Court Report

Criminal Court News

The man suspected of being the Green River Killer has agreed to plead guilty next week to the murders of 48 women in a deal that would spare him from execution.

• Green River Suspect to Plead Guilty to Slayings
  
• Sniper Victim's Husband: Something Hit My Face
  
• DNA Testimony Opens Peterson Hearing
  
• Tabloid IDs Kobe Bryant's Alleged Victim
  

Crime & Punishment

A hair found in a pair of pliers on the boat Scott Peterson took fishing the day his wife disappeared matched a genetic sample from Laci Peterson's mother, an FBI expert testified Wednesday, as prosecutors sought to have him tried in the slaying of his wife and unborn son.

• DNA Testimony Opens Peterson Preliminary Hearing
• No Wiretap Evidence at Peterson Hearing
• Youngest Victim of Sniper Tells of Bullet in Chest
• Conviction of Ex-C.I.A. Operative Is Set Aside

Crime & Punishment

Nearly one year after a pregnant Laci Peterson disappeared from her California home, prosecutors on Wednesday will finally lay out evidence they say shows Scott Peterson killed his wife and unborn son.

• Prosecutors Ready for Laci Peterson Hearing
• Witnesses Detail D.C. Sniper Slayings
• Carlton Dotson Extradited to Texas
• Brooklyn Bridge Suspect Gets 20 Years

Crime & Punishment

The body of a 7-year-old boy found in a box in a Newark basement nearly a year ago prompted a shake-up at New Jersey's child welfare agency. The agency reviewed all open cases, hired 366 more employees and received $30 million in emergency aid. Despite those changes, four adopted boys - one of them 19 - were found earlier this month malnourished and weighing less than 50 pounds each.

• N.J. Starving Boys Case Prompts Firings
• Cousin: Sniper Suspect Acted Strangely
• Actor Sizemore Gets 6 Months for Beating Up Fleiss
• Lawyers Prep For Scott Peterson Trial

Crime & Punishment

The preliminary hearing date for Scott Peterson was delayed a day in court today and is now expected to begin Wednesday. The delay will allow a lawyer for the man accused of killing his wife Laci and their unborn son to wrap up another trial in Los Angeles.

• Judge Grants One-Day Delay for Scott Peterson Hearing
• Missing Missouri Convicts Found -- in Prison
• Couple Charged with Starving Four Adopted Sons
• A Double Standard for Sex Offenders?

Crime & Punishment

A judge rejected a request to delay the trial of sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo to give prosecutors more time to let a mental health expert examine him. "This really is almost an unstoppable train at this point," said Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush.

• Judge Denies Request to Delay Malvo Trial
• Day Off in Beltway Sniper Trial
• Accused Murderer Describes Cross-Dressing
• Undocumented Wal-Mart Workers Arrested in San Antonio

Crime & Punishment

The captain of the Staten Island ferry that crashed last week killing 10 people refused again to talk to investigators on Wednesday, frustrating officials and angering New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who called for his dismissal.

• NY Ferry Captain Fails to Meet Investigators
• Judge in Kobe Bryant Case Could Taint Pool of Jurors
• Convicted Massachusetts Child Molester Paroled
• Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse of Daughter

Crime & Punishment

John A. Muhammad sits almost alone at the defense table, chin in hand, separated from his former lawyers by several feet so they cannot whisper directions in his ear. He is his own lawyer now and his life is in his own hands.

• Polite but Dogged, Sniper Suspect Offers Defense
• Captain of Crashed New York Ferry Subpoenaed
• N.J. Teen Pleads in Rampage Plot Case
• Atlanta Attacker Found Guilty of Hate Crime

Crime & Punishment

Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad won the right to serve as his own lawyer Monday in a surprise, last-minute request at his murder trial. He broke a year of stony silence by proclaiming his innocence in a rambling opening statement.

• Sniper Suspect Muhammad Argues Own Case
• Judge Orders Rape Trial for Kobe Bryant
• Box Cutter Case Suspect Charged, Released
• High Court to Review Judges' Sentencing

Crime & Punishment

Opening statements are expected today in John Allen Muhammad's capital murder trial in the sniper slaying of Dean Harold Meyers, a Vietnam veteran. Meyers was gunned down outside a northern Virginia gas station last October, the seventh victim of a three-week shooting spree.

