Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from September 2007

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from September 2007

St. Louis-based abortion doctor added to lawsuit.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge on Friday granted a St. Louis-based private abortion provider the right to intervene in Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against new state requirements for abortion clinics, the doctor's lawyer said. At the...

U of Missouri-St. Louis student guilty but free to leave Russia.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter An UMSL student detained in Russia is free to return to St. Louis. Roxana Contreras' trial concluded Friday with Russian prosecutors dropping charges that the student was trying to smuggle old medals and coins out of...

Nonpartisan court plan, baseball on tap for annual Missouri Bar meeting.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Major players in the ongoing controversy over Missouri's selection of judges will sit down to hash out the issues of the nonpartisan court plan at The Missouri Bar's annual meeting later this month. Current and...

Two former area police officers sentenced on civil rights charges.
September 4, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report Two former officers of the Velda City Police Department were sentenced Friday to federal prison for conspiring to violate the civil rights of a jailed man. Mark Winger, a former detective, and...

St. Louis lingerie business makes good on orders.
September 4, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report A local Internet-based lingerie business has made refunds or shipped merchandise totaling nearly $22,900, complying with a court order sought by the state attorney general's office. Last year,...

St. Louis trials set in fireworks deaths, after $1M settlements reached.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese More than four years after a fireworks explosion killed five workers in Florida, what's left of the wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits that followed are set for trial in St. Louis in 2008. The families of the...

St. Louis man pleads guilty in mortgage fraud case.
September 5, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff A St. Louis man pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy and money laundering in a mortgage fraud case that operated mainly in south St. Louis. Dack Daugherty, 38, was part of a ring that included real...

Verizon Wireless settles some phone tax suits in Missouri.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Verizon Wireless has agreed to settle for about $30 million its share of a lawsuit filed by a couple dozen Missouri cities over cell phone taxes. The company has agreed to pay two years' worth of back taxes, plus about...

St. Louis federal judge qualifies suit as possible class action.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A Phoenix-based maker of audio equipment faces a possible class-action lawsuit concerning overtime pay after a decision last week by a St. Louis federal judge. U.S. District Judge Catherine E. Perry approved...

Convicted killer tries again to avoid death penalty in Missouri Supreme Court.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday heard for the fourth time a death sentence appeal by convicted murderer Ernest Lee Johnson. Johnson, represented by special public defender Elizabeth Unger Carlyle, argued...

Wentzville man pleads guilty in child porn case.
September 6, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Statt A Wentzville man faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing child pornography. Seth Patrick Goggins, 22, admitted to the felony during a...

Appellate Judicial Commission to seek Western District judge in Mo.
September 6, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The Appellate Judicial Commission is accepting applications for the position of judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District, to fill the vacancy created by the Aug. 1 retirement of Judge...

Newsmakers.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Staff report Charles W. Burson has joined Bryan Cave as of counsel in the firm's St. Louis office. He will practice with Bryan Cave's corporate compliance group and its defense and regulatory affairs, public policy and legislation...

Missouri death row inmate claims double jeopardy.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The lawyer for a man convicted of killing an 81-year-old woman 16 years ago argued before the Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday that her client's conviction should be set aside on grounds of double jeopardy. Attorney...

Missouri private eye sues Ray Vinson for libel.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A private investigator who dug up dirt on Ray Vinson during his 2006 divorce is suing the mortgage man for allegedly libeling her on his personal Web site. Rhonda Cidlik of Pacific, Mo., has done surveillance work...

Patricia Breckenridge tapped for Missouri Supreme Court.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck After 43 days of anxiety, acrimony and accusations, Gov. Matt Blunt on Friday made a choice most observers had expected him to make from the get-go: naming Patricia Breckenridge as the state's newest Supreme Court...

St. Louis Circuit Court to vote on videoconferencing.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The St. Louis Circuit Court is scheduled to vote this month on a proposed local rule that would allow its probate division to conduct civil commitment hearings through videoconferencing. A group of psychiatric...

Supreme Court judge defends judicial selection process.
September 11, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A former chief justice of Missouri's Supreme Court on Monday defended the way Missouri chooses judges for its highest courts. Judge Michael Wolff, whose term as chief justice ended in June, spoke to a group of law...

