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DUI Life Sentence Stirs Debate About Alcoholism
Law Firm News |
2010/08/17 12:25
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pNobody disputes that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous. In fact, it's one of the most deadly crimes. You won't get any serious arguments from anybody that people should be allowed to drive while impaired. Nobody would dispute that you are far more likely to die at the hands of a DUI driver than at the hands of a serial killer or by gang violence./ppThe dispute is not about the problem of impaired driving, but rather about what to do about it. Every year, many states increase the jail time, fines and other penalties for DUI offenders. There is little evidence that increased punishment deters impaired driving. In fact, there's no conclusive evidence that suggests that the average would-be drunk driver even considers the penalties before turning on the ignition and hitting the road./ppMost state lawmakers increase the penalties because it is politically popular to do so, and it’s the only thing they can think of doing. In most states, the average DUI convict spends no more than a day or two in jail for a first offense, and no longer than a year for a third offense. After that, the states have a tremendous range./ppIt seems for most offenders, a first, second or third DUI arrest is the wake-up call they need, and very few people get caught more than three times in their lifetime. In states such as Washington that have systems that treat and educate for alcohol and drug issues, there is a ray of hope that recidivism may be reduced. In states such as Arizona, where the focus is on punishment rather than treatment, DWI convictions often do little for a would-be repeat offender than take them off the road temprarily while they are incarcerated./pp- a href=http://www.attorney-webdesign.comattorney webdesign/a
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Children in Dependency Proceedings Need Lawyers
Law Firm News |
2010/08/09 06:52
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| pLawyers who represent children in dependency proceedings say it’s time for these children – regardless of which state they live – to have a right to legal counsel./ppMeeting yesterday at the 2010 American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, a panel of children’s rights advocates discussed eliminating the barriers that prevent lawyers from representing these children in life-impacting legal proceedings. nbsp; /ppAccording to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services there are more than half a million children in foster care and under the jurisdiction of family courts.nbsp; These are children who have been, for example, removed from their homes, placed in temporary shelters and possibly separated from siblings. /ppWhen it comes down to who is looking out for the rights and interests of the children in the courtroom – a lawyer, a guardian ad litem or an attorney ad litem -- there is no clear-cut, uniform answer./pp“Every state has a different model,” says Hilarie Bass, a Miami commercial litigator who does pro bono work representing foster kids. /ppShe points out the obvious — that there are too many children who need help, without enough money in the system to serve them.nbsp; Despite those hurdles, Bass, who is also incoming chair of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, says she expects the section to make a recommendation on the right to counsel for children that should come up for debate before the ABA’s policymaking body in 2011. /pp“It would be a recommendation to provide for counsel and representation of children in delinquency and dependency proceedings,” says Bass.nbsp; /ppABA President Carolyn Lamm says the ABA is an association interested in promoting the best interest of children and finding solutions “before we have a crisis situation.”/ppLamm adds, “These citizens are the most vulnerable of course, in terms of no one to defend their legal rights.nbsp; The ABA does so much work in the public interest.nbsp; This is a segment of the public that needs us and we are strong and forceful advocates for children and the rights of children to be represented. nbsp; /ppSo far, the U.S. Supreme Court has not spoken on the issue of whether children have a constitutional right to counsel in dependency proceedings. /ppGeorgia attorney Trenny Stovall directs the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center and represents children in dependency proceedings every day.nbsp; She says children who don’t have their own lawyer do not have a voice. /pp“When children don’t have a lawyer, their ability to be considered a living being with rights is vastly diminished.nbsp; Without representation, they become a widget in the eyes of the court,” says Stovall./ppChildren like 16-year-old Trevor Wade — who has been through the dependency court system — will tell you that having a lawyer makes a difference.nbsp; He says his lawyer fought against a system that would have placed him back with an abusive father.nbsp; These days he’s an intern in a public defender’s office, helping kids who are going through the court system. /ppWade hopes to go to law school and is zealous in his advocacy on this issue. /ppHe says that when states and courts make decisions not to provide lawyers for children, the question that needs to be asked is, “What is the price of a child’s success?”/p |
