal
02-23-10 --
Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. struck back at critics Tuesday,
declaring that the denigration of civilian federal courts to
prosecute terror defendants "flies in the face of the facts" and is
more about politics than independent analysis of cases. . . . "What
I have tried to make over these many months, and I think fairly
consistently … is that our federal civilian criminal justice system
has the ability to incapacitate terrorists, has the ability to gain
intelligence from those terrorists and is a valuable tool in our
fight against terrorism," Holder said at a press conference at Main
Justice. "To take this tool out of our hands, to denigrate the use
of this tool, flies in the face of the facts, flies in the face of
the history of the use of this tool. It is more about politics than
it is about facts."
From Patton Boggs to Afghanistan and Back Again
Brian
Baxter, The American Lawyer
|
Frank "Gus" Biggio
Patton Boggs attorney |
02-23-10 --
While his peers spent the past few months worrying about billing the
requisite hours and keeping their desk jobs, Maj. Frank "Gus" Biggio
helped build a forward operating base and kept his eyes peeled for
IEDs.
Biggio, a Marine Corps reservist and
fourth-year associate in
Patton Boggs' Washington, D.C., office, recently returned
to the firm after spending seven months leading a civil affairs unit
in Nawa, a restive region in southern Afghanistan where Marines are
currently taking part in an
offensive called Operation Moshtarak. . . . Biggio
returned to the U.S. in December, and spent about a month wrapping
up his reserve time. He returned to Patton Boggs three weeks ago,
almost 10 months after he left the firm to return to active duty.
(Prior to serving in Afghanistan, Biggio's unit spent three months
training and preparing to deploy.) . . . Not surprisingly, corporate
transactional work and counterinsurgency warfare have some slight
differences. But Biggio, 38, is handling reintegration to law firm
life in stride. . . . "It's good to be busy, because that keeps me
occupied," he says. "But I don't spend nearly as much time walking
here at the firm as I did over there."
FLORIDA
Prominent Miami Receiver Charged in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud
Federal prosecutors allege that Lewis Freeman, who surrendered to
the FBI on Tuesday, defrauded as many as 250 clients
John
Pacenti and Jose Pagliery, Daily Business Review
02-24-10 --
Lewis Freeman -- with a bawdy joke at the tip of his tongue -- often
could be found around lunchtime at his favorite downtown Miami
restaurant, La Loggia. . . . The impeccably dressed attorney and
forensic accountant who literally wrote the manual on
court-appointed receiverships insisted on sitting at a front table,
glad-handing the very judges who appointed him to pinch pennies for
companies that ran into trouble. . . . But the larger-than-life man
was charged Tuesday with abusing his position of trust for nearly a
decade. . . . For many of his friends, it was heartbreaking to learn
he was accused of skimming $2.6 million from court-supervised
accounts under his control and misappropriating $6 million in those
accounts. The single count of mail fraud conspiracy carries a
maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Scott Rothstein's Former Partners Still Refuse to
Disclose E-Mail Passwords
Julie
Kay, Daily Business Review
02-24-10 --
Two former partners at Scott Rothstein's defunct law firm have
refused to turn over access to their off-site computer and e-mail
files and will face a court order to force them to do so. . . . U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge Raymond Ray, who is overseeing
the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bankruptcy and wind-down,
said at a hearing Tuesday that he will compel Russell Adler and
Robert Buschel to surrender their passwords to the RRA firm's e-mail
and computer file system administered by Burbank, Calif.-based Qtask.
The request was made by bankruptcy trustee Herbert Stettin. . . .
Berger Singerman attorney Chuck Lichtman, who represents
Stettin, said he sought the order to look for potential evidence of
Rothstein's $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme and hidden assets.
He guessed federal prosecutors also would be interested in reviewing
the files once he has obtained them.