Missouri Gov. Blunt appoints Jarrett to Public Service Commission.
September 12, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Gov. Matt Blunt on Tuesday appointed his former general counsel to the Public Service Commission for a seven-year term. The body regulates investor-owned public utilities in the state. Terry Jarrett, 47,...

Missouri Court of Appeals upholds judgment against Charles Polk.
September 12, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff An appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $3.6 million judgment in a fraud and legal malpractice lawsuit against former attorney Charles Polk. A three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern...

St. Louis Circuit judge schedules General American trial for 2009.
September 12, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The liquidators of General American won't get to try their case against Goldman Sachs until 2009. St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer on Tuesday set the five-week trial for Feb. 2 of that year, despite...

Chief justice defends court plan to Missouri senators.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith found broad support Tuesday from the Senate committee that called her to testify in Jefferson City on Missouri's judicial selection process. All committee members present at the state...

Missouri Court of Appeals rules endangerment law doesn't cover unborn.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri law does not allow the state to prosecute a pregnant woman for risking the health of her unborn child, the Kansas City-based Missouri Court of Appeals said Tuesday. The court's decision didn't come as a...

Candidates in Missouri may have to return cash.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon will have to prove to state ethics officials why they need to keep millions of dollars in campaign contributions. The Missouri Ethics Commission met...

Commentary: Hats off to a choice well made.
September 12, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan It seems like I haven't written a column for a year, yet it has been only five weeks. I spent that time filling in for the editor of the St. Charles County Business Record, Kathleen Brady, after she severely broke...

Cole County Circuit judge denies request to block transfer of MOHELA money.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge is considering a lawsuit by student borrowers seeking to derail Gov. Matt Blunt's plan to use student loan agency money for college buildings. After more than a year of debates and changes to the plan, the...

Hundreds to join the ranks of lawyers in Missouri.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The lawyers are coming! The lawyers are coming! Of the 798 people who took the state bar exam in July, 707 passed -- a noteworthy 88.6 percent. "People were obviously studying hard," said Kellie Early, executive...

Commentary: Technology, timing speed up payments.
September 13, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Recently, I moderated an American Bar Association panel discussion on financial best practices. Not surprisingly, the best practice that all the participants agreed on was that lawyers and law firms need to get their...

Mo. Gov. Blunt nominates Chapel to state hearing commission.
September 13, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Gov. Matt Blunt on Wednesday nominated Rod Chapel, currently the head of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, to a six-year term on the quasi-judicial Administrative Hearing...

Career Criminals Unit scores early successes.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A new prosecuting unit in the city of St. Louis has come out the gate strong, going eight-for-eight last month in the successful prosecution of a particularly persistent strain of lawbreakers -- career criminals. In...

Harassment allegations came too late in Ladue.
September 14, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The city of Ladue isn't responsible for the alleged acts of sexual harassment by its police captain because the women waited for more than a year before they complained, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said...

Gonzales' resignation will be felt in federal courtrooms.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Kimberly Atkins and Kelly Wiese Even once someone new takes the reins from outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose resignation became effective Friday, federal prosecutors and defense attorneys may not see sweeping changes...

St. Louis forum to focus on profitability, law firm culture.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter St. Louis will play host next month to managing partners from Midwestern law firms when they meet to tackle the complex challenges they share. The Managing Partner Forum for Midwestern Law Firms will take place Oct. 25...

Attorney sues Kansas City firm for sex discrimination.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Important casework at a Kansas City law firm is regularly given to male lawyers, a former associate claimed in a lawsuit this week. Rachael Taggart said ongoing sex discrimination forced her to leave Harris...

Mistreatment of corpse results in $500,000 verdict in Kansas.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick For the way he treated the body of his dead ex-girlfriend, an incarcerated man must pay the woman's parents $500,000. A Jackson County jury returned the verdict against Matt Davis Wednesday evening in a case that...

St. Louis attorneys honored, hired.
September 17, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff The following attorneys from the St. Louis office of Husch & Eppenberger have been named among the "The Best Lawyers in America": Mark G. Arnold (appellate law, commercial litigation), Joseph P. Conran...

