Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from June 2007

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from June 2007

Mo. Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control investigation clears bar of dram shop charges.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka and Donna Walter The Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control will not take any actions against Mike Shannon's Steak and Seafood for the death of Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock. The division announced...

Estate attorney Voran picked as Missouri-based Lathrop & Gage chief.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Heather Cole After the turbulent exit of former Lathrop & Gage Chief Executive Tom Stewart, the firm's partners have picked respected "numbers guy" and estate attorney Joel Voran as their new leader. Voran, elected to a three-year...

U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri creates two new units.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey U.S. Attorney John Wood is creating a two new units, one to focus on terrorism and the other on fraud and corruption. Nathan Garrett, assistant U.S. attorney and anti-terrorism coordinator with the general crimes...

Commentary: Biggest fools handle their own divorces.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Mike Hoeflich The old cliche that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client is never more apt than in divorce cases. Not only is self-representation foolish in such circumstances, but it may also give rise to...

Federal appeals courts find growth in senior status.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The number of senior judges serving federal appeals courts grew by 63.5 percent in the past 17 years, and the number of authorized judgeships in the same courts grew by just 6.5 percent, according to statistics...

Upcoming federal law starts battle over veterans fees.
June 1, 2007... Byline: James Goodwin and Guy Loranger National veterans groups disagree about the value of a federal law that will allow vets to hire attorneys earlier in the benefits process. Some who support the change say it doesn't go far enough....

Judge Edwin Smith wraps up time on bench to return to private practice in St. Joseph.
June 4, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey Judge Edwin H. Smith was the last magistrate judge elected in Andrew County and the first associate judge to serve the county in 1978, all in one day. The Court Reform and Revision Act of 1978 brought municipal...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: June 4, 2007.
June 4, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Two bars that served alcohol to a woman on the night she caused a deadly crash have been ordered to pay $5 million each. Jackson County Judge Sandra Midkiff reached the decision last week based on the confessions of...

Bar summit seeks better understanding of judicial branch's role.
June 4, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Wolff recently attended a conference in Kosovo to look at how the former part of Yugoslavia was adjusting to democracy. While there, he encountered elected officials who said...

Commentary: My me time at Mike's Tavern may have to change.
June 4, 2007... Byline: Craig Napier There's been a change in my life. My bar has a new owner. I guess I'm not too worried that the new owners will dramatically change the ol' place, but as strange as it sounds, the bar was kind of the one constant in my...

Kansas City Legal Briefs: June 1, 2007.
June 4, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record staff Chinese nationals indicted for prostitution Four Chinese nationals who own and operate a group of Asian massage parlors in Johnson County, Kan., were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for...

U.S. Supreme Court tosses Missouri case.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka The murder of a 23-year-old convicted drug dealer in St. Louis last week has thrown the U.S. Supreme Court for a loop. The nation's highest court was on the cusp of issuing a decision in Mario Claiborne's criminal...

Federal appeals court in St. Louis upholds lethal injection.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann The federal appeals court in St. Louis upheld the constitutionality of using lethal injection to carry out a death penalty. And the ruling is a landmark vindication of the state's practice of executing condemned...

Western District Court of Appeals receives 16 applications for Division 18 opening.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A greater-than-average number of applicants are seeking the bench in Jackson County. Terry Lord, clerk for the Western District Court of Appeals, said 16 filed applications before Monday afternoon's deadline for the...

Former U.S. attorneys of Missouri to testify about voter fraud.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey Two former U.S. attorneys for Western Missouri will testify today before the Senate Judiciary Committee about how voter fraud affected the Justice Department's decisions to hire and fire federal prosecutors. The...

Two Jackson County juries side mostly with State Farm Mutual Insurance Co.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick State Farm Mutual Insurance Co. received mostly favorable verdicts in a pair of trials last week. The plaintiffs, who included a woman who lost her son in a June 2000 accident, sought millions of dollars in...

Possibilities of prison, disbarment loom for former head of St. Louis public defender's office.
June 5, 2007... Byline: James Goodwin Losing his license to practice law might not be Eric Affholter's most pressing concern right now, but the possibility looms for the former head of the state public defender's office in St. Louis. Affholter, who was...

