We Have A Name ... And A Preview!

A helpful CBS employee tipped us in the comments to the name of the Cristalli & Saggese based upcoming "bromance" on CBS; it will be called "The Defenders," and here's a preview:

We have to say, we're intrigued ... and we'll be tuning in for at least one episode.

However, the more important question to us is: how does Rick Harris feel about the name of the show? Making this inquiry even more interesting is the fact that whoever wrote the blurb on CBS's site chose to use this phrasing:

Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell team up in this new drama about two Las Vegas lawyers who play by their own rules. Lawyer up - This Fall on CBS!

Not that Harris coined the term "Lawyer up" by any means ... but it is interesting, right?

(CBS; Thanks, Tipster!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Soooooo, whatcha doin'?

Claus Is Out ... But The Case Goes On

Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett re-filed the same charges against Detective David Boruchowitz roughly nine hours after Pahrump Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill struck down the first criminal complaint against Boruchowitz because she said Beckett lacked the authority to name CCC as a special prosecutor.

From the RJ:

Boruchowitz was scheduled for arraignment on Monday. Instead, Brisebill ruled on a motion the detective filed Friday seeking to have the charges thrown out.

The judge wrote that Beckett was free to refile the charges under his own signature or that of a "statutorily authorized deputy district attorney."

That is exactly what Beckett did Monday afternoon.

This time around, the total number of charges has been upped to 27 and divided into two separate criminal complaints.

Take that, Detective - see if you can file two motions to dismiss. Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaa!

Beckett said that the case"might find itself going all the way to the Supreme Court, I don't know." However, Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo put it another way: "Get your Dramamine out. I think this thing is going to give people motion sickness."

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

CBS "Makes Room" for Cristalli & Saggese Show

CBS has canceled 7 shows in order to take a chance on some fresh ideas, and one of the lucky newcomers is a Las Vegas "comedic drama" based on local firm Cristalli & Saggese.

As we previously noted, Jerry O'Connell is going to play Marc Saggese, while Jim Belushi will take on Michael Cristalli's persona.

If you are a fan of any of the following shows: "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "Ghost Whisperer," "Cold Case," "Miami Medical," "Numb3rs," "Gary Unmarried" and/or "Accidentally on Purpose," send your hate mail to Marc & Michael ... or Daniel Dae Kim, who is apparently staring in a remake of Hawaii Five-O (we miss Lost already).

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler had this to say about the plot of the still-unnamed legal comedic drama:

"It's more of a bromance than a conventional legal drama."

A "bromance?" Between Jerry O'Connell and Jim Belushi? Okey dokey. Put us down for one episode ... we'll see how bromantic this gets. What do you guys think they should name it?

(AP; Thanks, Tipster!)

Criminal Prosecution Is War!

Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett is not going to take the investigation into his alleged embezzlement of bad check funds lying down ... he has named Las Vegas attorney C. Conrad Claus ("Law is war") as a special prosecutor to pursue criminal charges against one of the the sheriff's detectives involved with the investigation. From the RJ:

Nye County Manager Richard Osborne said officials are drafting a request to have a district judge appoint an independent prosecutor to review the case against Beckett.

Until then, Osborne said, the county has no intention of recognizing the authority of Claus or any other special prosecutor the district attorney might name.

We wouldn't say that to Claus' face ... the guy has a sword on his website.

The 25 counts filed against the detective stem from alleged actions against Scott Cobel and Ted Holmes, who were candidates for Nye County sheriff, and District Attorney Robert Beckett.

Claus claims that the detective is "looking at the rest of his life in prison" if he is convicted on all the charges - or a no holds barred cage match, whatever he prefers.

As an aside ... what's with the way the papers photographed Claus for this story? Compare the LV Sun photo to RJ photo, above. How long did he stand like that ... gazing off into the distance?

(LVRJ; LV Sun; Thanks, Tipster!)

***UPDATE***

Looks like CCC didn't get to play prosecutor for long. A Nye County JP threw out the complaint against the detective today after he filed a motion to strike the criminal complaint which challenged the legitimacy of Claus’ appointment as a special prosecutor.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday to all!

We're fresh off the unofficial "stupidest 50+ comment thread in this blog's history." Let's see if we can top it!

If You Can't Pass It ... Sue It.

A helpful tipster sent us this interesting story from CNS. It may not be Nevada based, but it does involve the 9th Circuit ... and we found it amusing. Our ball, our rules.

Apparently, a group of out-of-state "attorneys" are suing California courts and the 9th Circuit judicial council for ... gasp ... requiring that attorneys pass something called a "bar exam" before practicing law. From CNS:

[Plaintiffs] call the requirement that attorneys practicing in California pass the state Bar exam "discriminatory" and "outdated." The class compares the rules to the situation when "in the 1890s, Homer Plessy, who was 1/8th black, was barred from riding in a 'Whites only' train car by Louisiana State law."

