Rejecting a shopping mall store's arguments that a porch-like front doorway with two steps was in compliance with disability laws because handicapped-accessible doors were right at hand, too, a federal judge in Colorado today held that Hollister Co. had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel said the company, which is a brand of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., unnecessarily excluded individuals with handicaps from the full enjoyment of the aesthetic of shopping at their facilities, according to the Denver Post. The U.S. Department of Justice took a similar view in a statement of interest filed…

A well-known Washington, D.C., lawyer whose practice combines litigation and media relations work on behalf of clients has been sued by a major corporation for defamation, along with other defendants including his law firm. 3M Company contends in a federal lawsuit (PDF) that Lanny Davis "orchestrated" a "conspiracy" on behalf of parties to litigation then pending in the United Kingdom, in which they allegedly campaigned "to coerce and intimidate 3M into paying defendants tens of millions of dollars under the guise of 'settling' " the suit for some $30 million. Towards that end, 3M contends, Davis made phone calls from…

The top federal prosecutor in Arizona has resigned, effective immediately, and two other officials who oversaw a botched federal investigation of gun-running operation have been reassigned. In the probe, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly stood by as hundreds of weapons were illegally purchased for Mexican drug cartels. Two of the weapons purchased in Operation Fast and Furious were eventually found at the scene of a December gun battle in which a U.S. Border Patrol Agent was murdered, which sparked a congressional probe. Although billed as voluntary by the Department of Justice, the resignation yesterday…

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to block AT&T's $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile. In a complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., Justice Department lawyers claim that eliminating T-Mobile as a low-priced alternative will remove “a significant competitive force from the market,” according to the New York Times Dealbook blog and Bloomberg News. If the deal is allowed to go forward, mobile wireless customers will likely see higher prices, less product variety and lower quality services, the complaint says. The court filing contends the acquisition would violate antitrust law and seeks a court order blocking the merger.

The purchaser of a 1993 Ford Thunderbird from Zac’s Auto can sue the dealer who sold the vehicle to Zac’s Auto under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, on a claim that the car is worth much less than she paid because of a false odometer reading; a Lynchburg U.S. District Court says the sale was [...]

We’ve all had the feeling. You wish you could take back something you’ve said. In most situations, the feeling comes too late. But, when you want to take back a statement you made under oath in a federal lawsuit, the rules seem to offer some hope. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, you have a month [...]

A proposal in Tennessee seeks to cut down on indigent defense costs by giving some of the work to lawyers who bid for the right to do the work on a fixed-fee basis. Critics claim the proposal would put justice up for sale to the lowest bidder, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Private lawyers would participate in “a highway contract-style bidding process” under the proposal by the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Tennessean says in its story on the controversy. Private defense lawyers in the state supplement the work of the public defender’s office when it has a conflict or too…

Convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell won’t get a new trial based on a juror’s reaction to his wink. Judge Dick Ambrose of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, refused Sowell’s defense attorneys' request on Tuesday, report CNN and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The motion had claimed the jury forewoman revealed she was prejudiced against him during an Aug. 12 news conference, but she never disclosed her feelings to the judge during the trial. Jurors convicted Sowell in July in the murders of 11 women. At the news conference, held after jurors recommended a death sentence, the forewoman said Sowell had played to cameras,…

ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III agrees the poor need more legal help, but says deregulating law practice is not the answer. Robinson outlines the ABA’s views on legal aid for the poor in a letter to the editor of the New York Times. His letter responds to a Times op-ed last week that suggests the “justice gap” could be addressed by allowing nonlawyers “into the mix” who could handle easier matters such as uncontested divorces. A Wall Street Journal op-ed by two Brookings Institution fellows, also published last week, made a similar point. Robinson disagrees. “A rush to…

A federal judge has blocked key parts of a Texas law that required women seeking abortions to view sonograms of the fetus and listen to the heartbeat. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, finding the law violates the First Amendment rights of doctors and patients, report Reuters, the New York Times and the Austin American-Statesman. "The act compels physicians to advance an ideological agenda with which they may not agree, regardless of any medical necessity, and irrespective of whether the pregnant women wish to listen," Sparks wrote. Last week, Sparks rejected an anti-abortion lawyer’s request…