Legal World

Eugene Criminal Defense - MJM Law Office, P.C.

2012-01-30T13:23:00.001-08:00

MJM Law Office, P.C. was founded to provide clients with quality representation in criminal defense and family law, including matters such as DUI offenses, drug crimes, divorce, and child custody.

Mr. Mizejewski understands that effectively working through the legal system is a challenging process. MJM Law Office, P.C. works closely with clients to understand and resolve their issues, taking the time to listen to and understand each client's unique situation, and explain the available options.

Located in the heart of downtown Eugene, Oregon, MJM Law Office, P.C. focuses on serving clients in Lane County, Oregon. We are in the Lane County Circuit Court on a near daily basis, and are very familiar with the individual judges, district attorneys and court staff.

http://www.mjmlawoffice.com/criminal-law

Supreme Court lets tipped employees sue for more pay

2012-01-17T13:24:00.001-08:00

The Supreme Court will allow bartenders and servers who make part of their money from tips file lawsuits for more money when they do work that doesn't involve tips.

The high court refused to hear an appeal from Applebee's International, which wanted to overturn a lower court ruling.

Restaurants consider tips part of some employees' salary to get the pay up to the minimum wage. But if a worker spends 20% of the time doing general maintenance and preparation work, they currently get full minimum wage.

Gerald Fast and more than 5,500 other current and former servers and bartenders at Applebee's restaurants sued, saying that opening and closing restaurants, as well as cleaning and stocking, consumed significant work time and Applebee's should pay them additional wages.

The lower courts refused to dismiss the complaint and the high court agreed.

Split over union law reaches Wis. court race

2011-04-06T09:17:00.003-07:00

The slim margin between Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and his challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg, has grown slightly in favor of the incumbent as late election numbers are tallied.

But the race that reflected Wisconsin's fight over union rights is still too close to call Wednesday morning. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, conservative-leaning Prosser is leading Kloppenburg by 835 votes. Final, official results could vary and a recount appears likely.

The race highlights the divide in the state over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining law, which would strip public workers of nearly all their union rights. The issue, which could ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, has propelled the relatively unknown Kloppenburg into prominence and heightened voter interest in the election.

“MUD SLIDE DISASTERS – The Logan Canal Story”

2011-04-06T09:17:00.001-07:00

This is a tragic story of Government and Corporate Irresponsibility that resulted in the clearly preventable deaths of three innocent Logan, Utah residents, Jackie Leavey, Age 43, and her 2 children, Victor Age 13, and Abbey Age 12.

Everyone in authority at the city, the State University, the Department of Transportation, and the local canal company knew there was a serious problem with the Logan canal, in Logan, Utah.

In the days preceding the mudslide, officials had visited the site and had seen the water squirting 10 feet high into the air because it was under so much pressure in the canal.

They all knew the danger of a mudslide in that particular area. It had happened before-they knew it would happen again, soon. Folks in the affected neighborhood kept calling the city. Call after call and nobody cared.

No one took action, no one did a thing. Then the unthinkable occurred. A mudslide of tremendous proportions dropped on a home, killing a mother and her two children.

It took days to sift through the mud, trying to recover their bodies. Folks were somber and reflective. But then the finger pointing began. Each department blamed another for not taking action. Only it was too late, too late to save the mother and her children.

Read more: http://insiderexclusive.com/show-content/280-mud-slide-disasters--the-logan-canal-story.html

Court rejects bid to remove judge in Pitino case

2011-02-14T23:14:00.003-08:00

A federal appeals court has rejected a bid to remove the judge overseeing the case of a woman convicted of trying to extort millions from University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

The two-page decision issued Monday by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals also turned down a request by Karen Cunagin Sypher to delay her sentencing, which is set for Feb. 18.

Sypher was convicted in August of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought millions in cash, cars and a house from Pitino to stay quiet about their one-night stand at a Louisville restaurant in 2003.

Her attorney, David Nolan, has filed multiple motions alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy involving Pitino, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III and multiple people involved in the case. Prosecutors have called Sypher's claims meritless.

Voters to narrow Supreme Court candidate field

2011-02-14T23:14:00.001-08:00

Wisconsin has focused on the Green Bay Packers and Gov. Scott Walker for the last month, but another fight with perhaps just as much impact on the state is about to take center stage -- the state Supreme Court primary.

