Jonathan Ringel

January 18, 2000 |

By Jonathan Ringel

4 minute read

November 12, 2004 |

Lawyers for black employees who claimed they suffered race discrimination while working for Southern Co. produced a mountain of evidence -- most notably photos of nooses hung at Georgia Power facilities. But statistics backing allegations of a pattern of race discrimination did not hold up in court. Upholding a decision that charges by seven employees did not justify certifying a class action, an 11th Circuit panel also tossed out the seven individual claims on summary judgment.

By Jonathan Ringel

4 minute read

April 26, 2004 |

Now that federal courts have kicked government out of the business of monitoring judicial campaign conduct, a private citizens' group has jumped in to fill the gap in Georgia. Hoping to prevent the rough-and-tumble tactics seen in executive and legislative campaigns, the group of about 40 lawyers and businesspeople plans to ask every statewide judicial candidate to pledge to abide by rules that the 11th Circuit has largely struck down.

By Jonathan Ringel

5 minute read

April 09, 2003 |

On Tuesday, the power struggle between Georgia's governor and attorney general came alive in a spirited three-hour hearing before a state judge. At issue is Gov. George E. "Sonny" Perdue III's claim that, as the chief executive officer of the state government, he has the authority to order Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker to dismiss the state's appeal of a voter redistricting decision before the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Jonathan Ringel

4 minute read

February 05, 1999 |

Atlanta is expected this week to join other American cities that have sued the gun industry claiming that their products are unreasonably dangerous.

By Jonathan Ringel

8 minute read

October 02, 2000 |

At an extraordinary 75-minute oral argument, a federal appeals court wrestled with the validity of e-commerce patents in Amazon.com v. Barnesandnoble.com. The case concerned a December 1999 order barring Barnesandnoble.com from using a single-click ordering system. But clearly, the court wanted to explore broader Internet patent issues vexing IP attorneys and e-commerce entrepreneurs alike.

By Jonathan Ringel

3 minute read

July 14, 2005 |

Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears used a speech Wednesday to decry what she views as the distortion of language in today's political culture. Saying that the word "activist" has become a "dirty name," Sears made note of the Terri Schiavo case, adding, "The code word 'activist' really means that any time a judge rules against you, he is automatically an activist."

By Jonathan Ringel

3 minute read

June 06, 2005 |

A securities fraud suit by investors against Dean Witter Reynolds can go forward if investors can prove they didn't have enough information to file the case until after the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate responsibility law went into effect. That's the effect of a June 1 ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its first interpretation of the landmark law passed in response to scandals at Enron and other companies accused of defrauding investors.

By Jonathan Ringel

5 minute read

September 01, 1999 |

Despite the efforts of a pro bono group from Atlanta's Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an ineffective counsel claim on behalf of a man sentenced to death after his conviction on murder and rape charges. A split three-judge panel ruled Alexander E. Williams IV should have told his attorney of beatings he suffered as a child and that the attorney was not remiss in his failure to present evidence of the mitigating abuse during the sentencing hearing.

By Jonathan Ringel

4 minute read

January 25, 2000 |

Reaction to Judge Gail S. Tusan's decision to end her quest for a federal judgeship ranged from sympathetic understanding to a cryptic jab from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tusan announced she was pulling out because it was "unlikely" the Senate would confirm her before April when she would have to qualify for re-election to the Fulton County, Ga. Superior Court bench.

By Jonathan Ringel

4 minute read