Jackson County Circuit Court: Woman sues liquor store for threats, racial slur.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick An African American woman claimed the manager of a downtown liquor store threatened her with a gun after making a racial slur. In her lawsuit against the store, Letrice Dionne Adams said she suffers from great...

Missouri House committee begins review of injury fund.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck A House committee on Monday began a summer-long review that could result in proposals to reform or eliminate the state's Second Injury Fund. Some of the most critical information needed to make a decision -- a...

Five board members of St. Louis Public School District fights takeover with lawsuit.
June 6, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Five board members of the St. Louis Public School District are trying to fend off a looming takeover date with a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court. Alleging various constitutional and statutory violations, the...

Applicants sought to fill Missouri Supreme Court vacancy.
June 6, 2007... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff The Missouri Supreme Court is accepting applications to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Ronnie L. White. White served more than 11 years on the court. He will resign from the...

Mo. judge says judges can be taught about the Americans with Disabilities Act.
June 6, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan When the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990, it represented the first comprehensive attempt to define the legal rights of the disabled. But the fight to defend those rights did not end with the first...

Interim U.S. attorney for Western District of Mo. denies politicizing department.
June 6, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey Bradley Schlozman told the Senate Judiciary Committee he didn't think filing a voter-fraud lawsuit shortly before the 2006 election would affect the outcome. The interim U.S. attorney for Western District of Missouri...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reverses deaf man's conviction for drunken driving.
June 7, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reversed a deaf man's conviction for drunken driving based on statements he made to an unlicensed interpreter. Lake Ozark Police Chief Jonathan Hasker stopped Timothy...

Commentary: Arts in the workplace bring out best of employees.
June 7, 2007... Byline: Christine Hughes The past few weeks for me have been filled with events surrounding art. On May 16 the International Visitors Council of Greater Kansas City hosted 14 artists from Iran at a reception at Californos in Westport....

Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now worker from Kansas City pleads guilty to voter fraud.
June 8, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Kwaim A. Stenson, 19, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to voter registration fraud. Stenson was hired by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a nonprofit...

Johnson County plaintiff's verdict ends losing steak.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick An eight-month run of defense verdicts in medical-malpractice trials came to an end last week. And the venue where the metrowide streak ended is one that many plaintiffs' lawyers argue is the toughest to win in the...

The head of the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Thursday encouraged state utility regulators to do what they could to determine who removed important safety gauges at AmerenUE's Taum Sauk reservoir after its 2005 collapse.
June 8, 2007... Byline: James Goodwin The head of the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Thursday encouraged state utility regulators to do what they could to determine who removed important safety gauges at AmerenUE's Taum Sauk reservoir after its 2005...

Justice appeal seeks to reinstate voter-fraud suit.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey The Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal Monday regarding a voter-fraud lawsuit filed that a federal court judge tossed out in April. Cynthia Magnuson, spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, said...

Compared to California, Missouri less likely to grant medical parole.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter If Paris Hilton lived in Missouri, she'd have to be close to death or in need of long-term care to qualify for a medical parole. On Thursday, the hotel heiress was reassigned from the Century Regional Detention...

Commentary: Plaintiffs' attorneys keep manufacturers in check.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Why does it seem like manufacturers have it in for the children in our country? Every week we hear about some product causing a child to break this or that. This week's candidate is the ubiquitous roller shoe. I'm...

Injury fund reformer forced out.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck Pat Secrest, the director of the state's Division of Workers' Compensation and a frequent voice in this year's effort to reform the Second Injury Fund, left office Thursday. Tammy Cavendar, spokeswoman for the state...

Commentary: Choose your perception wisely around public.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Craig Napier I was born in Missouri, about a quarter-mile from where my office and posterior presently sit. I was raised in Kansas. I was benched once before a football game for dippin' in the homecoming parade, I know the...

Fired shareholder files lawsuit against Cupini's in Jackson County.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A former Cupini's shareholder is suing the restaurant and its owners for wrongful termination. Andrew Rowland, who was a shareholder, director and officer for Cupini's, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Jackson County....