• D.C. Sniper Trial to Open
• Peterson Preliminary Hearing Delayed
• Defense Tainted Kobe Bryant Case
• Mother Faces Murder Charge in Drownings

Class Action

Lawyers for International Business Machines Corp. and attorneys for two cancer-stricken former employees began questioning potential jurors in a California court on Monday as the first of about 250 health lawsuits filed against the company went to trial.

• Jury Selection Starts in IBM Cancer Lawsuit
• Smucker Sued Over '100 Percent' Fruit Label
• Suit: Judge Violated Rights of Defendants
• Making Microsoft Pay
• Republicans Try to Debate Class Action Bill
• Democrats May Block Class Action Bill

Malpractice

"Hospitals can be hazardous to your health." That spoonful of warning can be gleaned from the American Medical Association (AMA) report, which further gives us these alarming (read: scary) findings. A common ground for malpractice litigation (in the US as well as Canada) is medication error. Of the 40 hospitals surveyed, some hair-raising (and life-threatening) 3,427 mistakes were unearthed. In 90,000 malpractice claims over a period of seven years, medication error is the second most prevalent and second most expensive.

• Hospitals Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
• Malpractice Insurance Fight Heats Up
• Shire Receives FDA Letter on ADHD Drug
• Workplace Feels Health-Coverage Ills

Crime & Punishment

Jury selection in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad slowed Thursday as several would-be jurors said they believe he is guilty in the string of shootings that terrorized the Washington area a year ago.

• Sniper Trial Adds to Virginia Death Penalty Legacy
• Peterson Defense: Laci's Body Never In Boat
• Poll: Rape Accuser's Private Life Seen as 'Fair Game'
• Convicted Murderer Admits Killing 5 More

Class Action

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. has agreed to pay $236 million to settle a class-action case over faulty heating hoses. A U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey gave conditional approval to the settlement Friday. It covers property owners in Colorado and New Mexico.

• Goodyear Agrees to Pay $236M
• Suit Alleges Anthrax Drug's Side Effects
• Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of All Iowa New Car Buyers
• Feds Seek Way to Stop Counterfeit Drugs

Malpractice

The state-run insurance fund that provides extra coverage for doctors to pay medical malpractice claims has only $65 million in the till. And the fund, known as MCARE, must pay claims of more than $376 million by Dec. 31. An Insurance Department spokeswoman said MCARE figures to collect about $184 million from bills that were sent to docs on Sept. 15.

• Physicians and Lawyers at Odds Over Malpractice
• Insurance Company Gave Over $35,000 in Governor Race
• Contributions Still Flowing Into Politicians' Coffers
• Doctor Suspended Amid Drug Claims at University
• Hospitals Try to Avoid Budget Cuts

Crime & Punishment

Potential jurors in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad were questioned about their views on the death penalty Wednesday and asked whether they were terrorized by the crimes.

• Potential Jurors Chosen in Sniper Case
• Kobe Bryant Defense Says It Has Evidence
• Death Sought for Couple Charged in Boy's Death
• N.Y. Man Accused of Raping Daughter

Class Action

German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Bayer AG said on Thursday it had settled 1,683 lawsuits over recalled cholesterol drug Baycol out of court for $614 million. The figures are up from $477 million spent to settle 1,342 cases at the time of its last update on September 10.

• Bayer has Settled 1,683 Baycol Cases for $614M
• Disaster Ferry Pilot ‘May Have Fell Asleep’
• Judge Refuses to Halt Jury Selection
• Lawsuit Alleges Homeowners Scammed
• Judge: Auto Dealer’s Victims Can File Class-Action Lawsuit

Malpractice

The state-run insurance fund that provides extra coverage for doctors to pay medical malpractice claims has only $65 million in the till. And the fund, known as MCARE, must pay claims of more than $376 million by Dec. 31.

• State's Malpractice Fund Faces $128M Shortfall
• Willis Commentary: Medical Malpractice Insurance
• Malpractice-Insurance Debate Will Not Bring Easy Answers
• Parents of Woman in Legal Battle say Hope Remains
• Feds Seek Way to Stop Counterfeit Drugs

Crime & Punishment

What does the Kobe Bryant defense team have up its sleeve next? When the Los Angeles Lakers star finds himself back at his preliminary hearing on Wednesday all eyes will be on attorney Pamela Mackey to see if she has any more "Perry Mason" moments.