Justice David Prosser faces three challengers. Voters on Tuesday will choose two survivors who will face off in April's general election. The winner gets a 10-year term on the court.

The primary has played out in the background as the Packers charged to a Super Bowl title and Walker proposed doing away with state workers' unions. But the general election could ultimately tilt the ideological balance of the court for years to come.

State election officials expect about 10 percent of the state's voters will venture to the polls Tuesday.

Eugene, Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer

2010-05-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

Max Mizejewski received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993. In 1997, Max graduated from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College and went on to work in the public sector before entering private practice. As Manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation Environmental Unit, Max gained valuable experience negotiating, problem solving and working through confrontational issues with emotionally charged individuals. Max brings this experience to his private practice which focuses on criminal defense and family law.

Max believes in taking the time to understand each clients unique situation and specific needs. Max represents clients in criminal prosecutions, administrative hearings, dissolution of marriage, custody matters and appeals. Max's tenacious attitude and strategic mindset make him the right advocate to have on your side.

Mr. Mizejewski believes everyone's rights should be protected, and everyone deserves the best possible defense. If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you need to know your rights. We can defend you against your criminal charges, including the following:

Dallas EEOC sues Charleston, Raleigh companies in employment harassment case

2009-08-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Lynette Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC Charlotte district office, said her office takes on about 30 cases a year. The district covers Washington, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina and most of South Carolina.

Barnes said she could not discuss the reasons the office chose to take up this particular case. But, in general, the office would consider cases if there are likely victims of discrimination other than those bringing the charge; if the case has the potential to set a significant precedent; or if it involves a company about which the EEOC has multiple concerns, said Weinberg Law Firm, Employment Lawyer Dallas.

Los Angeles Wrong Way DUI – Who Should We Believe?

2009-08-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - The question that must be asked as the investigation continues: will the victims’ families be rightfully compensated? The answer is not quite clear yet. One way is to investigate the signage in the area. It’s been reported that there were one way and “do not enter” signs at the intersection to warn motorists it was the wrong way, but nothing on the ramp once entered. Even so, it may be difficult to prove that this was a cause-in-fact of the crash, considering Ms. Schuler’s state of mind. You can be sure that every stone will be turned, said Michael Bialys, California DUI lawyer.

Military Criticized in Report on Soldier Electrocution in New York

2009-08-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

KBR did not ground equipment during installation or report improperly grounded equipment during routine maintenance, the inspector general said. It also says that KBR did not have standard operating procedures for the technical inspection of facilities.

But it also says military commanders and important decision makers failed to ensure that renovations were properly performed and did not address the maintenance issue, said John Q. Kelly, New York electrocution attorney.

The Criminal Defense Lawyer as a Hero

2009-08-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

Working out of their ramshackle office -- where the handsome, chronically overworked Donnell seems to spend many of his nights -- they represent an eclectic mix of sex offenders, drug dealers and traffic offenders, as well as personal industry plaintiffs suing assorted deep-pocketed entities for damages.

In the first several hours of ''The Practice's'' initial 13-episodes, for instance, Orange County criminal defense lawyer and his associates work out a plea bargain for one of their steady clients, a flasher, while representing a teen-age honor student threatened with a 25-year sentence for hiding her drug dealer brother's stash. At the same time they're suing a huge tobacco company on behalf of man whose wife, a longtime smoker, has died of lung disease.

''The nucleus of the series,'' says Mr. Kelley, ''is that these five or six people, these lawyers, are trying to live ethically in an arena that is often unethical. They will be constantly faced with moral and ethical lines -- and sometimes they'll step over the line and sometimes they'll stay within it. And they'll all draw different boundaries for themselves.

Families of passengers on downed Chicago chopper 'voluntarily discontinue' lawsuit

2009-08-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

By Michael Tutton (CP) – 4 hours ago

The Cougar Helicopters flight was carrying 16 passengers and two crew members when it crashed in the North Atlantic on March 12 as it was ferrying workers to two offshore oil platforms.