Law decreases bankruptcy filings but makes more work per case.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey Bankruptcy filings are down since new federal requirements went into effect in 2005, but the work per case has increased, according to a national survey by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The survey...

Kansa City Courthouse Roundup: June 11, 2007.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick In a case described as bizarre by both plaintiff's and defense attorneys, a Jackson County jury needed little time in dismissing a woman's allegations against a liquor store. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in...

Jackson County jury awards $1 million to patient.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick For the second time in two weeks, a metro jury returned a plaintiff's verdict in a medical-malpractice trial. A Jackson County jury awarded $1 million to Kathryn Cetto, who had a surgical sponge left in her armpit...

U.S. Supreme Court overturns 8th Circuit on cigarette case.
June 12, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Tobacco giant Philip Morris Cos. lost federal court jurisdiction in a lawsuit challenging the design and promotion of the company's light cigarettes -- a decision that could reach beyond the tobacco industry. On...

Missouri Supreme Court rules physical limits qualify for hearing.
June 13, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A sex offender with lung disease should be allowed a hearing to challenge his confinement in a mental-health facility, but the state's sexually violent predator law is valid, the Missouri Supreme Court said Tuesday....

Mo. Court of Appeals upholds Wal-Mart class action.
June 13, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Workers from 128 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores across Missouri do make up a class, an en banc appeals panel found. The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Tuesday unanimously affirmed a trial court...

Two candidates for Jackson County Circuit Court reappear on panel for opening.
June 13, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Two familiar names are again in the running for a judgeship in the Jackson County Circuit Court. Brian Wimes and Jim Tobin will interview with Gov. Matt Blunt for a judicial vacancy for the second time in less than...

Clayton property doesn't meet Mo. Supreme Court's definition of 'blighted'.
June 13, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka For the first time in two years, Clayton business owner Debbie Pyzyk feels her property is safe from City Hall and the corporation around the corner. Her relief came when the Missouri Supreme Court issued a definitive...

Missouri Supreme Court rules sex offender registry not retroactive.
June 14, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A juvenile who pleaded guilty to publicly displaying explicit sexual material does not have to register on the state's sex offender list because his plea was entered before the law expanding the registry took effect,...

Missouri court administrator to leave for Kosovo position.
June 14, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri State Courts administrator will leave his post next month to help Kosovo develop its courts system. Mike Buenger, who has served as Missouri's top judicial budgeter since 2000, announced Tuesday afternoon...

Former prosecutor in St. Louis charged with sodomy of boys.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann A former assistant U.S. attorney who claimed as long ago as 2001 that he was wrongly being investigated for child molestation has been charged with having sex with two 15-year-old boys in his Town & Country home the...

Wichita woman sues day-care operator, social services over children's abuse.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A Wichita mother claims a foster child repeatedly sexually abused her two children at a Lee's Summit day care two years ago. In her lawsuit filed this week in Jackson County, Melissa Scales sued Love and Logic...

Commentary: Prosecutors harm legal profession in public eye.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Hoeflich The past few weeks have put a renewed focus on the problems that arise when law enforcement officials permit internal conflicts to affect how they do their jobs. In North Carolina, Mike Nifong, the former prosecutor...

Missouri's Second Injury Fund chairman leaves lobbying position.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck An interim House committee studying the Second Injury Fund pressed on with its work Thursday, despite a few employment changes for the people pushing the study. The committee's chairman, Rep. Steve Hunter, R-Joplin,...

Commentary: Watch out for side effects from advertising.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Warning! Law firm advertising may be bad for your health, according to a survey released on Wednesday by drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. and the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. The survey of 402...

Public defenders seek court rule.
June 18, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck Having failed to persuade the Legislature to give it full relief for its heavy caseload, the Missouri Public Defender's Office is taking measures into its own hands, possibly with help from the Missouri Supreme Court....

Commentary: As hard as it can be, make time to get away.
June 18, 2007... Byline: Craig Napier I have somewhere to go each of the final three weekends in June. My son and I took a trip to Ohio to see friends and family the first weekend from Friday morning until Monday night, the next weekend my wife will join...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: June 18, 2007.
June 18, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County jury awarded $81,000 to a man who claimed evil motives were behind his firing from a Kansas City car dealership two years ago. Tim McGeeney claimed his boss at Superior Volvo cited poor performance...