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2 re-sentencings ordered in $1.9B Ohio fraud case
Law Firm News |
2010/07/29 09:10
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| A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered new sentences for two former National Century executives convicted in a $1.9 billion corporate fraud case once likened to the Enron scandal, saying the government had proved some but not all of its case.pA three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturned Donald Ayers' conviction of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and Roger Faulkenberry's conviction of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, saying the government didn't provide enough proof./ppRemaining in place are Ayers' convictions of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and securities fraud, and Faulkenberry's convictions of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., securities fraud and wire fraud./ppAyers, 74, is serving 15 years in Coleman federal prison in Florida after his 2008 conviction with Faulkenberry and four other top executives from National Century Financial Enterprises, a Columbus health care financing company. Federal prosecutors compared the case to Enron./ppFaulkenberry, 49, is serving 10 years in Gilmer federal prison in West Virginia after his 2008 conviction./ppThe court said the government didn't prove that advances Faulkenberry and Ayers made to medical companies were designed to conceal the money's source./p |
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Wis. justices uphold ex-Jesuit priest's conviction
Law Firm News |
2010/07/20 08:52
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pThe Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a sexual abuse conviction of a former Jesuit priest who claimed he was falsely accused./ppIn a 7-0 ruling on Tuesday, justices ruled that Donald McGuire's prosecution 36 years after he allegedly abused two teenage boys in the 1960s was fair./ppMcGuire, a former spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa and her religious order of nuns, argued the delay hurt his ability to defend himself. Justices disagreed./ppThe men came forward in 2003 to report they were abused by McGuire during trips to a cottage in Fontana, Wis. in 1967 and 1968. At the time, McGuire taught the boys at the Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill./ppMcGuire was convicted on five counts of indecent behavior with a child. He is serving a 25-year prison term on separate, federal charges.
/p |
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Law firm merger activity picks up
Law Firm News |
2010/07/05 09:52
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| pLaw firm merger activity picked up after a sluggish first quarter in part due to a renewed increase in transatlantic marriages between large domestic firms and those headquartered in England. /ppAmong the 10 mergers reported last quarter by legal consultancy Hildebrandt Baker Robbins -- one more than during that time frame last year -- was the union of Washington stalwart Hogan amp; Hartson and London-based Lovells to form Hogan Lovells, which the report characterized as the second-largest since Hildebrandt began tracking quarterly merger activity. /ppA second cross-border marriage of equals, between Chicago-based Sonnenschein Nath amp; Rosenthal and London's Denton Wilde Sapte, was announced last quarter but is not included in that figure because the merger will not be completed until later in the year. /ppIndustry analysts say that after a period of caution, U.S. firms are once again looking for markets in which to expand -- and the obvious one for some is London, where many firms specialize in the kind of corporate transaction work that has long been the bread and butter of New York. /p |
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Ore. trial court to reconsider $100M tobacco case
Law Firm News |
2010/06/28 08:59
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| pThe Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that Philip Morris does not have to pay $100 million in punitive damages to the family of a smoker who sued the tobacco giant over its low-tar cigarettes./ppThe case, however, is going to another jury to decide just how much the death of Michelle Schwarz from lung cancer in 1999 will cost Philip Morris — and legal experts say it could easily be another big award./ppA Multnomah County jury in Portland originally awarded the Schwarz family $150 million in March 2002 before the trial judge reduced it to $100 million./ppOn Thursday, the Oregon Supreme Court vacated the $100 million award and sent the case back to the trial court to reconsider the punitive damages after ruling the judge failed to properly instruct the jury./ppThe court said the judge should have told the jury it could not punish Philip Morris directly for harm caused to others besides Schwarz./ppBut the court also supported the trial judge, who had rejected jury instructions the tobacco company had requested./p |
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