The triumphant return of Mike's Tavern.
September 17, 2007... Byline: Craig Napier About a month back I wrote a column about my great concern that the one constant in my life over the past several years was changing, and I was worried. My bar had changed hands and I didn't know what to do with...

Kansas City-based Blackwell Sanders, St. Louis-based Husch in merger discussions.
September 18, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole Two of Missouri's largest law firms are mulling a cross-state union. A combination of St. Louis firm Husch & Eppenberger and Kansas City-based Blackwell Sanders would create a 630-attorney firm with anticipated revenue...

St. Louis Circuit judge finds north St. Louis boy guilty of murder, but not tried as adult.
September 18, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka In the course of eight short hours Monday, a 13-year-old north St. Louis boy was told he wouldn't be tried as an adult, found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to juvenile detention until the age of 18. St....

St. Louis lawyers honor former prosecutor.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Dee Joyce-Hayes hasn't been St. Louis' top prosecutor since 2001. But she's still owed recognition for that role, some say, and a group of women lawyers will see that she gets it tonight. The Women Lawyers' Association...

Commentary: Golf tourney combines hot shots, hack attacks.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan I am not a golfer. In fact, I heartily agree with the observation attributed to my fellow Missourian Mark Twain: "Golf is a good walk spoiled." So I was out of character Friday when I spent the afternoon on the golf...

Gaertner Jr. nominated to replace his father in Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.
September 19, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka For not the first time in Missouri's judicial history, a son has the possibility of following his father into a more prominent judgeship. Gary M. Gaertner Jr., a circuit judge in St. Louis County, is one of three...

Cell phone negotiations in 23 St. Louis County municipalities gather steam.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A delayed hearing in St. Louis County Circuit Court might signal the approach of another big settlement in the battle between several cell phone service providers and 23 St. Louis County municipalities. The hearing,...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District panel more cause for scrutiny.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The Nonpartisan Court Plan works, and the panel of nominees for the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District is proof of that, said a former member of the Appellate Judicial Commission. But the president of the St....

They YouTubed the law -- and the law won: Missouri men charged for threats made in violent rap video.
September 20, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Two northwest Missouri men charged this week for threats made in a violent rap video likely cannot turn to the First Amendment for protection. Andrew County prosecutors filed several charges against two 20-year-old...

Three Missouri lawyers make top 500 list.
September 20, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record staff Three Missouri attorneys made this year's Leading Lawyers list, published by the online legal ranking group Lawdragon. In St. Louis, attorney Brent Baldwin of Lathrop & Gage made the list. In Kansas...

Punishment sought for Valley Park immigration dispute.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Plaintiffs' attorneys in the Valley Park immigration dispute argued stridently Thursday that the city should be punished -- or the mayor even jailed -- for continuing to pass ordinances regulating the hiring of...

Judge seems ready to side with state.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge indicated Thursday he's inclined to agree with the state that it is meeting its constitutional obligation to spend one-fourth of its money on public schools. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled last...

Attorney Eric Tolen remains in St. Louis County custody awaiting bond decision.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A St. Louis County judge could decide today whether attorney Eric Tolen will stay behind bars until his criminal trial on 18 counts of statutory sodomy. Circuit Judge John Ross said Thursday he probably would rule on...

Commentary: Run to the light, Governor.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan I just finished going through my morning e-mail. It took me less than two minutes to read and delete the 20 messages I received since I left work Wednesday. On an average day I receive about 100 e-mails. Checking...

Commentary: Whistleblowers find little help from new Sarbanes-Oxley.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Tracy Coenen One of the major selling points of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was the protection for whistleblowers. The legislation required public companies to put into place "anonymous reporting mechanisms" (like hotlines) so...

Former Vashon coach pleads guilty to mortgage fraud.
September 21, 2007... Byline: Daily Record staff Floyd Irons, former Vashon High School coach, and John Mineo Jr., a local restaurant operator, pleaded guilty to wire and mail fraud charges in connection with a million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney...

Missouri's abortion clinics push for injunction.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck While they wait for a federal court to issue a ruling, opponents of a Missouri law that establishes new requirements for abortion clinics also are seeking to take their case to state courts. Attorneys for Planned...

