Erik Scott Shooting Found Justified

The coroner’s inquest jury on Tuesday found the Metro Police shooting death of Erik Scott justified. Anybody surprised?

(LV Sun)

What Slips in Vegas, Sues in Vegas

A national insurance group has ranked Las Vegas No. 4 in the nation for "questionable slip-and-fall claims." Congratulations?

(LVRJ)

Oh-No-He-Di-Nit!

Don Chairez (the man running against current Clark County District Attorney David Roger) has officially fired the first negative-campaign shot via a television ad:

When reached for comment, Mr. Chairez stated he would have sought the death penalty for Ms. Hilton - citing The Hottie & The Nottie as his aggravating circumstance.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

Too much "Hard" not enough "Rock"

From the LV Sun:

The owner of the international Hard Rock brand no longer wants its name associated with the Las Vegas Hard Rock hotel-casino and is suing to cancel their licensing agreement, citing negative publicity from the Rehab pool parties and reality TV series.

Not sure about you guys, but there isn't enough chlorine in the world to get us to dip our toe into that pool.

(LV Sun)

Guest Post

[Ed note: A little while go we received an email from a WWL "fan/reader" who wondered if our audience would be interested in a little "prose" every once in a while to break up the legal gossip posts. We're willing to try anything once--and who are we to deny someone the potential wrath of our commenters--so we asked him to put together a sample. Here, for your enjoyment, is our brave friend's post. Let us know what you think.]

Post retracted at request of writer. Retraction post not posted out of respect for readers.

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Let's make this the most funtastic open thread ever!

Walton may have more than a missing $4 million to worry about ...

According to the RJ, Stan Walton also failed to file a formal answer to a Nevada State Bar complaint alleging he "misappropriated" $20,000 given to him by a client in an unrelated case.

Oh, and he may have been appointed as special prosecutor in a domestic violence case in which said client was the victim.

Oh, and he may have been "intimate" with said client.

Oh, and the complaint involves Walton recommending "gold Mexican bearer bonds" as an investment to said client.

See where this is going?

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

Set Your Tivos!

Tonight is the night. The Cristalli & Saggese-inspired legal "bromance" The Defenders premiers at 10:00 p.m. on CBS.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Finally, Some Northern Nevada Dirt

Ken McKenna, a well-known Reno lawyer, has been charged with two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes.

(RGJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

Here We Go Again ...

Our old friend (and convicted felon) Howard Awand has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury to answer questions about the "Medical Mafia." Could this be the beginning of Round 2?

(I-Team; Thanks Tipster!)

Gibson 2.0

Things aren't looking good for the man who makes Nevada's lowest bottom-feeding attorneys look like crusaders of justice.

First, the Electronic Frontier Foundation joined the fight, signing on to represent the Democratic Underground LLC in one of the high-profile Righthaven lawsuits.

Then, newly-appointed U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro set aside one of Gibson's many default judgments, finding that the "implied license" defense may have some merit:

"The defendant has reasonably asserted that the plaintiff’s conduct may have constituted an implied license and that the defendant may have properly inferred that the (copyright) owner consented to the use, especially in light of the established and accepted custom of users freely and openly sharing certain information posted on the Internet."

Not a good week to be sporting a gigantic bluetooth headset.

(LV Sun)

Stan Walton's Visit to CCDC Was Over Missing Millions, Ignoring Warnings

Walton was appointed administrator over an estate that allegedly ended up with approximately $4 million in unaccounted-for funds. Walton apparently received "numerous warnings from probate court and several continuances" before being suspended as administrator of the estate in January 2009. Judge Cadish held Walton in contempt when Walton failed to appear for a judgment debtor exam after being admonished multiple times.

As an aside, what do you guys think is proper mugshot protocol for jailed attorneys - professional smile, or, as Mr. Walton went with here, silent rage?

(LVRJ)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Seems like we just got done with an open thread, doesn't it? Time flies when you're in a drunken stupor billing like crazy!

U.S. News Ranks Nevada Firms; NBJ Ranks Nevada Lawyers

How does your firm stack up? U.S. News also did a favorable write-up on Holland & Hart.

Nevada Business Journal cut through the junk and (sort of) ranked individual attorneys.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

Creepy "drone" protesters outside of the RJC on Wednesday

Everyone has a cause.

For these people, the cause is apparently getting more American fighter pilots killed in battle.

(LV Sun; Thanks, Tipster!)

PoPo Outside of Richard Harris' Office Last Week

Apparently a disgruntled client. Nobody was shot.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

Patrick Murphy, Esq., dead at 56.

We've lost another of the greats. We wish Patrick's friends and family the best. From his obituary:

Memorial "wake" in remembrance of Mr. Murphy will be 5:30-8 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 16, in the ballroom located on the second floor of the California Hotel and Casino.