• Kobe Bryant Rape Hearing to Resume After Bombshell
• Prosecutors Say Kobe's Defense Is Smearing Accuser
• Peterson Phone Logs Shed New Light on Affair
• Oklahoma Bomb Case Judge Criticizes Feds

Class Action

An outbreak of E. coli poisoning has sickened at least 34 people in San Diego County, prompting two lawsuits against the companies that allegedly supplied contaminated lettuce served to customers at the Pat & Oscar's chain of restaurants. A Carlsbad high school student filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday against Gold Coast Produce, a Southern California company that packaged the lettuce, and Family Tree Produce of Anaheim, which distributed it.

• Outbreak of E. Coli Prompts Lawsuits
• Wives Suing to Bring End to Abuse Under Polygamy
• Vet Targets Agent Orange Firms
• Justices Let Stand Medical Marijuana
• IBM E-Mail Shows Workers Knew of Disk Drive Failures

Malpractice

It was during a chance meeting with a personal injury lawyer from the Elk & Elk Co. law firm that Butler learned that such births are not normal. Her lawsuit was filed originally in 1997 and thrown out by a judge. An appeals court reinstated the case, and the lawsuit was refiled earlier this year.

• Jury Sides With Family In Lawsuit
• Jury Awards Should Be High Sometimes
• Doctor Faces Libel Suit From Former Firm
• A Right-to-Die Battle Enters Its Final Days
• Program Aims To Lure Doctors

Crime & Punishment

Kobe Bryant's defense team may have more surprises in store when the preliminary hearing in Bryant's sexual assault case resumes Wednesday, analysts said. When the hearing resumes, some suggest his attorney may have another surprise -- a rare subpoena for witnesses to testify. Typically, only the prosecution calls witnesses at a preliminary hearing.

• More Surprises in Store From Kobe's Defense
• Sniper Case Defense to Cost Taxpayers $1M
• Inmate on Lam Surrenders at His Home
• Lawsuit Filed in Missing Girl Hoax Case

Class Action

A wave of class action lawsuits are being filed in the Georgia court systems as consumers react in the aftermath of the decision by the state’s Supreme Court in 2001 that ruled insurers must consider diminished value (DV) in first-party claims by policyholders, and is raising concerns that insurers have lowered the total-loss threshold because they must pay out additional compensation.

• Wave of Class Action Lawsuits Being Filed in Georgia
• Court Considers Antitrust Laws to Sue Phone Companies
• Judge Delays Ruling on $470 Million Aetna Settlement
• Fla. Jury Rules on Secondhand Smoke Case
• Postal Workers Sue Over Anthrax Exposure
• Swiss Banks Cooperating With Nazi Probe

Malpractice

Gov. John G. Rowland said Tuesday that he is disappointed the legislature isn't planning to pass a bill to address the medical malpractice insurance problem. Rowland supports a cap on certain jury awards as a way to cut insurance premium costs.

• Special Session, but not on Caps
• Physicians' Rally Will Protest Malpractice Costs
• Insurance to Blame for Rising Cost of Malpractice
• Whitfield touts Fletcher's Rx

Crime & Punishment

Perhaps the biggest mystery remaining before trial begins Tuesday for sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad is the true nature of his relationship with his teenage companion, fellow suspect Lee Boyd Malvo.

• Trial of Older Sniper Suspect to Open
• Prosecutors Seek to Close Portion of Kobe Hearing
• Experts Debate Bryant's Legal Strategy
• Pennsylvania Police Hunt Escaped Murder Suspect

Class Action

An East Alton law firm is waging a national media campaign in search of potential plaintiffs who allegedly have become addicted to the painkiller, OxyContin, the same drug broadcaster Rush Limbaugh is accused of obtaining illegally. The Simmons Law Firm claims the drug company Purdue Pharma sold a morphine-like painkiller with a defective time-release mechanism.