In mid-June, the federal Transportation Safety Board released an update into its probe in the crash and found that while the main rotor blades continued to rotate when the chopper crashed, the tail rotor drive gears were severely damaged.

Chicago aviation lawyer said the pilots of the Sikorsky S-92A lost control in the flight's final moments because of the tail rotor failure.

Task force nabs 10 during DUI checkpoint, patrols

2009-08-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 05, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ten people were arrested for driving under the influence during an overnight sobriety checkpoint and roving patrols conducted by police officers from the North Hills DUI Task Force and Pittsburgh.

Police said 968 vehicles passed through the checkpoint, operated from 11 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. yesterday. They administered field sobriety tests to 17 motorists and arrested one based on an evaluation by a drug-recognition expert.

Other charges included one arrest each for possession of drug paraphernalia and underage drinking. Officers issued nine citations or warnings for various vehicle code violations and two warnings for seatbelt violations.
DWI lawyer pittsburgh

The North Hills DUI Task Force includes officers from the police departments of Etna, Indiana, Northern Regional, O'Hara, Ross, Shaler and West Deer.

Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP

2009-07-31T14:12:00.001-07:00

California personal injury law firm Ringler Kearney Alavarez LLP have established themselves as a premier law firm by providing clients with consistently excellent service. They pride themselves on their intellect, creativity and tenacity.

These Los Angeles class action lawyers have achieved victories in over 100 trials with total verdicts in excess of $250 million.

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP achieves their verdicts by utilizing their substantial financial resources to obtain the best result possible for each of their clients. This Los Angeles train injury specialist law firm fights tirelessly for their clients, no matter the cost and no matter the foe.

Judge sentences courthouse shooter to life

2008-12-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

A judge on Saturday sentenced the man who killed four people in a brazen courthouse escape to multiple life sentences with no chance of parole after a deadlocked jury failed to return a death sentence.

Brian Nichols, 37, was found guilty last month of murder and dozens of other counts for the March 2005 rampage that started in a downtown courthouse, led to an Atlanta neighborhood and ended with his capture the next day in a suburban county. He will likely die in prison after Superior Court Judge James Bodiford handed down the maximum sentence on each charge.

"If there was any more I could give you, I would," the judge said.

Nichols was spared capital punishment when the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision to condemn him to death row for the murders of a judge, a court reporter, a deputy and a federal agent.

After four days and more than 30 hours of deliberations, the jury was deadlocked at 9-3, with nine in favor of the death penalty and three voting for life without parole.

Nichols, who argued he was mentally insane when he carried out the killings, spoke for the first time in court on Saturday.

Man gets first NH death sentence in 49 years

2008-12-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

A jury has issued New Hampshire's first death sentence in nearly a half-century to a man who fatally shot a police officer two years ago.

Twenty-eight year-old Michael Addison had no reaction as the Hillsborough County Superior Court jury announced its verdict after about 13 hours of deliberation.

The judge must impose the sentence and cannot change it.

New Hampshire hasn't executed anyone since 1939 and hasn't sentenced anyone to death since 1959.

Jurors unanimously agreed that Addison deserves to die for purposely shooting Officer Michael Briggs to avoid being arrested.

Fox 11 news - Jerry Ringler

2008-09-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

Train Accident Attorneys

Jerry Ringler - Experienced Train Accident Attorney sends Special Message to Chatsworth Victims

2008-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Special Message for Victims of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

On September 12, 2008, an unprecedented tragedy occurred in Chatsworth, California when Metrolink Train #111 struck a Union Pacific freight train which was traveling on the same tracks. Our hearts go out to the victims. But this tragedy should not have happened. It happened because of human error on the part of Metrolink employees. Unfortunately, as the lawyers of RKA know well, human error by railroad engineers is not at all unique as a cause of commuter rail disasters.

Jerome L. Ringler has greater experience in representing victims of commuter rail and freight train disasters than any other lawyer in the State of California, if not the country. He has served as lead counsel in every one of the largest commuter rail disasters which have occurred in Southern California in the past 10 years.

In the Placentia Commuter Rail Disaster of 2003, Mr. Ringler was appointed by the Court as lead counsel for all of the Plaintiffs. He was requested by all of the lawyers representing individuals injured or killed in that incident to try the first case. That case resulted in the largest verdict for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever rendered by a jury in the United States. That verdict, which was for $9 million, is detailed below in the multimedia section.