In lieu of flowers, it was Mr. Murphy's fondest wish that his friends send each other copies of the 1952 John Ford film, "The Quiet Man," starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Barry Fitzgerald.

Awesome. Well done, Pat.

Please use this thread only for well-wishes and condolences.

Lerner Complaint

Here is a copy of the Heavy Hitter Firm Complaint everyone has been talking about. Take .2 and give it a read.

(Thanks, tipster!)

UPDATE:

Thanks to Anon 8:54PM, we have pictures of the event. Could these be the young ladies mentioned in the complaint?

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

What's going on?

Just imagine what the people in Nye County who aren't the DA are up to.

Our favorite drunken fraudster DA has done it again.

Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett was arrested on suspicion of DUI a little before 11 p.m. on Tuesday. Now in lame-duck status after four terms in office, what has he really got to lose? Live it up, Bob.

(LV Now)

CCDA and NLV Courts Continue Pissing Match

That August 3rd deadline came and went without incident, but North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl decided to lob a grenade at the Clark County District Attorney's office over the weekend.

Speaking to the press, Dahl claimed that 20% of felonies go unpunished for lack of a prosecutor. From LV Legal News:

“We dismiss a lot of cases,” he said, and there is a price to pay. This fiscal year, 2,625 felony arrestees were charged in North Las Vegas. Dahl said 539 were dismissed. Most of them, he said, were dismissed “pursuant to statute,” meaning the state failed to meet deadlines, such as holding a plea hearing for a detained person within 72 hours, or a probable cause review within 48 hours.

Dahl goes on to talk about a case where a man was released on a domestic violence charge and proceeded to kill his girlfriend and himself.

District Attorney David Roger says it's a funding issue:

The issue is manpower. District Attorney David Roger said he can’t send three deputies to North Las Vegas Justice Court because there are dozens of unfilled positions. “We’d love to have a prosecutor for every courtroom in the county,” said Roger, “but we’ve lost 60 positions.”

Our tipster tells us that the DA now sends two deputies to North Las Vegas - one stays in Dahl's courtroom the entire time, and the other goes back-and-forth between JP Natalie Tyrrell and JP Chris Lee. If true, we're not sue what Dahl has to complain about - but Tyrrell and Lee should be pissed!

It looks like Dahl is essentially calling Roger to the mat. The response, if there is one, should be interesting.

(LV Legal News; Thanks Tipster!)

Motion Denied

Yesterday, Clark County commissioners voted 5-2 and denied the Clark County court system's request to hire former state Assemblyman Morse Arberry as a lobbyist. From the LV Sun:

Some commissioners said they opposed the courts or anyone else using public funds to hire a lobbyist for the state Legislature.

Other commissioners said they didn't mind the court system having a lobbyist but opposed hiring a former assemblyman without a "cooling-off" period. Arberry resigned his post in the Assembly last week.

In the end, only commissioners Tom Collins and Lawrence Weekly voted in favor of the court's request.

Commission Chairman Rory Reid came down on both Chief Judge Arthur Ritchie and Chief Judge Ann Zimmerman for their rather simplistic "because I can" arguments ... right before the democratic candidate for governor apparently turned into a racist:

Former state Sen. Joe Neal came to the meeting to speak in support of Arberry, but was told by Reid that he wouldn't be allowed to speak until the public comment period.

“I have tremendous respect for you, but I can’t offer a senator a special privilege. This isn’t a public hearing,” Reid said.

When the time for public comment arrived nearly two hours later, Neal got up and condemned the commissioners, saying they neglected to consider all of the facts involved in the decision and discriminated against Arberry, who is black, because of his race.

“You didn’t take it into consideration because he was a black person, and you did not allow me to come up and speak because I sit there as a black person,” Neal said.

Playing the Ace of Race on a gubernatorial candidate ... priceless.

Looking past the county commissions' clear racial bias (if you can), why does the court need a lobbyist? Remember: "because they can" is not an appropriate answer.

(LV Sun)

Friday Open Thread: Holiday Weekend Edition

Happy Friday everyone!

Enjoy your holiday weekend! Assuming, of course, you're caught up on you billables.

Oh good, at least we have a theme now ...

A helpful tipster sent in the following photo, taken Monday outside of the RJC:

Yes, that appears to be a Halloween/stripper cop uniform she is wearing.

Stay classy, Scott Holper, Esq.

Everybody Loves Rick?

According to his Tuesday facebook posting, local attorney Richard Harris "just got back from Toronto where he met with producers of a new reality show featuring our law firm. The Canadian film crew followed us in June as we worked and played."

Ideas for the name of the show?