• Law Firm Seeks Users of OxyContin
• IBM's Chemical Trial Set to Begin
• Judge Surprises Mylan by Pulling Order
• KB Toys Holds Big Sale as Part of Settlement
• Catholic Church Deal May Just be Beginning

Malpractice

Doctors perennially complain about lawsuits and their connection to the ever-rising cost of medical malpractice insurance. But the president of the Illinois State Bar Association, who recently toured Southern Illinois, said doctors should complain about insurance companies instead of medical malpractice lawyers such as him.

• Insurance to Blame for Rising Cost of Malpractice
• RIMC Doctor to Face 3 Negligence Cases
• Doctor Apologizes for Identifying Jurors
• Doctors Fight Malpractice Insurance
• The Horrifying Case of Terri Schiavo

Crime & Punishment

Lee Boyd Malvo's lawyers say they will mount an insanity defense at his murder trial in the Washington sniper case, arguing that the teenager was a victim of "indoctrination" by the older John Allen Muhammad.

• Teen Sniper Suspect to Plead Insanity
• Detective Details Alleged Bryant Assault
• Two Arrested in Kidnap of Senator's Wife
• Ex-F.B.I. Agent Is Charged in a 1981 Gangland Killing

Malpractice

A Bronx jury has given a $12.7 million medical malpractice award to a 17-year-old girl who suffered severe brain damage when she was born. The jury of three men and three women deliberated two days before awarding the money to Jennifer Colon, a high school student who has cerebral palsy and impaired motor skills because of her traumatic birth at North Central Bronx Hospital.

• $12.7M Awarded To Bronx Teen
• Doctor Admits Signing Prozac Letter
• Medical Injuries Wreak Havoc Beyond Patients' Pain
• State Fears Malpractice Suit Liability

Class Action

Enron North America Corp. is seeking at least $45 million from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for ending a 2001 derivatives agreement, according to Goldman Sachs' quarterly report. Goldman's report was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Enron Seeks $45 Million From Goldman Sachs
• Results Trace Infection To Green Onions
• Class-Action OK'd Against Tyson
• Black Soot Lawsuit In Court
• Lawyer Says Firms Must Pay For Apartheid
• February Hearing On Microsoft Settlement

Crime & Punishment

One day before Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was due in court on charges that he raped a 19-year-old Colorado woman, court officials said it was still not clear if a hearing to decide if he must stand trial would take place.

• Kobe Bryant's Court Hearing Still in Doubt
• Queens Priest Had Porn, Gun, Nazi Paraphernalia
• Professor Arrested in Internet Sex Sting
• Detective Charged With Battery In Paraplegic Case

Class Action

The state cannot charge people twice to reinstate a driver's license after a single drunken-driving conviction, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that could cost taxpayers more than $8 million. The court ruled 5-2 that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles can charge people only once for a license reinstatement. The ruling requires the state to pay back one fee - plus interest - to people who were charged twice.

• Ohio Has To Pay Millions To Drunk Drivers
• Widows Settle Lawsuit In South Shore Crash
• Division in Church Abuse Settlement
• Lawyer Takes on Pharmacy Benefits Managers
• Parents Sue School Over Wireless Network

Malpractice

An attorney's questionable closing arguments may have unfairly dashed the outcome of a weeklong medical malpractice trial, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday. Ordering a second trial for plaintiff Lucille Schoon of Brookings, the justices said defense attorney Ed Evans of Sioux Falls made several mistakes in closing arguments to Minnehaha County jurors.

• Second Malpractice Trial Ordered
• DePaolo Not Liable In Malpractice Case
• Doctor-Owned Insurance Company Steps Forward
• Doctors Call For Lawsuits Caps and Limitations

Crime & Punishment

Attorneys in the Kobe Bryant case huddled with the judge Tuesday but didn't answer the biggest question: Will the NBA star waive his preliminary hearing to keep potentially damaging evidence from being heard publicly?

• No Word on Whether Kobe Bryant Will Waive Hearing
• Peterson Defense Seeks to Bar Evidence
• Prosecutors Drop Bid for Malvo Testimony
• Armed Man Arrested at Georgia Cathedral

Malpractice

A man whose doctors left a 16-by-28-inch surgical towel in his abdomen after he underwent surgery for an aortic aneurysm was awarded $455,000 in damages Tuesday. William Barlow, 62, developed a blood infection and fever after leaving the Veteran's Administration hospital in December 2000, according to a summary of the case released by the judge. The towel was removed four months later.