In the Burbank Commuter Rail Disaster, which also occurred in 2003, Mr. Ringler was again appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel. In that capacity he was given the responsibility to try the entire liability (i.e., fault) case for all of the victims. In other words, every one of the dozens of lawyers who represented individual victims in that disaster trusted Mr. Ringler to try the liability phase for them, knowing that their clients would only recover if Mr. Ringler was successful. He was. In fact, Mr. Ringler not only obtained a favorable verdict for all of the plaintiffs, he obtained a $12 million verdict for his own client as well. This verdict was the largest in the State of California for a person with the type of injuries Mr. Ringler's client had suffered. This verdict is detailed below in the multimedia section.

Mr. Ringler is currently lead counsel for all plaintiffs in the Glendale Metrolink Derailment Disaster of 2005. This incident was, before September 12, 2008, the largest Metrolink disaster in history. Interestingly, in that case (which involves 11 deaths and dozens of serious injuries), Mr. Ringler has, against all odds, developed testimony proving that, even though a mentally-ill person placed a jeep across the tracks that the Metrolink train was traveling upon, human error on the part of the Metrolink engineer prevented him from stopping the train before hitting the jeep, which caused the train to derail. In other words, while the jeep certainly never should have been on the tracks, the Metrolink engineer would have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Mr. Ringler as lead counsel.

The verdicts detailed on this page all relate to railroad litigation. However, Mr. Ringler has achieved enormous, record-breaking monetary awards across California in a variety of complex areas. Those accomplishments are detailed elsewhere in this website. To see them, click here.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of the horrific Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster, we are available to discuss your rights with you confidentially and at no charge.

Please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Ask for Mr. Ringler,or any of his partners, at (213) 473-1900.

Train Accident Attorneys

Tax fraud brings record fines

2008-03-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance last week slapped civil penalties of $606,000 on the two convicted owners and operators of a now defunct Ridgewood tax preparation business.The fines are the largest penalties the department has ever imposed against paid tax preparers for filing fraudulent tax returns.

Briseida Christopher, 65, of Brooklyn, the owner of Gypsy Travel and Juana DeCastro of Woodhaven, a tax preparer who worked at the Gypsy Travel office pleaded guilty this past summer to felony charges relating to the preparation and filing of false income tax returns.Christopher and DeCastro were indicted in February 2007 and charged with multiple felony counts for filing fraudulent New York State personal income tax returns for clients and for themselves. They were also cited for secretly charging their client’s additional tax preparation fees - sometimes as much as $600 per client - against their refund anticipation loans.To generate false refunds, Christopher and DeCastro inflated their clients’ itemized deductions and reported false business and rental losses.

Christopher was sentenced on February 8 to time served and probation. DeCastro is scheduled to be sentenced in April. She faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail and probation.Both pleaded guilty this past summer to felony charges relating to the preparation and filing of false income tax returns.

US class action against AWB dismissed

2008-03-28T09:38:00.003-07:00

The anti-trust suit, on behalf of a group of US farmers, alleged AWB paid bribes to the former Iraqi Government to get a monopoly on wheat sales, thus depressing world wheat prices.
But District Court Judge Gerard Lynch said the Iraq market took just over one per cent of US wheat exports, and simply could not have been a "substantial factor" affecting prices.
He said the claimed drop in US wheat prices could very well have resulted from "wholly unrelated factors".
The US farmers had been claiming US$10 million in damages. AWB says the case was ill-conceived. But there are still two other class actions against it before the US courts.
Meanwhile, in Canberra, AWB has complained to a Senate Inquiry about the new powers the Federal Government plans to give to the wheat exports regulator.
The company is to lose its monopoly on wheat exports, following the Cole Inquiry's revelations about the kickbacks to the Iraqi Government to win contracts.
AWB corporate affairs manager, Robert Hadler, told the Senate inquiry the regulator would have too much power to decide who was fit to export.
"There is a risk that we could eventually have a wheat industry ASIC, and I think we need to guard against that," he said.