Wait ... Plessy? These people just proved why they should not be allowed to practice law.

However, the suit isn't all batshit crazy; plaintiffs actually make some sense -- while managing to completely miss the point of a bar exam:

The class claims that the state Bar exam is not a reliable device for measuring an attorney's level of expertise: "There is no cause-and-effect nexus whatsoever between practice in the U.S. District Courts and this punitive licensing test," the class claims.

Wait ... the bar has nothing to do with the practice of law? Get out of here! Next you're going to tell us that the LSAT has nothing to do with law school ... or that law school has nothing to do with passing the bar. Crazies.

But seriously, how many of you dreamed of filing this lawsuit about halfway through your bar prep course? We know we did.

The plaintiffs want the 9th Circuit's local general admission rules scrapped, supposedly in favor of an admission-by-motion system. Good luck guys.

(Courthouse News Service; Thanks Tipster!)

Boyd Leaps In the Rankings!

Um ... not those rankings. This is much more important.

Boyd has jumped 13 spots in a single year and is now tied for 9th in the Second Annual Party Law School Rankings. Here are the top ten schools overall:

1. University of Arizona
2. Tulane University
3. Florida State
4. Arizona State
5. UC Berkeley
6. University of Virgina
7. University of Michigan
8. Seattle University
9. Boyd
9. University of Hawai’i

Where Boyd really shines, however, is in the specialty rankings:

The Real Party Rankings (Most Nights Spent Out)

1. Tulane University
1. Boyd
3. Arizona State
3. University of Arizona
3. University of Georgia

Life is Good (Happiest Student Body)

1. Arizona State

1. Louisiana State University
1. Stanford University
1. Tulane University
1. UC – Berkeley
1. University of Hawaii
1. University of Georgia
1. Boyd

Future Twelve Steppers (Most Alcohol Consumption)

1. Arkansas – Fayetteville
1. Georgetown University
1. Tulane University
1. University of Arizona
1. Boyd
6. Boston College
6. Harvard University
6. Pepperdine University
6. St. Johns University

Right on Boyd - even if you can't out-LSAT those T14 snobs ... at least you can drink them under the table!

(Party Law School Rankings; Thanks, Tipster!)

Drugs (and fraudulent certificates) are bad.

Defense attorney Brian Bloomfield had his house raided recently in connection with a criminal investigation into allegations that United States Justice Associates (a company with which Bloomfield presumably has ties) sold fraudulent certificates stating people had completed counseling programs.

During the raid, however, The Man used that plain view thing and allegedly found Mr. Bloomfield's stash. From the RJ:

... on April 27, police found a "plastic bag containing several individually bagged leafy substances believed to be marijuana." They said they found a water pipe with residue and rolling papers.

Busted! Huh huh huh huh ... awesome. Pass the nachos.

United States Justice Associates was one of several companies that offered programs for alcohol and drug abuse, AIDS awareness, anger management and petty larceny to those charged with misdemeanors. At sentencing, judges often order defendants to attend such programs to steer them out of the justice system.

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Since no firms appear to be throwing parties this week, we'll see you all at the Downtown Cocktail Room for happy hour at 5:30!

Judging the Judges 2010 - Municipal Courts

The RJ's Judging the Judges poll results are out, and today it's time to acknowledge some of our lesser-known jurists. Here's the numbers for our municipal court judges:

Las Vegas Municipal Court:

• George Assad: 31% would retain
• Bert M. Brown: 93% would retain
• Martin D. Hastings: 86% would retain
• Cedric A. Kerns: 82% would retain
• Elizabeth B. Kolkoski: 58% would retain
• Cynthia S. Leung: 73% would retain

Henderson Municipal Court:

• Diana D. Hampton: 38% would retain
• Douglas Hedger: 74% would retain
• Mark Stevens: 57% would retain

North Las Vegas Municipal Court:

• Sean Hoeffgen: 56% would retain
• Warren VanLandschoot: 56% would retain

Congratulations to George Assad for obtaining the lowest overall retention score of any judge in Clark County. Way to go, Your Honor! Also, congratulations to Warran VanLandschoot for having the most awesome name ever.

Let us know your thoughts on the results of the municipal court poll in the comments. That does it for our coverage of the JTJ polls ... until 2012.

(LVRJ - Municipal Court PDF)

What a $505 Million Smile Looks Like

Bob Eglet with MEC colleague Robert Adams at the Richard Harris party on their victory day ... right before they made it rain.

