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Archive for the ‘Criminal Lawyers’ Category

PERUGIA, Italy – American student Amanda Knox, 22, was found guilty by an Italian court on Friday of murdering her British roommate and was sentenced 26 years in prison.

Knox’s Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 25, also was convicted of the murder charges. He was sentenced to 25 years. Read full story

Robert Halderman’s lawyer, Gerald Shargel, in an interview on CBS “The Early Show” yesterday, said David Letterman was offered a $2 million deal for first rights to a “screenplay” by his client, Robert Halderman. Shargel said it was a business transaction, the way Hollywood works, not extortion.

Gerald Shargel, attorney for Robert Joe Halderman. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

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Documents filed by Halderman’s lawyer claim David Letterman was having an affair with his former personal assistant, Stephanie Birkitt, much more recently than Letterman’s rep said.

The legal papers filed by the defense state that Robert Halderman confronted Stephanie Birkitt in December 2008 with evidence of the affair and she promised to end it. But Gerald Shargel, Halderman’s lawyer, claims the relationship continued “unabated” into this past summer.

Letterman’s rep has said the affair ended before Letterman’s marriage in March. Letterman came forward with the alleged extortion plot in early September.

Letterman’s attorney refused to say when the talk show host broke off his affair with Birkitt. Halderman’s lawyer did not elaborate about the sexual relationship and said he was looking forward to cross examining Letterman.

Shargel asked the judge to dismiss the extortion case, on grounds authorities were swept up in “the sensationalism surrounding the indictment” and the grand jury didn’t have enough evidence to target Halderman.

The lawyer claims the $2 million demand was “a pure commercial transaction” over a screenplay.

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DULUTH, Minn. — A 62 year old Minnesota man was arrested for DUI while driving drunk on his motorized La-Z Boy chair. Dennis LeRoy Anderson says he wrecked his ride because he was trying to pop a wheelie and blamed the girl he was carrying for throwing off his balance.

Dennis Leroy Anderson arrested for DUI while drunk driving motorized La-Z-Boy

The added weight of the passenger coupled with the wheelie, tossed the girl from the chair causing Anderson to slam into a parked car.

According to a report from “The Age”, the man told “police he left a bar in the northern Minnesota town of Proctor on his chair after drinking eight or nine beers.”

A criminal complaint says 62-year-old Anderson told police he left a bar in the northern Minnesota town of Proctor on his chair after drinking eight or nine beers.

Police said the chair was powered by a converted lawnmower and had a stereo and cup holders.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Heather Sweetland stayed 180 days of jail time Monday and ordered two years of probation for Anderson. Anderson’s attorney is David Keegan.

According to Kate Gosselin’s lawyer, Marty Singer, Jon Gosselin secretly withdrew $200,000 from Kate’s bank account without her knowledge. According to TMZ,  Singer, wrote a letter this past Friday accusing Jon Gosselin and his lawyer of fraud and contempt.

Jon Gosselin empties Kate's bank account of $200K

TMZ obtained a copy of the letter in which Singer expresses outrage that Jon secretly raided Jon and Kate’s money market account “of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” leaving only about $1,000. Singer says the withdrawal is not only “outrageous,” it directly violates the Arbitration Award in the divorce which requires both parties to agree before any money is withdrawn. Read the letter.

Kate blasts Jon on “Today” this morning, for clearing $230,000 out of the couple’s joint bank account: “You’ve left your children and their mother unable to pay for the roof over their head. It’s unacceptable.”

Singer says the withdrawal of funds is fraudulent and contemptible and claims both Jon and his lawyer, Mark Heller, are hypocrites, after they went on Larry King’s show and claimed family values (not money) was the important thing.

Singer says Heller has done this before, citing a New York Supreme Court decision which says Heller directed one of his clients in a divorce to “withdraw everything that’s in the bank” so the money could be used to pay his fee.

Singer also goes after Heller, stating the New York Supreme Court which “addressed charges that you violated ‘thirty-eight counts alleging multiple violations of the disciplinary rules,’ and charges that you ‘had engaged in a pattern of misconduct involving misrepresentations, deceit, abusive treatment of clients, fee gouging, neglect and willful failure to return unearned retainers to his clients’ in matters which involved your ‘mishandling of the matters of twelve separate clients.’” The letter goes on to claim Heller admitted to engaging in “professional misconduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.”

Kate Gosselin has filed legal papers in a Pennsylvania court this morning to force her estranged hubby Jon Gosselin to return the $230,000 he took out of their joint bank account and to have him cited for contempt for good measure.

Kate claims Jon raided their joint account, leaving her with only $1,000.

