District attorney to investigate home where CPS seized 11 children

District attorney to investigate home where CPS seized 11 children Houston Chronicle Copyright 2012 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 09:22 p.m., Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Liberty County prosecutors announced Tuesday they plan a criminal investigation into what happened inside a small brick house that ...

Judge strikes down law mandating sale of (Reuters)

Reuters - A federal judge declared on Wednesday that a Washington state rule requiring pharmacists to dispense emergency contraceptives against their religious beliefs is unconstitutional.

Obama signs payroll tax agreement into law

President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the agreement passed by Congress last week to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits while preventing a cut in payments to Medicare doctors.

Lesbian federal worker wins health benefits case (AP)

AP - A federal judge in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that the U.S. government cannot deny health benefits to the wife of a lesbian court employee by relying on the 1996 law that bars government recognition of same-sex unions.

Grandmother, stepmother charged with running girl to death (Reuters)

Reuters - Two Alabama women were accused of murder on Wednesday for allegedly killing a young girl by forcing her to run for three hours without stopping, authorities said.

Texas man gets life in prison in torture case (AP)

AP - A Texas man who kidnapped his former neighbor and tortured her while holding her captive nearly two weeks was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

Union sues to block Indiana's right-to-work law

Union members went to federal court Wednesday to ask a judge to block Indiana's new right-to-work law from being enforced, the first lawsuit and latest conflict over the divisive legislation.

Union sues to block Indiana's right-to-work law (AP)

AP - Union members went to federal court Wednesday to ask a judge to block Indiana's new right-to-work law from being enforced, the first lawsuit and latest conflict over the divisive legislation.

Ex-lacrosse player convicted of second-degree murder (Reuters)

Reuters - A jury on Wednesday found former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V guilty of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of his ex-girlfriend.

Restitution gap in massive credit card scheme case (AP)

AP - Attorneys for a Canadian man convicted in what investigators said was one of the largest credit card schemes in U.S. history tediously denied Wednesday that he owes nearly $750,000 in restitution by challenging dozens of his alleged victims one-by-one in court.

Report: Maryland man at Gitmo reaches plea deal (AP)

AP - The U.S. has reportedly reached a plea deal with a former Maryland man held at Guantanamo accused of joining al-Qaida and participating in a series of post-Sept. 11 terror plots.

Attorney pleads guilty to defrauding pro athletes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A New Orleans attorney who represented professional athletes in their workers' compensation claims has pleaded guilty to defrauding clients out of more than $462,000. Sixty-seven-year-old Robert Hackett faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine following his guilty plea Wednesday to mail fraud. Federal prosecutors say Hackett collected payments from ...

Conn. mom pleads guilty in school residency case (AP)

AP - A Connecticut woman who was homeless has pleaded guilty to fraudulently enrolling her son in the wrong school district.

California Attorney General reaches accord on privacy issue

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris of California said on Wednesday she reached an agreement with six major companies to provide consumers with greater privacy disclosures. Her agreement with the six largest ...

Michigan man pleads guilty in explosives case (AP)

AP - A Michigan man accused of buying and hiding more than 4,000 pounds of explosives with enough potential firepower to equal the Oklahoma City bombing has pleaded guilty to one count, though his attorney insisted Wednesday that his client had no violent intentions.

Lawyer: Prosecutor improperly inflamed jury during trial of former Quality Paving owner

BRIGHTON — Adams County prosecutors improperly inflamed jurors during the Jerry Rhea fraud case and a new trial should be held for the former owner of Quality Paving and Quality

Ex-mine official charged in fatal W. Virginia blast (Reuters)

Reuters - The former superintendent of the West Virginia coal mine where 29 workers died in a 2010 explosion was charged on Wednesday with felony conspiracy for tipping off employees to safety inspections and concealing dangerous violations, authorities said.

Suspect in Capitol bomb sting waives court hearing (AP)

AP - A Virginia man charged with plotting a suicide bombing inside the U.S. Capitol as part of an FBI sting will remain in jail while he awaits trial after he waived his right to a detention hearing Wednesday.

Attorney for disbanded Flushing Township Police Department officers 'prepared to go to court'

An attorney for the Police Officers Labor Council, which represents officers in Flushing Township's disbanded police department, said he's prepared to go to court to block the township from replacing his clients.

Houston Attorney: Bobby Brown Bailed on Whitney Funeral Over Seating Snafu

Now it's time for Whitney Houston's family's time to get out its version of events about Bobby Brown's abrupt exit from his ex-wife's funeral early last Saturday. In...