Law firm's St. Louis billboard urges arrestees to keep quiet.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese The message is "If you want to walk, don't talk," but a lot of people are talking about the law firm's downtown St. Louis billboard and not all of them are happy. McMahon, Taaffe and Wold, the firm that placed the ad,...

Eric Tolen's bond raised to $1M by St. Louis County judge.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A St. Louis County judge ruled Friday that attorney Eric Tolen will remain jailed until his criminal trial on 18 counts of statutory sodomy. It will now take $1 million in cash for Tolen to walk free before being...

St. Louis sewer district defends itself, sues state.
September 24, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka St. Louis' sewer district was due to respond Friday to allegations from the Environmental Protection Agency that the public agency is negligently managing its pipes and sewers. The response will come more than three...

KC firms scramble for St. Louis space after Centene plan.
September 26, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole Centene Corp.'s announcement that it will build its new headquarters in downtown St. Louis is likely to change some law firms' searches for office space. In particular, Armstrong Teasdale, which counts Centene as a...

Commentary: Talk is cheap and dangerous in the car.
September 26, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan A cell phone can be a wonderful thing. It helps keep parents in touch with their children and is always handy in an emergency. But something that really annoys me is when inconsiderate drivers talk on their cell...

Questions surround St. Louis brokerage.
September 26, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement are mounting against a St. Louis brokerage that admits it lost track of more than $4 million in client investments. An attorney for the company said Tuesday that as...

Batson challenge case heard by 8th Circuit en banc.
September 27, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The lawyer for a man convicted of first-degree murder 15 years ago argued Wednesday to the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the defendant's rights were violated when a St. Louis County trial judge allowed...

Missouri Supreme Court denies new hearing in Daugherty employment case.
September 27, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The Missouri Supreme Court refused Tuesday to rehear a contentious employment law case, upholding an earlier ruling that was seen as a boon to employment discrimination plaintiffs. The court's Aug. 7...

Missouri Bar Board of Governors approves diversity measure.
September 27, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Bar Board of Governors on Wednesday approved a measure intended to increase the number of minorities, women and other underrepresented groups within its ranks. The highly controversial measure had been...

St. Charles rolls out in-custody drug court program.
September 27, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A new drug court program in St. Charles County will keep offenders struggling with substance addiction much closer to home. Normally, a criminal defendant approved for handling by the drug court would be sent to the...

Missouri Bar dues going up.
September 27, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese With little discussion, the Missouri Bar's governing board decided Wednesday to increase dues by $47 a year. The Board of Governors, meeting as the Bar's annual conference got under way in Springfield, agreed with a...

Missouri Court of Appeals hears arguments over statute of limitations issue.
September 28, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Is the Missouri Court of Appeals a court of last resort? That question is before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as it considers whether a Missouri inmate filed his petition for federal habeas review on time. At...

22 Missouri attorneys listed among "The Best Lawyers in America 2008".
September 28, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report Blackwell Sanders announced that 64 of its attorneys -- 22 from the firm's St. Louis office -- have been listed among "The Best Lawyers in America 2008." The firm was ranked No. 1 in Missouri for...

Two Missourians honored at National Crisis Intervention Team Conference.
September 28, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Two members of the St. Louis legal community were honored recently at the National Crisis Intervention Team Conference held in Memphis, Tenn. B. Joyce Kelley, associate county counselor in St. Louis...

Area attorneys recognized as senior counselors at Missouri Bar meeting.
September 28, 2007... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Sixty-one St. Louis area attorneys were honored this week as senior counselors of The Missouri Bar. The senior counselor title is bestowed upon lawyers who have reached the age of 75 years or who have...

Missouri panel talks separation of powers.
September 28, 2007... Byline: Kelly Wiese Lawyers and judges defended the state's method for selecting judges Thursday as a legislative critic called for moving to the federal system of judicial appointments. It was all part of a plenary discussion held as part...

Chief justice urges groups to support Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan.
September 28, 2007... Byline: James Goodwin Noting the rising criticism of the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan in the state of its birth, Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith on Thursday expressed hope that civic and business groups would come to the plan's...