Kate’s lawyer, Mark Momjian, tells TMZ he filed the papers this morning and noted to the judge that Jon allegedly violated an order prohibiting him from taking anything out of the account without Kate’s sign-off.

Momjian claims Jon and his lawyer, Mark Heller, have harassed Kate with frivolous legal maneuvers and wants the judge to nail her estranged hubby with financial sanctions.

Heller, who is not a member of the Pennsylvania bar, is asking the judge for special permission to rep Jon in this case. Momjian says he filed papers opposing that move, on grounds Heller effectively lied to the court by failing to mention as he’s required to do that he was suspended by the New York bar for a variety of misdeeds.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0T57oTFU5

48-year-old Michael David Barrett was arrested at Chicago O’Hare International Airport last night in the connection with the Erin Andrews Peeping Tom case. Annrews, a reporter for ESPN, was secretly videotaped several months ago walking around naked in several hotel rooms. The suspect has now been charged with the federal crime of felony stalking.

According to the FBI, Barrett allegedly stalked Erin “with the intent to harass, to place under surveillance with intent to harass and intimidate, and to cause substantial emotional distress to a person in another state.”

The videotapes surfaced in July. At least six clips showed Erin walking around two different hotel rooms in the nude.

Andrews’ lawyer, Marshall Grossman from the law firm Bingham & McCutchen, told TMZ that Barrett allegedly contacted hotels in the various venues “where Andrews was working in order to locate her and her room number, and some of the hotels revealed that information, permitting him to target her.” Grossman says Barrett would remove the peepholes from the doors or as the complaint states, “hacked off” and inserted tiny camera devices to secretly film her.

Someone tried to sell the clips to TMZ, but they refused to buy or air them because they were an obvious invasion of Erin’s privacy. The federal complaint notes that the videos were offered for sale to TMZ.com through his email account.

The complaint says Andrews was so upset when the tapes began to circulate elsewhere she was “having trouble breathing and felt sick all of the time.” The complaint adds, “She was concerned there might be more video and wanted to vomit just thinking about it.”

TMZ contributed to this story.

David Letterman Extorted for $2 Million

Robert “Joe” Halderman, a well known CBS producer for “48 Hours”, was arrested outside CBS headquarters in NYC for attempted grand larceny after trying to deposit a $2 million check (the amount he tried to extort from Letterman).

Until recently Halderman was living with Stephanie Birkitt, Letterman’s former assistant.

TMZ reports that Halderman had a relationship with Stephanie Birkitt and lived with her, but says they had broken up “recently.”

“We do not know who ended the relationship, but Halderman allegedly was in possession of Birkitt’s diary, correspondence and photos which he says incriminated Letterman.”

“People connected with the network tell us Letterman did have a relationship with Birkitt, but the word is that it ended before Letterman had his baby in 2003,” TMZ said.

According to TMZ Manhattan D.A. played the investigation close to the vest and people inside the building were baffled when the highly-respected producer was cuffed and hauled off in the David Letterman extortion case.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said three meetings were held between Halderman and Letterman’s lawyers at the Essex House. Letterman was not at any of the meetings. During the 3rd meeting, the check for $ 2 million was turned over to Halderman.

Morgenthau says Letterman’s lawyer wore a wire and the last two meetings were audio taped.

Halderman deposited the check which was designed to bounce the next morning and was then arrested.

New York, September 22, 2009 – Plaxico Burress, former New York Giants wide receiver and Super Bowl hero,  began  serving a two-year jail sentence today for gun possession, after accidentally shooting himself at a nightclub last year. Burress, 32, pleaded guilty to a criminal weapons possession charge in August.

Plaxico Burress arrives for sentencing with defense lawyer Benjamin Brafton - Reuters

Burress’ football career was on the rise after he caught the winning touchdown in the Giants’ Super Bowl win in February 2008.

However, the Giants and the NFL suspended him after he pleaded guilty to a gun possession charge.

Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh with his own handgun last November while at a New York City nightclub. He did not have a license to carry a gun in New York.

Criminal defense lawyer, Benjamin Brafton, said in August that Burress would seek to resume his football career after completing the jail term, possibly as early as 2011.

Burress agreed last month to a two-year term for a single gun charge, avoiding a prison term of between 3-and-1/2 and 15 years had he been convicted on two counts of criminal possession and one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment, for which he was indicted in August.

Burress stands to lose millions of dollars in salary, since the NFL declared him ineligible to sign with any team until after his release.

Burress tearfully told his family goodbye as he was taken away to serve his sentence.

