Mary Alice Robbins

October 28, 2009 | Law.com

On Oct. 22, Fort Worth, Texas' 2nd Court of Appeals affirmed James Kevin Pope's 40 life sentences for sexual assault of a child and three 20-year sentences -- one for each of three counts of sexual performance of a child. Because the 415th District Court ordered Pope to serve the sentences consecutively, he could face up to 2,460 years in prison for engaging in group sex with his three teenage daughters.

By Mary Alice Robbins

2 minute read

June 05, 2008 | Law.com

A more-than-a-decade-old fee fight between two Houston attorneys may not be over yet. Last month the Texas Supreme Court denied Robert Bennett's petition for review in Bennett v. Coghlan, a case that began as a dispute over $28,000 in fees that Kelly Coghlan claimed Bennett owed him. Coghlan estimates Bennett currently owes him almost $200,000, which is in addition to the approximately $100,000 that Bennett paid in 2003. But Bennett isn't giving up. "We're looking at a motion for rehearing," he says.

By Mary Alice Robbins

3 minute read

September 21, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Lakeway Municipal Court Judge Kevin Madison says that on Sept. 18, he reversed his dress code rule that banned cowboy boots in his courtroom.

By Mary Alice Robbins

2 minute read

December 14, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

In a Dec. 1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision upholding the Plano Independent School District's 2005 policy regulating when and where students can distribute materials unrelated to the curriculum, including religious materials. Hiram Sasser (pictured) represents the plaintiffs.

By Mary Alice Robbins

3 minute read

March 25, 2010 | Daily Business Review

A TV station that regularly publishes online the names of persons charged with misdemeanor offenses erroneously included the names of about 25 attorneys on the list that appeared on its Web site. Now the lawyers worry that the erroneous list will be accessible to potential clients.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read

June 18, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

The bill would have made the limitation on recovery in Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code �41.0105 applicable only in medical malpractice suits. The Texas Legislature passed the recovery limitation as part of the H.B. 4 tort reforms of 2003.

By Mary Alice Robbins

3 minute read

May 13, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished a Dallas judge who drew worldwide media attention last year when she threw a party in her courtroom to celebrate the return of a fugitive defendant.

By Mary Alice Robbins

2 minute read

July 16, 2008 | Law.com

As chief counsel for the Democratic National Convention Committee, Susana Carbajal deals daily with a variety of legal issues in preparation for the convention set to begin Aug. 25 in Denver. "Every day is different," says Carbajal, a former bankruptcy and specialty litigation associate with Austin's Brown McCarroll. On the DNCC's staff since June 2007, Carbajal says she has worked on everything from drafting contracts to dealing with IP rights on the design and production of the convention's logo.

By Mary Alice Robbins

3 minute read

July 05, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

Ken Lay, the former Enron Corp. chairman convicted in May on criminal charges stemming from Enron's collapse, is dead at the age of 64.

By Mary Alice Robbins

2 minute read

May 04, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller faces a hit to the pocketbook. In an order signed Wednesday, the Texas Ethics Commission levied a $100,000 civil penalty against Keller for multiple omissions on her 2007 and 2008 personal financial statements. Tim Sorrells, TEC's deputy general counsel, says, "It is the largest penalty."

By Mary Alice Robbins

2 minute read