Tension Flares Over Distribution of Seized Rothstein
Assets
Jordana
Mishory, Daily Business Review
02-23-10 --
Victims of convicted fraudster
Scott Rothstein's $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme are elbowing
each other to get the first crack at seized assets. And now, federal
prosecutors and the bankruptcy trustee are going at it as well.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and
Herbert Stettin, the bankruptcy trustee dismantling defunct law firm
Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, are fighting over restitution plans for
an estimated 350 victims of Rothstein's fraud. . . . The two sides met Feb. 12 in hopes
of finding a way to work together. But attempts at behind-the-scenes
collaboration immediately sputtered, according to a government
motion Friday decrying "inflammatory statements" by the trustee's
side.
GEORGIA
State ordered to give attorneys to poor inmates
By Bill
Rankin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
02-23-10 --
Calling the right to counsel "unqualified and unconditional," a
Fulton judge on Tuesday ordered the state to provide attorneys to
indigent inmates, some of whom have been waiting years for
representation to file their appeals. . . . Superior Court Judge
Jerry Baxter said these inmates must be supplied counsel within 30
days. The judge also granted class-action status to the lawsuit
filed in December. Attorneys litigating the case estimate that as
many as 400 inmates could need lawyers to file appeals by the end of
the year. . . . "The court is mindful of the budgetary constraints
faced by [the state defendants]," Baxter said. "However, the duty to
provide a legal defense to those whose liberty is at stake and who
cannot afford an attorney is unqualified and unconditional, and it
does not give way in times of economic distress."
KANSAS
Atty. gets 4 years for tax fraud
By The
Capital-Journal
02-24-10 --
A Lenexa-based attorney has been sentenced to 48 months in federal
prison for preparing fradulent tax returns, U.S. Attorney Lanny
Welch announced Wednesday. . . . Scott L. Ruther, 49, an attorney
who operates Ruther and Associates, LLC, pleaded guilty to two
counts of preparing false tax returns, Welch said. . . . In his
plea, Ruther said he devised a scheme using Roth IRAs that he
claimed would allow his customers to reduce their individual federal
tax liability.
MARYLAND
Former Managing Partner Gets 99 Years in $25M Investment Scheme
By
Martha Neil
, ABA Journal
02-24-10 --
When Edward Digges Jr. bilked one of his best clients at Digges
Wharton & Levin out of $3.1 million in an overbilling scheme, he
served two years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 1990 to
mail fraud. He also was fined $1 million and wound up with a $3.6
million civil judgment against him. . . . But despite being
disbarred, the former managing partner of the now-shuttered
Annapolis, Md., law firm went on to another money-making project.
From his waterfront home in Cambridge, Md., he persuaded investors
nationwide to pony up $25 million for a share of the revenue Digges
supposedly generated through leased point-of-sale terminals used by
retailers to process credit and debit card transactions, reports the
Baltimore Sun.
MASSACHUSETTS
Cohasset lawyer among dead in Florida bus crash
By
Richard Weir, Boston Herald
02-24-10 --
An elderly Cohasset lawyer was killed and his wife seriously injured
when their tour bus rolled over on a cultural sightseeing excursion
in Florida Monday. . . . Family members had urged John and Dolores
Roy to go on the trip, telling them they didn’t have to stay for the
funeral of their son’s mother-in-law, said the Rev. John Mulvehill,
pastor of St. Anthony’s Church in Cohasset. He said the parish is
“stunned” by the loss of a beloved, prominent member. . . . “John
was an outstanding man. He was a Eucharistic minister at our parish,
not just at our church, but bringing communion to people’s homes,”
Mulvehill said. . . . “He was a very dedicated husband and father
and was very well respected in the community,” Mulvehill said. “And
he had a great sense of humor. He would always come in with a new
joke.” . . . John, 79, and Dolores, 77, were greatly anticipating
their six-day jaunt with the Boston-based educational travel service
Exploritas, but nearly called the trip off because of the pending
funeral, Mulvehill said.