Judging the Judges 2010 - Justice Courts

The RJ's Judging the Judges poll results are out, and today it's time to hit the front lines ... Justice Court. Here's the numbers for our justices of the peace:

Las Vegas Township:

• Karen Bennett-Haron: 58% would retain
• Natalie Tyrrell: 63% would retain
• Nancy C. Oesterle: 65% would retain
• Eric A. Goodman: 66% would retain
• Ann E. Zimmerman : 71% would retain
• Tony L. Abbatangelo: 71% would retain
• William D. Jansen: 72% would retain
• Diana L. Sullivan: 75% would retain
• Deborah J. Lippis: 79% would retain
• Joe M. Bonaventure: 81% would retain
• Melissa Saragosa: 83% would retain
• Melanie Andress-Tobiason: 86% would retain
• Joseph Sciscento: 91% would retain

Henderson Township:

• David Gibson, Sr.: 81% would retain
• Stephen George: 90% would retain
• Rodney T. Burr: 92% would retain

North Las Vegas Township:

• Chris Lee: 72% would retain
• Stephen J. Dahl: 86% would retain

Not much to say here ... it looks like Joe Jr., in spite of his limited experience when he took the bench, has overcome the odds and become quite the judge. Good for him.

Let us know your thoughts on the results of the justice court poll in the comments. We'll be posting about the last poll tomorrow.

(LVRJ - Justice Court PDF)

Judging the Judges 2010 - Family Court

The RJ's Judging the Judges poll results are out, and today it's a family affair. Here's the numbers for our Family Court judges (ranked in order of retention score and without misspelling "break" ... picky, picky):

• Judge Cheryl B. Moss: 36% would retain
• Judge Cynthia Dianne Steel: 42% would retain
• Judge Kenneth E. Pollock: 47% would retain
• Judge Sandra L. Pomrenze: 56% would retain
• Judge William B. Gonzalez: 60% would retain
• Judge William S. Potter: 64% would retain
• Judge Mathew Harter: 68% would retain
• Judge Jennifer Elliott: 70% would retain
• Judge Cynthia N. Giuliani: 71% would retain
• Judge Bill Henderson: 72% would retain
• Judge Steven E. Jones: 75% would retain
• Judge William O. Voy: 83% would retain
• Judge T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr.: 85% would retain
• Judge Robert W. Teuton: 85% would retain
• Judge Charles J. Hoskin: 87% would retain
• Judge Bryce C. Duckworth: 89% would retain
• Judge Gloria S. Sanchez: 92% would retain
• Judge Frank P. Sullivan: 96% would retain

This category is host to one of our favorites, Judge Moss (the Walsh of Family Court), as well as Judge Frank Sullivan, who has the highest overall retention score of any judge in any category. It's no small feet to please 96% of Nevada Attorneys (that one's for you ... spelling Nazi) ... and he's a flashy dresser to boot. Congrats, Sully!

Let us know your thoughts on the results of the family court poll in the comments. We'll be posting about the remaining polls throughout the week.

(LVRJ - Family Court PDF)

Judging the Judges 2010 - District Court

The RJ's Judging the Judges poll results are out, and our district court judges run the gamut from good to bad. Here's how the numbers brake down for our DC judges:

• Judge Valerie Adair: 80% would retain
• Judge David Barker: 91% would retain
• Judge Linda Bell: 81% would retain
• Judge James Bixler: 78% would retain
• Judge Elissa Cadish: 86% would retain
• Judge Kenneth Cory: 74% would retain
• Judge Kathleen Delaney: 81% would retain
• Judge Mark Denton: 81% would retain
• Judge Allan Earl: 82% would retain
• Judge Jackie Glass: 60% would retain
• Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez: 83% would retain
• Judge Kathy Hardcastle: 46% would retain
• Judge Douglas Herndon: 87% would retain
• Judge Susan Johnson: 82% would retain
• Judge Michelle Leavitt: 43% would retain
• Judge Stefany Miley: 42% would retain
• Judge Donald Mosley: 57% would retain
• Judge Abbi Silver: 62% would retain
• Judge Douglas Smith: 63% would retain
• Judge Jennifer Togliatti: 83% would retain
• Judge Valorie Vega: 65% would retain
• Judge Michael Villani: 78% would retain
• Judge David Wall: 91% would retain
• Judge Jessie Walsh: 36% would retain
• Judge Timothy Williams: 82% would retain

Congratulations to the Davids (Barker and Wall) for being the only DC judges to get greater than a 90% retention score ... and congratulations to Nevada voters for giving Jessie Walsh at least four more years on the bench. Let us know your thoughts on the results of the district court poll in the comments. We'll be posting about the remaining polls throughout the week.

