News from February 2009
Texas judge charged with judicial misconduct
Sharon Keller (R) AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline)-The presiding judge of the highest criminal court in Texas has been charged by the state judicial ethics commission.
Iowa chief justice warns of cuts
Marsha Ternus DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline)-Iowa courts could be forced to make layoffs and furlough workers amid the state's worsening budget crunch, Iowa Chief Justice Marsha Ternus said.
Assembly Majority Leader to run for AG in 2010
Alberto Torrico (D) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-State Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico of Newark is the latest Democrat to launch a bid to become the state's next attorney general, should California Attorney General Jerry Brown decide not to seek re-election in 2010.
Ohio AG targets worker misclassification
Richard Cordray (D) COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline)-Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray says he and other state officials are taking aim at employers who misclassify workers in order to skirt taxes and other required payments.
Colo. AG hails charter school ruling
John Suthers (R) DENVER, Colo. (Legal Newsline)-A Colorado Court of Appeals decision that upholds a law that the state can create charter schools within local school district boundaries has drawn praise from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.
Report: Bank of America subpoenaed by Cuomo
Cuomo NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has apparently subpoenaed the head of the nation's largest bank to determine if it withheld information from investors while acquiring Merrill Lynch.
Adversary wants Scruggs' bribery money
Langston OXFORD, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - The lawyer allegedly cheated by famed plaintiffs attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs feels he should given more than $400,000 seized during the investigation of one of two Scruggs judicial bribery schemes.
Settlement reached in chromium pollution case
Milgram TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said Thursday that a recent settlement will help clean up chromium-tainted sites in Hudson County.
CJAC keeps pressure on Calif. Legislature for tort reform
John Sullivan SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Hearing news that Democratic Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has formed a task force to develop strategies to spur economic growth, the Civil Justice Association of California continue to pressure lawsuits to enact tort reform that would entice businesses to move to California.
Federal Court: Wisconsin judges can engage in political speech
Barbara Crabb MILWAUKEE, Wis. (legal Newsline)-State judges in Wisconsin may join political parties, endorse partisan candidates and solicit campaign donations, a federal judge has ruled.
State Farm, Allstate dismissed from Louisiana Katrina case
Scruggs NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Two insurance giants will be dismissed from a whistleblower lawsuit over their post-Hurricane Katrina practices because they are already facing one initiated by disgraced plaintiffs attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs.
Michigan Senate leader considers AG run
Mike Bishop (R) LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline)-Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, is considering a run for attorney general in 2010.
Kansas AG launches mediation program
Steve Six (D) TOPEKA, Kansas (Legal Newsline)-Hoping to help resolve disputes between consumers and businesses, Kansas Attorney General Steve Six has launched a new mediation program.
Class action reform needed for economic recovery, group says
John Sullivan SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- With the state of California careening toward financial ruin, the Civil Justice Association of California has urged deadlocked legislators to support its proposal to bring balance to the state's class action law, which the organization asserts would entice businesses to invest in the state.
Madigan presses for FOIA overhaul
Lisa Madigan (D) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline)-Illinois government agencies should be fined up to $1,000 each time they refuse to allow citizens to view basic public records, the state attorney general says.
McGraw reaches two settlements
McGraw CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw recently reached a pair of settlements, one with a debt relief company and another with a car dealership.
La. justices to U.S. SC: Don't believe everything you read
Louisiana's Supreme Court justices, from left: Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll, Justice Jeffrey P. Victory, Justice Catherine D. "Kitty" Kimball, Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero, Jr., Justice Bernette J. Johnson, Justice Chet D. Traylor, Justice John L. Weimer WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The Louisiana Supreme Court wants to make sure its name isn't dragged through the mud during a key judicial recusal case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Plaintiffs want $131M in landmark Fla. tobacco case
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Broward County jury is being asked to award $131 million to the widow and son of a man who died from lung cancer in Florida's first individual case of a tobacco company blamed for creating an addiction.
Lynch receiving 47 percent approval
Lynch PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - Less than half of Rhode Islanders think state Attorney General Patrick Lynch is doing a good job in office, a poll released Tuesday by his alma mater says.
GOP candidates back away from Calif. budget deal
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - With prominent Democrats eying a run for governor in 2010 mired in the fiscal calamity paralyzing the state, the two most prominent Republicans are on the outside looking in, a vantage point both used to bolster their campaigns on Tuesday.