Police: 2 Ga. children reported missing found safe (AP)

AP - Two young children who police say were kidnapped from the side of an Atlanta-area interstate early Wednesday are safe but authorities are looking for the man who took them and later dropped them off with friends, authorities say.

Union suing to block Indiana right-to-work law

Union members went to federal court Wednesday to ask a judge to block Indiana's new right-to-work law from being enforced, the first lawsuit and latest conflict over the divisive legislation.

Report: Crime at US public schools on the decline (AP)

AP - Violent crime at the nation's schools is declining, and students and schools are reporting less bullying and gang activity.

Prosecutor, Goldman overreached: programmer's lawyer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kevin Marino may be the lawyer of the moment, after persuading a U.S. appellate court panel last week to overturn the criminal conviction of a former Goldman Sachs Group computer programmer. The U.S. Court of Appeals moved with rare and unprecedented speed in reversing Sergey Aleynikov's conviction on a charge of stealing trade secrets, just hours after Marino appeared ...

Prosecutor, Goldman overreached: programmer's lawyer (Reuters)

Reuters - Kevin Marino may be the lawyer of the moment, after persuading a U.S. appellate court panel last week to overturn the criminal conviction of a former Goldman Sachs Group computer programmer.

Attorney says deputies have wrong woman in jail

The attorney for a woman arrested after officials said she did not send her child to school said deputies have the wrong woman. Eyewitness News reported Monday that deputies arrested Elizabeth Marrero after the state attorney's office said her daughter missed nearly two full years of school. However, Marrero's attorney said she does not have a daughter. The state attorney's office is now ...

High court torn over law banning lies about medals

Free speech cases before the Supreme Court often lead justices to consider far-fetched scenarios, and Wednesday's argument over a law making it a crime to lie about having received top military honors was no exception.

NH jury chosen in Rwanda genocide case (AP)

AP - The trial of a New Hampshire woman charged with lying about her role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide is expected to transport jurors back almost 18 years to a roadblock outside a family owned hotel in Butare where prosecutors say the defendant decided who would live and who would die.

In Speech, Top Pentagon Lawyer Defends Targeted Killing Program

Jeh Johnson said there's no difference between today's high-tech strikes and past actions like targeting an airplane carrying the commander of the Japanese Navy in 1943.

Trial opens in Calif for alleged drug gang members (AP)

AP - Two members of a breakaway Mexican drug gang dissolved their victims' corpses in vats of acid in a gruesome display of Mexican cartel tactics played out on U.S. soil, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

Woman tries to hire hit man to kill fur-wearer: FBI (Reuters)

Reuters - An Ohio woman who likened freeing lab animals to liberating Holocaust survivors was being held in custody Wednesday on charges she used Facebook to try to hire a hit man to kill a person at random for wearing fur, prosecutors said.

W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly blast (AP)

AP - Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 men are working their way up the corporate ladder with criminal charges.

California Attorney General Reaches Deal on App Privacy

California’s attorney general, Kamala D. Harris, said on Wednesday that the state had reached an agreement with Amazon.com, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research in Motion to strengthen privacy protections for smartphone owners who download mobile applications.

Ark. man pleads not guilty in death of teen (AP)

AP - A convicted rapist accused of killing a 16-year-old girl he met online pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday, several days after authorities found the girl's body in a blue, plastic barrel in western Arkansas.

High court torn over law banning lie about medals

The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided Wednesday over a law that makes it a crime to lie about having been awarded top military honors.

Onit Joins Legal Cloud Computing Association (LCCA)

HOUSTON, TX-- - Onit, a leading provider of business productivity and process management apps, today announced it has joined the Legal Cloud Computing Association , a consortium of leading cloud computing ...

Prosecutor: Glock lawyer used role to steal money

A Georgia prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that a former attorney for gun manufacturer Glock Inc. was essentially running the company's U.S. operations and used his position to steal millions from his employer.

Law Office of Brodsky & Smith, LLC Announces Investigation of ATS Corporation

BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Law office of Brodsky & Smith, LLC announces that it is investigating potential claims against the Board of Directors of ATS Corporation ("ATS" ...

Baez No Longer Casey Anthony's Lawyer

Lawyer Jose Baez says he no longer represents Casey Anthony, whose murder case made him famous

Jose Baez no longer attorney for Casey Anthony

Attorney Jose Baez says he no longer represents Casey Anthony, the Florida mother whose 2011 murder trial made him one of the best known criminal defense lawyers in the country.