• Patient Wins Award After Surgery Mishap
• Med Complications May Cost $9B Per Year
• Injuries Wreak Havoc Beyond Patients' Pain
• Doctors Campaign For Medical Malpractice Reform

Class Action

Lawyers in a Florida class-action suit against Microsoft say businesses may not realize how much they stand to lose if they don’t file a claim for a share of the proposed settlement. The settlement proposal would allow home consumers and businesses to collect $12 per operating system — Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition — and $5 for other Microsoft software applications purchased between Nov. 16, 1995, and Dec. 31, 2002.

• Lawyers say Businesses Should Get In On Settlement
• Illinois Court Dismisses Lead-Paint Suit
• IBM Files Appeal In Calif. Cancer Case
• WW II Holocaust Victims' Compensation in Doubt

Crime & Punishment

The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling by a federal appeals court allowing Arkansas officials to force a convicted murderer to take drugs that would make him sane enough to be executed.

• Ruling Allows Forcible Drugging Before Execution
• Supreme Court Denies 'Crack Mom' Appeal
• Martha Stewart Lawyers Seek to Dismiss Charges
• Rape Crisis Center Notes Off Limits to Kobe Bryant

Class Action

The Supreme Court is showing no inclination to rejoin the fight over large class-action lawsuits, leaving it to politicians for now. As the court began a nine-month term Monday, the justices rejected a group of class-action appeals that asked where the lawsuits belong and how they can be challenged.

• Court Sidesteps Class-Action Cases
• Court Debates States' Ability To Get Out Of Settlements
• Court Sets Aside $79.5 Mln Smoker Award
• Company to Repay Customers for Web Claims

Malpractice

The IRS wants to reach into a Boston banker's grave to collect $1.9 million it claims he owes. Even though the malpractice case isn't expected to go to trial until next year, the IRS demanded John J. Ryan's estate pay the $1.9 million in additional 2000 estate taxes, penalties and interest - presuming that Ryan's estate would receive $4 million from the case.

• Trial Yet To Come, But IRS Demands Its Share
• Is Medical Malpractice Academic?
• $170,000 Awarded In Malpractice Trial
• Bill Seeks To Halt Rising Malpractice Insurance Costs

Crime & Punishment

A woman opened fire at an Atlanta church before services started Sunday morning, killing her mother and the minister before committing suicide. Congregants of Turner Monumental AME Church said Shelia W. Chaney Wilson, 43, was agitated when she came to the church.

• Woman Kills Mom, Pastor, Self in Church
• Rush a 'Little Frustrated' by Drug Allegations
• Court: DNA Prisoner Database Unconstitutional
• Colorado Town Readies for Bryant Hearing

Class Action

The Supreme Court refused Monday to stop about 2,600 current and former Black managers from suing food services company Sodexho Marriott Services Inc. in what the company described as the largest employment discrimination case of its kind. Nearly $1 billion is at stake, the company maintains.

• Court Allows $1 Billion Class-Action Bias Case To Proceed
• Judge OKs DaimlerChrysler Settlement
• Microsoft Suit Raises Thorny Questions
• Jackpot Justice?

Malpractice

A new study says health care premiums nationally rose an average 8.6 percent each year since 1999, while workers' wages rose only 3.5 percent annually. But many people don't have any health insurance at all. Last year there were 43.6 million uninsured Americans, or 15.2 percent of the population. In Berrien County the rate of uninsured is even higher, 21.3 percent, according to a 2002 survey.

• Health Insurance's Growing Share of People's Incomes
• Liability Insurance Hikes Scaring off Some Doctors
• Calif. Forces Employers to Provide Insurance to Employees
• "Bad Faith" Claims Handling Leads to Punitive Award
• Court Rejects Medicated Death Row Inmate's Case

Crime & Punishment

It's been a rough week for talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. First he resigned from his role as football commentator at ESPN after making comments about a black quarterback and then a report in a New York newspaper said he was under investigation for illegally obtaining prescription drugs. Limbaugh said he knew of no such investigation.