(LVRJ - District Court PDF)

Judging the Judges 2010 - The Supremes

The RJ's Judging the Judges poll results are out. It seems that attorneys feel everyone on our highest court is a keeper ... well, almost everyone. Here's how the numbers brake down for the High Court:

• Justice Michael Cherry: 74% would retain
• Justice Michael Douglas: 72% would retain
• Justice Mark Gibbons: 85% would retain
• Justice James Hardesty: 73% would retain
• Justice Ron Parraguire: 82% would retain
• Justice Kristina Pickering: 65% would retain
• Justice Nancy Saitta: 50% would retain

One (maybe two) of these things is not like the others ... why? Let us know your thoughts on the results of the Supreme's poll in the comments. We'll be posting about the remaining polls throughout the week.

(LVRJ - Supremes PDF)

Breaking News: Hep C - Punitive Damages Award Is In!

$500,000,000 in punitive damages.

That's right. $500 million.

Even bigger congrats to Bob Eglet and Will Kemp.

Friday Open Thread: PAR-TAY Edition

Fashionably late ... our invite finally arrived.

See you all tonight at 5:30 PM for a rockin' good time at the Richard Harris Annual Party!

The Nyes Have It!

According to the RJ, Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett was arrested Wednesday morning on fraud and embezzlement charges in connection with a bank account his office managed for more than 13 years.

Beckett has been charged with more than 40 counts, including 20 counts of fraudulent appropriation of property, 20 counts of misconduct of a public officer, one count of malfeasance of office and one count of embezzlement.

Seriously. The District Attorney.

The account in question was used to hold money from people charged with writing bad checks. The money was supposed to be used to reimburse victims of bad checks. Bad-check writers also must pay fees on top of their reimbursements.

Problem is, the account came up a bit short during a recent audit. Beckett's explanation for the shortfall is classic:

Beckett last week said the fund was being phased out because "people aren't writing bad checks anymore."

Yay! Only "good checks" in Nye County from now on - problem solved. Give that man another term in office!

You may remember Beckett as the DA who managed to wreck two vehicles in six hours while driving drunk back in June of 2008. He is, incredibly, running for his fifth term as Nye County DA ... but this time he has some stiff competition. [Rimshot!]

The election will (hopefully) come down to a choice between Ron Kent, Beckett's former chief civil deputy and Brian Kunzi, a senior deputy attorney general. Although, maybe it would be better for us if Beckett stayed in office. Who knows what he'll do next?!

(LVRJ; Thanks Tipsters!)

Happy Bar Results Day!

It's that time again ... time for all you early graduates, repeat takers and out-of-towners to sweat it out. Nevada may be the wild wild west of the legal world, but we have a very difficult bar exam that you must pass before we allow you to go out and commit unrestrained malpractice. Don't worry, we're sure all but about one-third less than half of you did fine.

Commenters, how about posting some happy thoughts for our soon-to-be-hyperventilating pals? Let them know that life goes on, regardless of the results ... tell them your tales of woe.

Results are usually posted around 1:00 PM ... press button below to check.

Good luck!! Don't forget about tipping us when you become big shot attorneys!

Hep C Verdict: $5 Million

This is all over the Breaking News links.

The verdict is in. $5 million.

It now moves to the punitive damages phase.

Congrats to Bob Eglet and Will Kemp!

***UPDATE***

According to the RJ, Bob Eglet asked the jury for $1 Billion in punitive damages on Thursday.

The Art of Spin

A helpful commenter pointed us towards an "interesting" article in Las Vegas Business Press about our friends over at ATMS. In the article, ATMS explains how the firm has been able to increase its hiring while "other firms" are forced to do layoffs. The article gave us quite a chuckle, here are a couple of our favorite excerpts (with a bit of commentary):

The staffing increase is part of Alverson Taylor Mortensen & Sanders' business strategy. In boom times, many prominent Las Vegas law offices tended to hire experienced attorneys with a large portfolio of business under their belts. This firm, however, likes to hire recent law school graduates.

"We like to hire people right out of law school and train them properly, and we can train them right," Taylor said. "We believe we are better at training new attorneys than anyone else."

Plus, people right out of law school don't laugh quite as hard when ATMS tells them they will be paid by the hour and not reimbursed for parking.

Partner J. Bruce Alverson said his firm hasn't been hammered by the economy the way some other law offices were.

"We didn't do any layoffs, like the other law firms," Alverson said. "We only had four transactional attorneys, and their work slowed. But we absorbed them in other areas."

Right. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that those "other firms" don't have a constant flow of attorneys heading out the back door. That would be silly. Oh, and Bruce means "absorbed" literally ... the partners ate the slow associates.

Check out the article for more "ATMS Presents: How to Build a Successful Firm on the Backs of Inexperienced Law Students."

(LVBP)