The Money-Generating Merry-Go-Round Keeps On Turning

• Bankruptcy attorney and tv advertiser, Randolph Goldberg, sentenced to two years in prison and $700,000 in restitution as part of a deal for tax evasion. He already voluntarily gave up his law license for two years. No word yet on whether that will become permanent. Does this mean more work for Anthony Deluca? [RJ]
• Baseball player and admitted roid-head, Jose Canseco, is a suspect in a sexual assault in Vegas. He agreed to an interview with police, but meanwhile, is playing baseball in Texas. [CBS news]
• The Boy Scouts of America voted to end its ban on gay youth, while simultaneously upholding its ban on gay leaders. The move is guaranteed to make nobody happy and, understandably, will likely result in costly litigation over the policy. [Al Jazeera]
• The NV legislature approved a proposed constitutional amendment to end Nevada's ban on gay marriage. If it is approved again in 2015, it will go on the ballot for the voters to decide. [RJ]
• Another Berkeley law student, Hazhir Kargaran, was charged and pleaded no contest to involvement in the death of Turk the bird at the Flamingo last fall. From Wolfson's comments in the article, it sounds like they have a pretty strong case against Texeira. [RJ]
• A tipster has pointed out that both the Morris Law Group and Kemp, Jones, & Coulthard have "withdrawn as counsel" for MGM in the massive CityCenter litigation. As those two firms make their way to the bench, they join Jones Day who was apparently fired from the case last year, leaving Greenberg Traurig and Robertson & Associates on the field for MGM, with Alex Robertson IV as lead counsel according to his website. [A612676]

Be safe this Memorial Day weekend. Don't drink and drive and make sure your BBQ is fully cooked--you don't want to end up with a Firefly type situation on your hands!

HOA Scandal Back In The News

It has long been rumored that the HOA scandal may end up with judges being indicted. However, when the big "final round" of indictments came out in January, it didn't go any higher than the local attorney level. Now one possible cause for the rumor has come to light. 

Yesterday, the RJ posted an article indicating that Leon Benzer claimed that none other than Nevada's attorney general, Catherine Cortez Masto, had approved of his actions. Masto acknowledged to the RJ that she met Benzer while running for office in 2006, but did not discuss or approve Benzer's HOA scheme. Benzer's claim, which came to light to the FBI a few years ago (and we all know how well they keep secrets), could explain some rumors, but doesn't explain it all since Masto was not a judge and is not implicated in the HOA scandal. 

Any thoughts or insight on where this is going? Are we still going to see more indictments? More "mysterious" deaths?

"We Have No Guidelines When It Comes To Neck Holds"

The Clark County Family Court has, again, found itself under the scrutiny of the I-team at 8newsnow. The story involves marshals putting a 25 year old woman into a restraint chair and then one of them, Steve Rushfield, allegedly choking her. If the name Rushfield sounds familiar, it may be because he was involved in an earlier incident this year that resulted in him stepping down as a supervisor over family court marshals.

We have to ask--what is going on at the family court? Is it complete anarchy over there? The article mentions that court administration would make no comment on the incident because it was a personnel matter. Really? Not even a comment about maintaing order and decorum in the courthouse? Court administration (we don't know who that is) also said they have no guidelines when it comes to neck holds. Seriously? Is one hand around a 110 pound woman's throat the kind of neck hold that needs a guideline?

Heller To Block Dorsey?

The Las Vegas Sun reported last Thursday that Jennie Dorsey's nomination to the federal bench was endorsed by the senate judiciary committee. That means to seal the deal she will need to be approved by 60 members of the senate, which is currently looking unlikely to happen. Senator Dean Heller, who was personally responsible for keeping Elissa Cadish from the federal bench, is now taking a position against Dorsey--specifically because of the campaign contribution issue we discussed previously here and here.

That's alright, federal court in Nevada is doing just fine, right?

