Prison commander testifies that government hid microphones in Guantanamo, but no one listened

Yesterday I reported that defense attorneys in the case against the alleged 9/11 mastermind have argued that the US government have been listening in on privileged attorney-client conversations (see here).  Today, reports are coming in that it is true the FBI had hidden microphones inside his compound where lawyers meet prisoners.  However, the army officer in charge of the prison testified that he was unaware of it.   The Miami Herald has the story here.  The Jurist also has a report here.

ABA approves resolution on unbundling legal services

The ABA Journal is reporting today that an ABA House of Delegates has approved a resolution encouraging lawyers to consider providing unbundled legal services when appropriate.  Resolution 108 supports unbundled services, also known as limited-scope representation, in which lawyers provide some but not all the work involved in a legal matter. According to a report accompanying the resolution, such representation can increase access to legal services. Go here for the story and for readers' comments on it.

ABA adopts new proposals to amend the Model Rules and more

Professor Andrew Perlman, the Chief Reporter for the ABA's "Commission on Ethics 20/20," is reporting that just a few days ago, the ABA House of Delegates approved four remaining proposals from Commission:

Resolution 107A amended Model Rule 5.5 so that it expressly permits qualified foreign lawyers to serve as in-house counsel while based at their employers’ U.S. offices. (The accompanying report is here.)

Resolution 107B amended the 2008 ABA Model Rule for Registration of In-House Counsel to bring foreign lawyers within the scope of that Rule.  (The accompanying report is here.)

Resolution 107C amended the ABA Model Rule on Pro Hac Vice Admission so that it provides guidance to judges who may be asked to grant pro hac vice admission to qualified foreign lawyers.  (The accompanying report is here.)

 Resolution 107D amended Comment [5] to Rule 8.5 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct so that it expressly allows a lawyer and client to specify a particular jurisdiction as the jurisdiction where the “predominant effect” of the lawyer’s conduct will occur for purposes of a choice of law analysis under Model Rule 8.5. (The accompanying report is here.)

An overview report describing each of these Resolutions is here. 

The ABA Journal has short reports on some of these here, here and here.

For all the latest information and more links go to the ABA's Commission's website (here).

Defense attorney questions wether US government is disregarding client's right to confidentiality in 9/11 prosecution

On of the defense attorneys in the case against alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four accused co-conspirators in the murder of nearly 3,000 people in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks argued an emergency motion in a pre trial hearing arguing that unidentified intelligence agencies have channels to listen in on privileged attorney-client conversations. The chief prosecutors denied the allegation.  Go here for more on the story.

Thanks to the Legal Ethics Forum for the link.

Update on advertising rules

The Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers is currently holding a national meeting and today they had a discussion on recent developments regarding advertising rules.  Nicole Hyland was there and she posted this short report on the Legal Ethics Forum.  For other posts on recent developments in Florida and Tennessee go here and here.

Article: "America's broken criminal justice system"

Blogger has published a long but interesting article on what he calls "America's broken criminal justice system." In it, he discusses certain aspects of our legal system that he argues "serve to destroy the notion of a Criminal Justice System that operates fairly towards each citizen and make that system into an instrument of oppression." The items he discusses include (using his words): unfairness of representation, under-funding of the court system, plea bargaining as an insult to justice, the political nature of judges, prosecution as a career stepping stone, the corruption of law enforcement and public ignorance of our criminal justice system. Go here to read the full article.

More comments on allegations against former prosecutor in Texas for concealing evidence

Back in March of last year I posted a comment on a case in Texas in which a judge was under investigation for misconduct when he was a prosecutor.  My original post, which includes a segment from the tv show 60 minutes on the case, is available here.  A few months later, Professor Jonathan Turley published his own comment on the case here. Today, he published an update and more comments here.

Florida Supreme Court amends, and some say "loosens," lawyers’ advertising rules

A divided Florida Supreme Court yesterday eliminated a number of existing limits in the state's regulations on advertising by lawyers but also extended the rules to websites.

A majority of the seven justices agreed to permit previously prohibited ads that characterize the quality of legal services being offered, information about past results and testimonials, but held that all advertising must be “objectively verifiable,” whether distributed over the Internet or through traditional media such as print, outdoor and broadcast.  Thus, lawyers will be allowed to refer to verifiable facts about their past cases, but not to simply assert that they are one of "the best trial lawyer in Florida.”  The court held this would be misleading and prohibited.  Two justices filed dissenting opinions.  You can read the opinions here and a short summary here.

New report on contingency fees

The Center for Justice & Democracy has published a new study called Courthouse Cornerstone: Contingency Fees and Their Importance for Everyday Americans in which it discusses the debate over the use of contingency fees and the efforts by tort reformers to limit or eliminate the use of contingency fees in the US.  You can download a copy of the report here.  For a summary Fact Sheet click here.  For the Press Release announcing the report click here.

How not to conduct a hearing: leave a woman requesting a protective order with the guy she wants protection from in a room with no security personnel

By now you may have heard of this story or seen the video; but in case you haven't here it is.  The video shows how a judge left a woman with her ex-boyfriend in a room despite her saying that she was fearful of him and seeking protection.  Once alone, the man attacks the woman.  (The other woman in the room was the attacker's grandmother).