Posts on ‘November 11th, 2009’

The Supreme Court this week, in an unsigned opinion, reversed relief granted by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to a death row inmate because of his lawyer’s ineffective assistance. But Justice Samuel Alito wrote separately — and curiously — to emphasize his view that no “special relevance” should be given to the American Bar Association’s guidelines on the appointment and performance of defense counsel in death penalty cases.

The unfaithful, in particular, are paying a high price in divorce court for their salacious text messages. Infidelity, bad parenting or threats — you name the issue in marital disputes, family law attorneys say, and the evidence can be found in text messages sent over hand-held gadgets.

A discrimination action brought against Pryor Cashman by a technology expert who is an Orthodox Jew will proceed, following denial of the firm’s motion to dismiss. The judge’s decision turned on whether an interpretation of New York City’s Human Rights Law in a recent sexual discrimination action applied in the present case. The plaintiff, who was terminated in 2007, alleges that he was discouraged from observing his religion and that the firm’s managing partner referred to him as a “Jewboy” on at least one occasion.

In a stunning defeat for the Justice Department, a federal jury found two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers not guilty of fraud charges Tuesday. The jury found that Matthew Tannin and Ralph Cioffi did not lie to investors in painting a rosy picture of the health of two funds backed by subprime mortgages which later collapsed and cost investors $1.6 billion. The fraud charges were the first to be brought by federal prosecutors against high-profile Wall Street executives during the current financial crisis.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that asks: For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, where is a company’s principal place of business? The answer will be crucial in determining whether a corporation can be sued in federal court or in plaintiff-friendly state courts. Though most of the Court appeared to embrace some version of a headquarters standard, some justices appeared concerned about the possibility that it might result in abuse by corporations seeking to avoid state courts.