Nevada court ruling preserves whistleblowing case

2008-03-28T09:38:00.001-07:00

A ruling Thursday by the Nevada Supreme Court preserves a whistleblower's complaint against International Game Technology in a case that started with a claim that IGT filed false tax returns and owed the state up to $50 million in back taxes. The high court's unanimous opinion upholds a decision by Washoe County District Judge Connie Steinheimer that favored Jim McAndrews, who had worked on tax matters at Reno-based IGT and was fired in 2006.
McAndrews got an adverse ruling from the Supreme Court two years ago in the dispute, but followed up with a whistleblower protection complaint based on the state False Claims Act's anti-retaliation provisions.
McAndrews contends that IGT retaliated against him by suspending him with pay and barring him from IGT premises after his first complaint and eventually firing him after he lost his first Supreme Court case.
In its latest ruling, the Supreme Court rejected an argument by IGT attorneys that McAndrews couldn't win his case unless he could show that IGT "pressured him into the fraudulent activity in the first place."
While such a showing of participation is required under one state law, justices said another law section says a former employee can recover damages "simply by alleging and proving that his employer retaliated against him."
The 14-page opinion returns the case to Steinheimer's court for further action.
In the first case that was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2006, McAndrews alleged that IGT and Anchor Coin Co. were involved in a joint venture and since 1997 had filed false sales and use tax returns with the state on sales and leases of slot machines and slot components. Anchor later was acquired and merged into IGT.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, IGT has said it was advised that it had "a good faith legal basis" for not paying the taxes, although the company might wind up owing something.
Nevada's 1999 whistleblower law gives people with inside knowledge about such cases a percentage of any amount eventually collected by the state.

US Rep. Wynn to Resign, Join Law Firm

2008-03-28T09:37:00.001-07:00

Eight-term U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), who was defeated last month in the Democratic primary, said yesterday he will resign from Congress in June to take a job at a prominent Washington law firm with an active lobbying practice.

His decision to leave before his term ends in January prompted some residents of his district to worry that they will be left without representation for months unless Maryland holds a potentially costly special election to replace him.

Several congressional ethics experts also called it highly unusual to announce a resignation months before it takes effect, a situation that might force Wynn to recuse himself from votes.
Wynn, who for 15 years has represented the 4th Congressional District, which includes most of Prince George's County and part of Montgomery County, said in a statement that it is "time to move into another phase of my life." He indicated he will become a partner in the law firm Dickstein Shapiro. He lost in the primary by more than 20 percentage points to Donna F. Edwards, a Prince George's nonprofit executive.

Wynn would not comment beyond his statement, which did not give a reason for the timing of his resignation.

Ethics experts and watchdog groups characterized Wynn's move as potentially rife with conflicts of interest because he could be confronted with issues related to his new employer's clients while still in office.

"Typically once somebody announces their departure, they start packing their bags," said Kenneth A. Gross, an ethics expert at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. "It's hard to legislate when people are already thinking of you in the private sector."

Under an ethics law enacted last year, lawmakers are required to notify the House Ethics Committee soon after they begin to negotiate for a job outside Congress. A spokesman for the committee declined to comment on whether Wynn had alerted the committee.

Wynn suggested that he was leaving early in part to give Edwards the chance to join Congress early through a special election, allowing her to build seniority and get off to a "fast start in serving the citizens of our community."

However, a special election is not guaranteed. Under Maryland law, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) can choose whether to hold a special primary and general election or leave the seat empty until January, when the winner of November's general election will be sworn in. Edwards will face Republican Peter James in November in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.

Starbucks sued in Minnesota

2008-03-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Another former Starbucks employee is suing over the way the coffee chain store divides up tips. Starbucks is already planning to appeal a California judge's order that it pay $100 million in tips and interest because supervisors shared in the tips given to baristas.

And on Wednesday another state lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts. Now a Minnesota lawsuit accuses Starbucks of the same thing. It says Starbucks broke a Minnesota law that prohibits employers from requiring employees to share tips. The lawsuit claims that some of those who shared in the tips were supervisors.

Starbucks says its baristas and shift supervisors share tips because they all provide the same customer service. They're all hourly employees. Starbucks says store managers do not get tips. The Minnesota case is in Washington County and seeks class-action status.