John Council

October 16, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

Solo William Britton "Britt" Hall had not been seen at his Houston office for nearly three months, according to Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Hall, when the State Bar took the unusual step of filing an application to assume jurisdiction over his practice on March 21. Yet just more than a month after the Bar began assisting Hall's Houston clients, Hall turned up in Conroe, practicing law again.

By John Council

11 minute read

April 17, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

In one of the most tranquil parts of Central Texas, where cows graze on rolling hills and rivers gurgle through pasture land, the Llano County Courthouse sits elegantly in the center of Llano. The nearly restored Llano County Courthouse, built in 1892, graces the middle of the town square.

By John Council

8 minute read

April 15, 2008 | The Recorder

Removal of compound children will require an army of Texas family lawyers.

By John Council

12 minute read

November 11, 2002 | Law.com

The great divide over the federalization of violent crimes grew larger at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with the release of an evenly split en banc opinion affirming the conviction of a man sentenced to 97 years in prison for armed robbery. The man had argued that federal officials overstepped their bounds by using the Hobbs Act, a federal law aimed at criminals who interfere with interstate commerce, to prosecute him.

By John Council

6 minute read

May 18, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

With his life and legal career a smoldering wreckage, on May 11 retired U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent was sentenced to 33 months in prison for one count of obstruction of justice, and the two women he abused finally got a chance to speak directly to the jurist who made their lives hell.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and John Council

12 minute read

September 14, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

In the ongoing war between insurance companies and policyholders, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that an insurance company is not responsible for covering a policyholders' mold damage claim. The case is important because a majority of justices on the court said they won't bend to a current crisis -- including millions of dollars of damage to property that Gulf Coast residents suffered during Hurricane Rita last year -- to sway their decisions in insurance coverage-related matters, says one attorney.

By John Council

6 minute read

October 02, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

The first argument of the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming term will affect thousands of immigration-related cases across the country, as a South Texas attorney faces off against the federal Office of the Solicitor General in a fight over crime and statutory construction.

By John Council

11 minute read

July 20, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

Marilea Lewis' original plans for an undergraduate degree and her current job as a family court judge have one thing in common: drama. Lewis, who grew up in Waco, was offered an academic scholarship to her hometown college, Baylor University, where she wanted pursue a theater degree. But at that time, she also was thinking about leaving Waco to attend the University of Texas and join its theater department.

By John Council

7 minute read

May 02, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

Texas Lawyer checked up on the designated family law courts in Dallas and Houston to see how the judges spend their time. Results showd that the majority of the judges were doing exactly what the voters elected them to do -- they were on the bench or in their chambers working.

By John Council, Mark Donald, Anne K. McMillan and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

19 minute read

August 10, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

The Harris County District Attorney's Office launched a progressive DWI program on Aug. 1 that steers first-time offenders who plead guilty into treatment and rewards them for completing the program by dismissing their cases, which enables them to seek expungement of their records. Harris County Assistant DA Roger Bridgwater (pictured) helped develop the program.

By John Council

5 minute read