Legal Research

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PAST FEUD WITH PARTY'S LAWYER SHOULD HAVE LED JUDGE TO RECUSE
"A family court judge should have recused himself from a contentious divorce case because of bad blood between himself and the wife's attorney who had been his partner in private practice, an appeals court ruled Thursday in granting a new trial. Superior Court Judge Edward Torack should have alerted the husband's attorney that he and William Smith's professional relationship had resulted in litigation over the judge's departure from the firm 11 years earlier, and Smith should have alerted the court and opposing counsel that he could not give assurance that his client would not seek the judge's recusal, the Appellate Division held in Chandok v. Chandok, A-5871-06."

ACLU CHARGES CHRISTIE OK'D USE OF GPS TO TRACK CELL PHONES
"The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that Justice Department documents made public through a lawsuit show that former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Christopher Christie gave approval to track people's precise whereabouts through their cell phones without a warrant. The ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the department in July 2008 for records related to the government's use of cell phones as tracking devices. Some documents that have been turned over reveal that federal prosecutors in New Jersey, as well as Florida, are obtaining court orders merely by showing that the tracking information is 'relevant and material' to a criminal investigation -- a substantially lower burden than the probable-cause standard required by the Constitution, the ACLU said."

LAW PROFESSORS SUING FOR DEFAMATION FAIL TO WIN INJUNCTION
"A federal judge has denied an injunction in a suit by two law professors who claim West Publishing falsely identified them as the authors of a publication that was so poorly researched it would harm their reputations if allowed to remain on library shelves. Professors David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania and Leonard Sosnov of Widener Law School claim that they did none of the work on the December 2008 supplement, or 'pocket part,' to their book, 'Pennsylvania Criminal Procedure: Law, Commentary and Forms.' They argued the supplement was a 'sham' that offered almost nothing new and that users of the book would mistakenly connect the poor quality to them. U.S. District Judge John Fullam found the plaintiffs established a right to some form of remedy 'but it would seem that the harm has already been done, and that, if plaintiffs do require further injunctive relief I order to complete their remedy, such relief would be just as effective after final hearing.' "

HEARING DATE SET FOR JUDGE CHARGED WITH TIPSINESS ON BENCH
"The state Supreme Court will hold a hearing on June 16 on whether retired Municipal Court Judge Richard Sasso should be disqualified from holding judicial office due to misconduct. Sasso, who resigned in January 2008 as municipal court judge in Bridgewater, Warren, Bound Brook and Watchung for health reasons, was cited in March 2008 on several misconduct charges, including allegations of being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol while on the bench on two occasions, abusing his authority by imposing sanctions on attorneys and litigants for being late or argumentative, acting disorderly in public and imposing discounted fines on underage students. Sasso has explained that his behavior on the bench was affected by a combination of wine at lunch and the medication Vicodin, which he took for back pain."

FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY ASHCROFT TO START LAW FIRM
"Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and a cadre of top Bush-era U.S. attorneys is forming a new law firm, an outgrowth of his consulting business. The firm will represent mainly individuals and organizations facing government investigations and regulatory enforcement actions. 'We believe there's an increasing need for firms that specialize in integrity enforcement and that have as their focus the acceleration of matters to their resolution,' Ashcroft said Thursday. He has tapped four former U.S. attorneys for the firm: Catherine Hanaway of Missouri's Eastern District; John Ratcliffe of the Eastern District of Texas; Michael Sullivan, former U.S Attorney for Massachusetts and former acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and John Sutton of the Western District of Texas. They will have offices in St. Louis, Dallas, Boston and Austin. The firm will be known as Ashcroft Hanaway in Missouri, Ashcroft Sutton Ratcliffe in Texas and Ashcroft Sullivan in Boston."

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