Judge Rules Not to Impose Sanctions on Boston
Federal Prosecutor
Sheri
Qualters, The National Law Journal
02-23-10 --
Chief Judge Mark Wolf of the District of Massachusetts ruled not to
sanction Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan for failing to
disclose exculpatory evidence in a timely fashion despite his doubts
that new government discovery training programs for prosecutors
would succeed. . . . Wolf's Friday,
23-page order in U.S. v. Jones explained his
reasoning, and his reservations, about not imposing sanctions on
Sullivan or the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of
Massachusetts for Sullivan's prosecutorial misconduct. . . . Wolf
cited Sullivan's participation in several U.S. Attorney's Office and
U.S. Department of Justice training programs and "independent
efforts to educate herself on her discovery obligations." Wolf also
said Sullivan's violation of the defendant's rights was
"unintentional rather than deliberate" and that she's "not likely to
commit comparable errors in the future.
MICHIGAN
Former deputy city attorney Carl Gabrielse sentenced to six month
jail term in sex assault case
By John
Tunison | The Grand Rapids Press
02-24-10 --
Carl Gabrielse, the former Holland deputy city attorney accused of
offering a reduced drunken driving plea in exchange for sex with a
woman, will spend six months in jail as part of a plea agreement
entered today in Ottawa County Circuit Court. . . . The deal could
keep Gabrielse off the state sex offender registry if he completes a
year of probation and sex offender counseling. . . . Gabrielse, 31,
was set for trial Thursday involving the November allegations that
he sexually assaulted a 21-year-old Zeeland woman in a jury room
bathroom at the Holland courthouse. He was charged with third-degree
criminal sexual conduct and misconduct in office.
MONTANA
Former attorney pleads guilty to fraud
Associated Press, Great Falls Tribune
02-24-10 --
A former Billings attorney who was sentenced to prison for stealing
money from clients in 1987 has admitted doing it again. . . . Marvin
E. “Toby” Alback pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud and bankruptcy
fraud for misappropriating money from clients for his own use. He
appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby. . . .
Prosecutors say Alback took a mortgage payment from a client in a
bankruptcy case, along with a $557 tax refund check that should have
gone into the bankruptcy estate.
Mont. lawyer who traveled 2.5M miles for Ohio-based
motorcycle club admits inflating expenses
By
Associated Press, Los Angeles Times
02-23-10 --
A Montana lawyer and motorcycle enthusiast has pleaded guilty in
Ohio to stealing $100,000 from the American Motorcyclist
Association. . . . Dal Smilie apologized Monday for humiliating his
family and the AMA, the nation's biggest motorcycle membership
organization. . . . The 62-year-old Smilie is a former chief lawyer
for the Montana Department of Administration and was a member of the
Ohio-based motorcycle group's board of directors for 25 years.
NEVADA
Gage wrist-slapping wise move for attorneys, victim
John L.
Smith, Las Vegas Review
02-24-10 --
The government pinned the tail on another donkey Tuesday in U.S.
District Court. . . . This time it was attorney Noel Gage's turn to
stand before the bar of justice, do the hee-haw routine and agree to
be speared in the wallet in the government's fading investigation of
case-fixing involving local physicians and personal injury lawyers.
. . . After battling the U.S. attorney to a standstill in a previous
trial, Gage listened to his defense attorneys and wisely agreed to
enter an Alford plea. An Alford allows Gage to enter a technical
guilty plea and admit the government's facts could result in
conviction, in this case to a single obstruction of justice count,
but he also gets to maintain his innocence. Essentially, he's guilty
with an asterisk.
NEW YORK
Murder Probe Spawns Charges in $1 Million Conspiracy
Slain attorney's clients alleged to be among the victims of a series
of financial scams
Mark
Fass, New York Law Journal
02-24-10 --
In July 2008, Brooklyn, N.Y., attorney Mark Schwartz and his wife
Christina Petrowski-Schwartz, a divorce mediator, were found shot
dead -- "execution-style," according to the tabloids -- in their bed
in their Marine Park home. . . . Monday, the Brooklyn district
attorney's office announced the
indictment and arrests of four defendants who, along with the
couple themselves, allegedly operated a million-dollar criminal
conspiracy (pdf) involving money laundering, identity theft,
mortgage fraud and larceny. . . . The investigation into the murders
remains ongoing, and the prosecution has not alleged a direct link
between the conspiracy and the deaths. . . . Rather, the district
attorney's office said the murder probe led to the discovery of the
crime ring. . . . According to the indictment filed Monday, four
individual defendants -- Robert Delvicario, Lennox Johnson, Shanda
Bruce and Thermine Remy -- joined the couple in a series of scams in
order to steal and launder money from, among others, the couple's
clients.