Magazine recognizes Bryan Cave for IT services.
June 20, 2007... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Bryan Cave, the international law firm with offices in St. Louis and Kansas City, has been named to CIO magazine's annual CIO 100, a compilation of organizations around the world that exemplify...

Jackson County Court rules dealership to pay $50K in punitive damages for firing.
June 20, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick After his lawyers demanded a half-million dollars for punitive damages, a wrongly fired car salesman received $50,000 from a Jackson County jury. Tim McGeeney, who won an $81,340 verdict on his wrongful termination...

Florida man sentenced for falsifying missile tests.
June 20, 2007... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Russell B. Cohen, 48, an employee of a Florida aerospace firm was sentenced in federal court Friday for falsifying testing results on components used in Peacekeeper nuclear missiles. Cohen, of...

Kansas City litigator may be next federal judge.
June 20, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey A business litigation and product liability attorney with Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus could be the next federal judge in Kansas City, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner said. A background check is proceeding...

American Bar Association president reaffirms support for merit selection.
June 20, 2007... Byline: James Goodwin Karen Mathis, the president of the American Bar Association, has already met with minority law students, the heads of regional bar associations and others on a two-day trip to St. Louis that concludes today. She even...

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Mo. rules Zoo wins trademark battle.
June 20, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann The St. Louis Zoo may keep ownership of its name. The zoo did not have a formal trademark on its name for the most of its nearly 100 years of existence, but a common-law trademark prevents a St. Louis man from using...

Kansas City area roofing companies, employees indicted.
June 20, 2007... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff An indictment was unsealed Monday by a federal judge, charging nine employees and four area roofing companies for employing illegal immigrants in a financial scheme. A grand jury indicted the...

Missouri Supreme Court to hear challenge to campaign rules.
June 21, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka State representative hopeful James Trout wants the state Supreme Court to listen favorably this afternoon to his assertion that a Missouri law on campaign finance is unconstitutional. Trout's Supreme Court appeal...

Driver of tow truck threatens countersuit against Cardinal pitcher's family.
June 21, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter The tow truck driver being sued by the family of Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock is threatening a suit of his own. Jacob E. Hargrove and his attorney, Robert Pedroli, said at a press conference Wednesday that the...

8th Circuit rules Washington University has ownership of medical research.
June 21, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann In a unanimous decision described as having national significance for medical research, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that samples donated for medical research cannot be forcibly removed at the...

Gov. Blunt calls for judges to rule on law, not imagination.
June 22, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey Gov. Matt Blunt told the Kansas City Federalist Society he wanted to nominate qualified judges who were "faithful to the constitution." He stopped by a luncheon with the lawyer's chapter of the society Thursday in...

Missouri Supreme Court hears challenge to ethics law.
June 22, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments in a case relating to ethics. Is "relating to ethics" too vague? It's actually the same description given last year to a bill that overhauled the state's...

Former employee accuses Kansas City law firm of retaliation.
June 22, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Another Kansas City area law firm faces an accusation that it fired an employee in retaliation. In a lawsuit field last week, Hubbell Peak O'Neal Napier & Leach is charged with firing paralegal Frances Alaniz...

Commentary: Beer bribe allegations highlight privacy issues.
June 22, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan The criminal mind is a curious thing to consider. Ideas that would never occur to the average person are front and center in the brains of many scofflaws. Take the case of Laron A. Williams. He was charged last week...

American Family Mutual Insurance asks Jackson County Circuit judge to toss $17 million verdict.
June 25, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Attorneys for American Family Mutual Insurance are pushing a Jackson County Circuit judge to toss out a $17 million verdict. American Family attorney David Oliver said on Thursday that he planned to argue motions...

Rouse Hendricks German & May, of Kansas City, sued over conflict of interest.
June 25, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey Two business partnerships are suing Rouse Hendricks German & May, of Kansas City, claiming conflict of interest because the law firm represented the partnerships and its owner in a lawsuit between the two. The law...