• Report: Limbaugh Faces Probe Over Prescription Drugs
• Defense Attacks State's Evidence Against Durham Writer
• Defense Loses Bid to Have Kobe Bryant's Accuser Testify
• Death Penalty Barred From Moussaoui Case

Class Action

Federal officials are taking a close look at rural communities in Mississippi known for their huge dollar awards in class-action lawsuits. FBI agents want to know -- among other things -- how the juries were picked. One of the biggest jury awards, $150 million in a diet-drug case, came in Jefferson County.

• FBI Descends On Area Known For Huge Jury Awards
• Microsoft Faces Class-Action on Security Breaches
• Security Suit Against Microsoft Could Turn Huge
• HMO Lawyer Takes On Pharmacy Benefit Companies

Malpractice

A former insurance executive told a special legislative panel that insurers trying to recoup losses caused by bad business decisions are to blame for skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates. "This is a crisis created by the medical malpractice insurers because of their own ineptness during the 1990s and the collapse of interest rates during the last few years," said Howard P. Weiss, former senior vice president for MIIX Insurance Co. of Lawrenceville, Mercer County.

• Malpractice Hikes Blamed On Insurers
• Witness Tampering Alleged In Medical Negligence Suit
• Insurance Rates High Even After Legislation
• Assembly Committee Holds Hearing On Medical Malpractice

Class Action

It's bad news for the Enron bunch. Current and former employees were granted class-action status by a federal judge who also denied motions by Enron and its former chief executive, Kenneth Lay, requesting that the claims be dismissed. Employees claim Enron's officers did not live up to their duties in administering the company's pension plan.

• Judge Approves Enron Class-Action Suit
• Microsoft Strikes $10 Million Settlement Deal
• AT&T Settling Cable Lawsuits
• Gulf Vets' Lawyer Targets Firms for Sales to Iraq

Malpractice

New Jersey physicians may be getting some help with their medical malpractice insurance in the form of competition. A new company, Physicians Trust, will begin offering the coverage in the state by the end of this year, using a plan based on a model of former mutual insruance companies.

• New Malpractice Option for Jersey Docs
• Hospitals Replace Emergency Staffing Provider
• Gov. Bush Wants Full Disclosure of Political Contributions
• Congressional Study Refutes Malpractice Crisis in Florida

Crime & Punishment

Robert Kardashian, the lawyer-friend to whom O.J. Simpson first turned for help in 1994, has died at age 59. Kardashian died Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home eight weeks after being diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, said his former wife, Kris Jenner.

• Robert Kardashian, Lawyer for O.J., Dies
• Malvo Takes Fifth at Muhammad Hearing
• Juror in Peterson Trial Detained for Public Intoxication
• Remains Identified As Green River Killer Victim

Class Action

A federal judge has approved a settlement in a class-action case which charged the nation's largest cigarette makers conspired to rig bids at tobacco auctions. The case covered a half-million tobacco growers, U.S. District Judge William Osteen approved the settlement that guarantees that Philip Morris and other cigarette companies will buy more than 400 million pounds of leaf over the next 10 years.

• Judge Approves Settlement In Tobacco Case
• Federal Judge Denies Class Certification on Ephedra
• Verizon Settles Class Action Suit for 20 Million Dollars
• U.S. District Court Rules in Favor of Monsanto

Malpractice

Passage of a Texas medical malpractice ballot initiative appears likely to produce the impact physicians desired -- a decrease in liability premiums. And doctor groups hope that the measure's success will spur similar action in other states. The measure amends the Texas Constitution to allow caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. Within days of the vote, some insurers announced plans to reduce liability insurance rates.

• Texas Tort Reform Vote Signals Lower Liability Rates
• Doctor to Celebrities Pleads No Contest
• Valley's Newest Hospital To Open
• Consumers Are Signing Away Their Right To Sue

Crime & Punishment

Lee Boyd Malvo will be called as a witness Wednesday in a pretrial hearing for his fellow sniper shootings suspect, John Allen Muhammad. Peter Greenspun, Muhammad's lawyer, said Malvo was summoned regarding a motion under court seal. He said he did not subpoena Malvo as a witness.

• Malvo Summoned for Muhammad's Hearing
• Judge Dismisses Juror in Michael Peterson Trial
• Judge Jails Alleged Rape Victim
• Jordan Denied Funds in Lewinsky Probe