Graduation Day 2013

• Congratulations to the Boyd Class of 2013! Convocation is this morning at 10:00 a.m. Good luck with those hangovers.
• If you need an idea for a law grad gift, Above the Law has a few suggestions.
• Stanley Walton pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison. [8newsnow]
• The OJ Simpson hearing could present an interesting case study for an article on attorneys as witnesses and/or attorney ethics. [RJ]
• Apparently, there are/were rumors of partners and associates sleeping together at Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen, & Sanders. 

February 2013 Bar Exam Results

Lest we forget, the unofficial February 2013 bar exam results will be posted some time today on the State Bar of Nevada site.  Yes, someone who has a connection at the Supreme Court will know before you do, but even if they told you that you passed, would you believe them?

Last February's pass rate was a whopping 56%--the year before it was 63%. Any predictions on what it will be this time? Any words of wisdom for those that make up the unfortunate 40% or more who may be retaking it in July?

Ed.  The results are now up here.  The pass rate was 54%, with roughly 110 names on the list.

Look, Ma! One Hand!

• A Clark County jury awarded Richard Suen $70 million against Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands. Naturally, it will be appealed and there is the possibility of a mistrial due to jury problems that happened Monday. One juror wanted to be separated from the others and had to be talked to by Judge Bare. [RJ]
• The alleged ringleader of the HOA scandal, Leon Benzer, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges of tax evasion. He probably won't be back in his taxi any time soon. [RJ]
• Justin Texeira, the Berkeley law student accused of killing Turk the bird at the Flamingo last fall pleaded not guilty; a jury trial is set for October 14, 2013. [LV Sun]
• OJ Simpson is expected to testify today. Former DA David Roger testified yesterday and said he offered OJ a deal back in 2008 that would have given him 2 and a half years instead of the 9-33 years he is doing now. [8newsnow]
• The big news out of OJ's hearing yesterday was that Judge Linda Bell let him have one hand free. Alas, worried about the possibility of a slow speed chase in a white Ford Bronco, Judge Bell required his other to remain shackled to his chair. [NBC News]

Firm Spotlight: Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen, & Sanders

One of our readers recently asked for more information on Nevada's law firm, Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen,  & Sanders. ATMS, which began as a partnership between Bruce Alverson and Nevada's favorite senator, Harry Reid, was founded in 1977. According to its website, the firm specializes in civil litigation, medical malpractice, construction defects, and "numerous" other specialities.

Our predecessor devoted quite a bit of coverage to the happenings at ATMS, which is coincidentally among the first links to pop up when you search for Alverson and sweatshop. Is it really a sweatshop? Depends on who you ask. Is it a great place to work? Depends on who you ask. Who has worked there? A lot of people.

So, help out one of our readers by giving us an update on ATMS. Do they still do the summer associate program? Is the turnover rate better or worse than any other firm?

Fresh Squeezed Monday Morning

• OJ Simpson is back in Court this week claiming his attorney Yale Galanter provided him poor representation and gave him bad advice when he signed off on OJ going to get back his stuff. [Fox News]
• The Sands case against Richard Suen went to jury on Friday. [RJ]
• Las Vegas to get its first official day of triple digits today? [LV Sun]
• MGM's CEO James Murren says the construction problems MGM had at CityCenter were limited to one building that never opened [the Harmon]. [Hotel News Now]

Anyone have any further insight into the above stories?

One More BAM Before He Goes

As you may recall from a post earlier this year, Judge Bruce A. Markell, affectionately known as BAM, is resigning on July 10 to go teach in Florida. Judge Markell, never known to tread lightly, is not going out quietly. The RJ has an article on the recent benchslap he gave local attorney Anthony Deluca. Although we have not seen the order (if someone has it online, feel free to put the link in the comments), the RJ says it weighs in at 91 pages and lectures on bankruptcy code and the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Without having seen the full order, it's hard to determine how appropriate or inappropriate it was. What do you guys think? Do we like it when BAM gives us a good old fashioned benchslap? Did Deluca deserve it? (That answer is "no" according to a comment on the RJ article attributed to Anthony Deluca, and which mentions he has represented over 20,000 bankruptcy clients-unwittingly supporting the notion of a bankruptcy mill.) Is this judicial activism or a judicial technician at his finest? Will those poor law students even know what hit them?