July '07
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For Experts, Consultants & Legal Professionals Nationwide

Welcome to our 9th issue. Some interesting cases this month, along with two very different articles from renowned experts in their field. We've also completed our usual trawl of newsworthy items from around the U.S. and overseas that should be of interest to experts and attorneys alike. 'X-Pro News' is compiled by lawyers but please remember that we rely on your submissions in order to make it work each month, so whether you're a legal pro or an expert, let us have your input and we'll do our best to publish it.

Law

  • Schriro v Landrigan Criminal Law, sentencing. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a death row inmate who directed his lawyer not to present mitigating evidence that could spare him then argued on appeal that the attorney was ineffective.

  • Bell Atlantic v Twombly Civil, antitrust. The Supreme Court has decided in favour of some the largest U.S. local phone companies in a lawsuit by consumers alleging anti-competitive business practices. The court ruled 7-2 that the suit lacked any specifics in accusing the companies of secretly agreeing not to compete in each other's territories for local telephone and high-speed Internet service. Anyone involved in antitrust work or pleadings in complex cases should read this case carefully.

  • Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire Co. Employment, Labor Law. The U.S. Supreme Court has limited workers' ability to sue employers for pay discrimination that results from decisions made years earlier. The court, in a 5-4 ruling, said that employers would otherwise find it difficult to defend against claims "arising from employment decisions that are long past."

  • California v Knoller Criminal Law, dangerous dogs, 'implied malice'. California Supreme Court - In the murder case brought against the former attorneys and owners of two dogs that attacked and killed a woman in San Francisco, the Court ordered that the conviction of one defendant be sent back to the trial court using the proper test for "implied malice" in her second-degree murder case.

  • Phillips v. Gelpke - As this case was widely reported in the media we have included the details in our 'In The News' section below.


    • Events
    26-29/07/07 (CO):

    ‘NSPE Annual Conference’ The National Association of Professional Engineers has arranged a stellar line up of top notch speakers and informative seminars, plus an array of special events to get you out and about the mile high city of Denver.

    Sep/Oct 07 (CA):

    Mock Trial: FEWA event - 6 hour participation workshop where experts learn, develop & apply basic trial skills & advanced expert techniques.

    26/10/07 (FL):

    Safe Florida 2007 American Society of Safety Engineers - A comprehensive one-day safety conference and exposition focussing on the construction and hospitality industries.


    Articles

  • 'Why Do Plastic Parts Fail?' Such failure often leads to personal injury or other cases. Expert Vishu Shah, a consultant with specialist firm Consultek gives us an insight.

  • 'Borderline Personality Disorder vs Antisocial Personality Disorder' Renowned UK based clinical psychologist Dr Ludwig Lowenstein provides an article that will interest fellow experts, criminal practitioners and others.


    In The News

    6/17/07 (UK): Lockerbie Bomber - New Evidence Casts Doubt Two hundred and seventy people died as a result of the 1988 Lockerbie bomb. The tragedy constituted the worst terrorist atrocity in British aviation history and sparked the biggest murder investigation in British legal history.


    6/12/07 (IL): Nice Work If You Can Get It Part 2: Black Expert Bills $800,000 An expert witness called by the defense in the Conrad Black trial has billed approximately $800,000 to review documents and testify in the case, jurors heard yesterday.


    6/08/07 (CT): New Trial For Teacher In Porn Case As a follow up to an earlier story (X-Pro News, Dec'06) a judge has ordered a retrial in the case of Julie Amero, the substitute teacher accused of exposing her pupils to Internet pornography.


    6/02/07 (CA): Marines Executed Civilians Says Report San Diego - Some of the Iraqi civilians killed in Haditha by US marines, including women and children, died of execution-style gunshot wounds and not grenade explosions, according to new evidence presented at a pre-trial hearing in California.


    6/01/07 (VA): Animal Forensics On The Rise When Marilyn Christian's cat was killed she suspected a local dog was the culprit. She eventually paid $500 for the evidence to be tested at the Veterinary Genetics Lab at the University of California at Davis, which has the largest database of domesticated-animal DNA in the country.


    5/25/07 (CA): Spector Expert Withheld Evidence, Rules Judge. Renowned Forensic Scientist Henry Lee's extraordinary reputation is under attack. The judge in Phil Spector's murder trial has ruled that Lee removed something from the scene where actress Lana Clarkson was shot and withheld it from the prosecution.


    5/23/07 (NJ): Dream-Refreshed Recall Of Abuse Needs No Expert. Expert testimony is not required when a plaintiff bases a child sexual abuse claim on recalled memories, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday.


    5/21/07 (SC): Attorney Guilty Of Murder, Say Jury A Columbia jury has returned a guilty verdict against an attorney on trial for murder.


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