Kansas City Legal Briefs: June 25, 2007.
June 25, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record staff Murder suspect found in Cape Girardeau Antwan S. Wooden 21, was arrested Wednesday in Cape Girardeau on two Jackson County warrants in connection with murder, kidnapping and other crimes. He will be...

Commentary: Babysitting as a lawyer gets the job done.
June 25, 2007... Byline: Craig Napier I do a lot of domestic work, and by and large I have learned to enjoy the process and helping families through difficult times. I fully expect that there will be some "babysitting" involved with this process as I deal...

Accused attorney appeals dismissal of contract suit against St. Charles.
June 25, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann and Heather Cole Saying he was singled out by manipulative St. Charles officials, St. Louis attorney Eric Tolen will take a third swing at reviving his breach of contract lawsuit against the city. The crux of the matter...

Jackson County judge overturns $17 million verdict.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County judge has wiped out one of the year's largest verdicts in Kansas City. In a rare ruling, Judge Edith Messina threw out a $17.3 million jury verdict in a class action lawsuit against American Family...

Missouri courts, hospitals move toward videoconferencing.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Psychiatric patients arriving at probate court for their competency hearings might someday appear from the familiar surroundings of their hospitals. A group of psychiatric hospitals have asked the St. Louis Probate...

State tobacco shipment rules draw high court review.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Greg Stohr, Bloomberg News The U.S. Supreme Court will consider reviving a Maine law that seeks to block tobacco shipments to children by putting new requirements on United Parcel Service and other package-delivery companies. The...

U.S. Supreme Court curbs free speech at schools: May have little impact on Mo. schools.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann Student free-speech rights took a hit from the U.S. Supreme Court Monday, but the court's ruling in an Alaska case might have little impact on Missouri students, according to the attorney for the Missouri School...

Missouri Supreme Court rules suit against casino may proceed.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Tom Herrmann At first glance, it might appear that Kansas City osteopath William T. Brown won one case and lost another at the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. In reality, the net result is that his lawsuit against Harrah's...

Missouri Supreme Court rules sports complex to lose clear-title challenge to bid bill.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck "Political subdivisions" is a broad term encompassing everything from school boards to cities of millions of people. But it's not too vague to be the title of a state law, the Missouri Supreme Court said Tuesday. The...

Mo. Supreme Court approves Social Services changes to support.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka The Missouri Department of Social Services' method for changing child support amounts does not violate state law, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. For attorney and parent Sherrie Hansen, the decision means a...

Improper statements in closing lead to overturned conviction in Mo. COA Western District.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey An assistant prosecutor's improper statements during closing arguments cost the state a second-degree murder conviction at the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District. Amber Gonzalez, a former Jackson County...

Pharmacist in Waynesville claims he was fired for religious beliefs.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Trish Mehaffey A Waynesville man is suing Fort Leonard Wood for firing him last year because he couldn't provide vaccination records, which he didn't have because it's against his religious beliefs. Todd Campbell, representing...

Mo. Supreme Court rules Jackson County wrong venue for McDonald's lawsuits.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Two lawsuits against McDonald's franchises in southwest Missouri will not be tried in Jackson County, the Missouri Supreme Court said Tuesday, because restaurant franchisees aren't agents for the "usual and customary...

Former courthouse clerk sues Jackson County judges in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick A former 31-year employee of the Jackson County courthouse claimed in a federal lawsuit that she lost her job because of her race and age. Patricia Thomas, an ex-administrative clerk to the court's senior judges,...

Hotel official in Kansas City pleads guilty in fed court, fined for clean-air violations.
June 27, 2007... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Dan Hulsing, of Hulsing Hotels, the company that manages the Clarion Hotel, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday and was sentenced for violating federal standards for removing asbestos material...

Kansas City Legal Briefs: June 28, 2007.
June 28, 2007... Byline: Charles Emerick Suit claims law firm owes $35,000 for services Reproduction Systems claimed in a lawsuit this week that Stueve Siegel Hanson failed to pay for services provided two years ago. According to the lawsuit, the firm...