His lawyer, Benjamin Brafton said, “This is a very real tragic case in many, many ways.” He called Burress “a fundamentally decent man.”

“This was not an intentional criminal act,” Brafman said. “In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment.”

Gil Brandt, an analyst on NFL  said Burress won’t be too old for a comeback when he’s released from prison.

“First of all, Plaxico is a guy who keeps himself in pretty good shape,” Brandt said. “Lots of times guys get heavy in the offseason. He is not a guy who has done that.”

But Brandt admits that it coud be difficult for Burress.

“It’s like a person who has gone to college or high school and drops out of school for two years,” he said. “It is hard to reacquire your study habits. I think it is hard to reacquire the work habits you need to be successful when you have been away from the game for two years or so.”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Big Ben Roethlisberger Steelers QB

Ben Roethlisberger’s lawyer claims that the  sexual assault lawsuit against his client is fraudulent  and he wants the judge to throw the book at her lawyer for filing a “frivolous and abusive” lawsuit.

Andrea McNulty accused the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB of sexually assaulting her at a Lake Tahoe hotel in July, 2008. She waited a year later to file a civil lawsuit.

Roethlisberger’s lawyer filed new legal papers claiming McNulty’s attorney knew or should have known his client’s suit was bogus. Ben Roethlisberger wants McNulty’s lawyer formally sanctioned by the judge — which, among other things, could mean he would have to pay Roethlisberger’s attorney’s fees.

Roethlisberger’s lawyer says the suit is “designed to harass and embarrass him [Big Ben] and countless other individuals,” adding the explicit content in her lawsuit is designed “to stir the prurient interests of the media and public.”

Roethlisberger’s lawyer says even a casual investigation of the facts would have proven McNulty to be a liar. Among other things, Roethlisberger’s lawyer claims McNulty told a co-worker she wanted to have sex with Ben and she wanted him to get her pregnant. She also allegedly sent an email less than 24 hours after her sexual encounter with Ben, stating she was looking forward to having dinner with him.And there’s this — Ben’s lawyer cites a letter written by McNulty’s attorney, which reads in part: “Our client is currently struggling with whether or not she wants to come forward and seek criminal prosecution of the celebrity.”Ben’s lawyer wants the judge to throw the book at his legal adversary.

TMZ contributed to this story.

David Copperfield

Magician David Copperfield has been sued for sexual assault by a  former Miss Washington USA contestant.

According to The Seattle Times, the 22 year old fashion model says that she met Copperfield during a January 2007 performance in Kennewick, WA and that same year she was invited to be a guest on his private island in the Bahamas.

It is there that she claims that Copperfield sexually assualted her and threatened her.

Lawyers for Copperfield, Angelo Calfo and Patty Eakes deny the allegations stating:

“This woman, who filed the lawsuit, has a history of lying … She has lied to law enforcement before and, as a result, had innocent people arrested based on a false accusation … she is incapable of telling the truth.

This lawsuit is extortion for money, plain and simple. Unfortunately, false claims like this only hurt the women who really have been abused, women who really need our help.”

There have been no criminal charges filed regarding this matter.

The lawsuit was filed on July 29 in federal court in Seattle against David Seth Kotkin, David Copperfield’s given name. That date was the deadline for a two-year statute of limitations.

Locate A Lawyer is an attorney directory where one can find a lawyer by practice and location. Here you can find Seattle criminal defense lawyers.

John Edwards and ex mistress Rielle Hunter

Lawyer and former U.S. Senator, John Edward’s may finally admit that he is the father of his former mistress  Rielle Hunter’s child.

It is no secret that John Edwards had an affair with Rielle Hunter during his presidential run in 2008, because he was finally caught in a media scandal showing his visit in July 2008   to Hunter and the baby at the Beverly Hills Hilton.

The National Enquirer initially broke the story.

However,  Edwards never admitted to being the father of the baby. In fact he has always denied that he was the father stating his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived.

In fact Edwards may have no other choice but to admit paternity since his former aide Andrew Young,  who initially claimed to be the father of Hunter’s child, now denies it.  Young is reportedly writing a tell all book in which he will state Edwards is the father.

John Edwards is being criminally investigated by a Federal grand Jury as to whether his campaign funds were illegally paid to Hunter in order to keep her quiet about the affair.

Hunter spent nine hours last Thursday at the federal courthouse in Raleigh, where the grand jury was meeting. She brought her daughter, Frances, with her.

John Edward’s wife, Elizabeth, is still battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and continues treatment.

Locate A Lawyer is an attorney directory where one can find a lawyer by practice and location. Here you can find criminal defense lawyers.