Recently added articles from Daily Record and the Kansas City Daily News-Press:
Symposium to explore civil rights legal history in St. Louis area
Mar 19, 2009; ... Starting with the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, a largenumber of significant civil rights cases have arisen out of St.Louis. To draw attention to those decisions, the St. Louis CountyHistorical Society is hosting a symposium on March 25 highlightingsome of the landmark ...
Jackson County jury finds for defense after 8-week trial
Mar 19, 2009; ... Eight weeks of trying to convince a jury that one of thecountry's largest banks wiped out a start-up credit card processingcompany came to nothing on Wednesday. Following a complex trial that began in late January, the JacksonCounty jury returned a defense verdict for U.S. Bank and ...
IRS ramping up collection efforts
Mar 19, 2009; ... The current tax season is tougher than most for Americans. Withunemployment and home foreclosures at record highs, more can'tafford to pay -- and won't pay -- their taxes. This could prove to be a problem as local tax attorneys arereporting that in the past few years, the Internal ...
Missouri appeals court affirms $1M verdict in defamation case
Mar 19, 2009; ... A Missouri appeals court upheld a $1 million verdict againstAllstate Indemnity Co. in a lawsuit claiming the insurer defamed ahomeowner in a denial letter. The insured, John Johnson, owned the Salem, Mo., home for aboutthree years when it was destroyed in a fire in July 2002 ....
Missouri Supreme Court upholds officer's firing for excessive force
Mar 18, 2009; ... The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners had the authorityto fire a police officer who beat and spit on a drunken driver whowas already subdued, a unanimous Missouri Supreme Court saidTuesday. The officer, Timothy Coffer, has been on unpaid leave during thecourse of this ...
Missouri Supreme Court rejects challenge from sex offender
Mar 18, 2009; ... The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a challenge from a sexoffender who incurred a prison sentence when he did not register achange of address notice within 10 days. The Supreme Court previously ruled that it was unconstitutionalto require sex offenders convicted of crimes before ...
St. Louis County jury clears law firm in legal malpractice suit
Mar 18, 2009; ... A St. Louis County jury has cleared Sandberg Phoenix & vonGontard and one of its attorneys, Rodney Sharp, of all wrongdoing ina legal malpractice suit against them. Physician Hamid Hosseini had filed suit against Sharp, allegingthat the attorney had negligently represented him ...
Missouri Department of Social Services needs to adopt rules, Missouri Supreme Court says
Mar 18, 2009; ... The Missouri Supreme Court said a denial of a couple's adoptionsubsidy by the state Department of Social Services' Family SupportDivision is not valid because the division's decision was not basedon formal rules and regulations. The court determined that the division did not ...
Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reverses appellate nominee's ruling
Mar 18, 2009; ... Three judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals Western Districtroundly reversed a trial court decision by a Cass County judge whocould soon be their colleague. The court on Tuesday remanded a case involving a dispute overland in the Hammack family's trust to Judge Jacqueline Cook's ...
First panel sent to governor for Missouri Court of Appeals Western District vacancy
Mar 17, 2009; ... The Appellate Judicial Commission on Friday named the first ofthree panels of candidates for openings on the Missouri Court ofAppeals Western District. The panel consists of Judge Jacqueline A. Cook, Cynthia L. ReamsMartin and Mark D. Pfeiffer. Gov. Jay Nixon issued a ...
Wash. U. moves on to mock trial finals; U of Missouri-KC wins Spirit award
Mar 17, 2009 ... The Jackson County Courthouse played host last weekend to theOpening Round Championships of the American Mock Trial Association.More than 180 undergraduate students from 19 schools across thecountry participated in the event, with the winners moving on to thenational championship, to be ...
8th Circuit upholds verdict for Kansas City-based UMB Financial
Mar 16, 2009; ... A federal appeals court upheld a jury verdict finding Kansas City-based UMB Financial Corp.'s decision not to hire a quadriplegic manfor its customer-service call center was based on a misunderstandingand was not discriminatory. The opinion of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ...
St. Peters held liable for selling quarry land
Mar 16, 2009; ... Twenty years ago, when the Quarry Holding Company sold land tothe St. Peters for $1 it expected to make a lot more. A judge ruled last week that the city breached its contract whenit did not pay the quarry a percentage of the profits. The amount of the judgment against the city ...
Missouri Attorney General's office names Sunshine Law director
Mar 16, 2009 ... The Missouri Attorney General's Office has hired a former actorturned legislative assistant to teach government officials how tocomply with the Sunshine Law. Tom Durkin, the office's public education director, will travelthe state giving presentations and seminars to state, city ...
8th Circuit upholds 18-month sentence enhancement
Mar 16, 2009 ... A Jamaican national who more than once entered the United Statesillegally gets to stay in this country a while longer -- in federalprison. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week affirmed thesentence imposed on Barrington H. McKinzie. The sentence was 18months longer than ...
Jackson County jury awards $500K; arbitration claim lingers
Mar 16, 2009; ... A $500,000 jury verdict returned recently in Jackson County mightnot be the last word in the case, pending the outcome of an appealclaiming some of the underlying issues should have been arbitratedfirst. The verdict, though sizable, was far less than the $4 millionthat Perry ...
Kansas Citians in the News: March 16, 2009
Mar 16, 2009 ... Blakesley joins Spencer Fane Scott Blakesley has joined Spencer Fane Britt & Browne as apartner and leader of the firm's Kansas City estate planning group. Blakesley's practice involves all areas of estate planning andtrust and estate administration, including family-owned ...
Commentary: There's a business buried on my desk
Mar 16, 2009; ... Where is my desk? A pile of piles, a stray highlighter, a cute penholder that lookslike two books, an old coffee cup with a cute kid on it, a waterbottle half full -- or is it half empty? I may be overrun by paper any day now. If nobody hears from me, it's because the ...
Missouri Court of Appeals Western District hears defenders' arguments
Mar 13, 2009; ... Missouri's public defenders are used to arguing to the appellatecourts on behalf of clients. On Thursday, they used their powers ofpersuasion on behalf of the public defender system itself. Attorneys for the Missouri State Public Defender's Officeappeared before the Missouri Court ...
Husch Blackwell, with offices in Missouri, lets go 17 attorneys
Mar 13, 2009; ... Husch Blackwell Sanders let go 17 attorneys and 45 staff membersfirmwide on Thursday, citing performance and consolidation. The cuts are not being made for economic reasons, Co-ChairmanDavid Fenley said in a phone interview. "I think we know what a layoff is," he said. "This ...