Former lawyer offered plea bargain in client theft
case
By
Oliver Mackson, Times Herald-Record
02-24-10 --
Prosecutors have made a plea-bargain offer to a former lawyer from
Middletown who was charged last month with stealing from clients. .
. . The offer calls for F. Daniel Blizard, 53, to plead guilty to
grand larceny, serve six months in Orange County Jail and report to
a probation officer for five years. . . . Blizard's been free on his
own recognizance since his indictment was unsealed Jan. 15, charging
him with a single felony count of third-degree grand larceny. . . .
The Middletown native's lawyer hasn't returned calls about the case.
If Blizard accepts the plea bargain, which could happen as early as
his return to court on March 16, it could shed more light on what
he's accused of doing. . . . The indictment doesn't name victims or
specific acts, but according to other court records and interviews,
Blizard is accused of taking more than $3,000 in client funds from
an escrow account between April 29 and May 29 of last year. The
money was placed in the account during a negotiation for the sale of
a home in the Town of Mount Hope. The would-be seller was Margaret
Burnham, and the would-be buyer was Anthony McGee, who was
negotiating to buy the house from Burnham.
NY Political Power Broker Disbarred
By
Vesselin Mitev | New York Law Journal | New York Lawyer
02-24-10 --
Raymond B. Harding, the onetime political power broker who pleaded
guilty last year to pocketing $800,000 in state pension fund fees in
exchange for supporting ex-Comptroller Alan Hevesi, was disbarred
yesterday by a Manhattan appeals panel.
Matter of Harding, M-5202. . . . Mr. Harding was the
leader of the state's Liberal Party from 1983 to 2002.
NORTH
CAROLINA
Jaeger pleads guilty to obstruction of justice
by Juli
Denning, Garner News
02-22-10 --
Almost a year of speculation involving the legal community ended on
Monday when Cynthia Jaeger faced Superior Judge Henry Hight and
pleaded guilty to 10 counts each of felony obstruction of justice
and altering official case records. . . . She was sentenced to at
least three years in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. . . .
Jaeger, Johnston's former assistant district attorney, was indicted
last year along with court clerk Portia Snead, defense lawyers Chad
Lee, Lee Hatch, Jack McLamb and Vann Sauls on charges that they
altered court records and and knowingly used illegal dismissal forms
to get traffic cases against at least 36 people dropped from the
court system. . . . Jaeger was charged with three indictments
containing three felony counts (obstruction of justice) and two
misdemeanor counts(failing to perform duty of office) and one
presentment containing 81 misdemeanor counts (failing to perform
duty of office). . . . According to the indictments against her, 70
dismissal forms with her signature were filed after she left her
position as an assistant district attorney in September 2007. The
dismissal forms were filed for clients of the four attorneys who
were also indicted. Records show that Snead was indicted for
deleting the attorneys names from at least two cases from the
computer system.
TEXAS
Two challengers try to unseat Kaufman County district attorney
accused of DWI
By Karel
Holloway / The Dallas Morning
02-24-10 --
An arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated last year is the
only real issue with the Kaufman County district attorney, the
incumbent and his opponents said. . . . Incumbent Rick Harrison was
arrested in June and charged with driving while intoxicated for the
second time. He pleaded not guilty and a hearing is set for March 12
– 10 days after the Republican primary. . . . "It's the only issue
in the race," said Harrison, 47. "If improving the DA's office and
having a 100 percent conviction rate, the support of law
enforcement, taking steps to correct the personal problem that
hasn't affected performance a jog is not enough, then the voters
will let me know that." . . . Opponents Andrew Jordan and Mike
McLelland agreed that Harrison has done a good job, though both said
there still are improvements to be made.
