Attorneys

There were women in pearls, men in seersucker -- enough well-heeled Mississippians to conjure up a charity auction or summer fete. They were crowded Friday into a small wood-paneled federal courtroom behind a long line of sober, dark-suited attorneys to watch Richard F. "Dickie" Scruggs, a legendary plaintiffs' attorney, receive a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in March to conspiring to bribe a judge.

The Justice Department has agreed to back off hardball tactics to force corporations to turn over confidential communications between their attorneys and company executives under scrutiny by prosecutors. The new rules, outlined Wednesday in a Justice Department letter to the Senate, further ease tough steps taken after the Enron-era scandals to root out white-collar crime.

Since President Bush took office, one of the administration's most loyal and valued advisors at the Justice Department has been William W. Mercer. When a team of young White House and Justice Department staffers decided to fire a group of U.S. attorneys on Pearl Harbor Day 2006, it was left to Mercer to be the bearer of the bad news to some of the prosecutors.

When Bush administration officials at the Justice Department dismissed nine U.S. attorneys in 2006, there were various theories as to why the prosecutors were being let go. They were too soft on the death penalty. They did not prosecute enough illegal immigrants. They did not go after enough Democrats. On Monday, the Justice Department's internal watchdog hinted at perhaps the most sensational justification yet -- perceived homosexuality.

A Los Angeles lawyer was sentenced Monday to two months in prison for helping securities law firm Milberg make illegal kickbacks to a client who served as lead plaintiff in shareholder lawsuits. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, at a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles, rejected a request by prosecutors to sentence Richard Purtich to one year of probation. Walter also ordered Purtich, who had been cooperating with the eight-year investigation of the New York firm, to pay a $50,000 fine.

A federal appeals court granted the White House a temporary delay in turning over documents to a House committee investigating the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. A three-judge panel ordered the stay on Thursday, the deadline set by the House Judiciary Committee for White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten to provide the records. The order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also will probably delay the appearance of former White House Counsel Harriet E.

The job: The attorney with law firm Arent Fox recently was appointed mediator of the high-stakes Barbie vs. Bratz dispute (officially known as Mattel vs. MGA Entertainment) in federal court. The case: A jury gave Mattel ownership of early drawings of the Bratz dolls, a lucrative franchise debuted by MGA in 2001, and it awarded Mattel up to $100 million. But it's unclear how much of that monetary award will stand, and MGA is fighting to keep ownership of the doll line.

He represented clients all over the country: a Colorado woman accused in a murder-for-hire scheme against her husband, a Minnesota man facing child pornography charges and a hockey player convicted of trying to kill his agent. In his free time, Howard O. Kieffer answered questions from anxious relatives of prisoners and other attorneys -- how to access medical care and which federal facilities were preferable for sex offenders.

Contending that the government had suppressed evidence that could help a young man facing life in prison, a prosecutor has quit the war crimes tribunals here, several military defense lawyers said Wednesday. Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld quit the case -- and the Office of Military Commissions -- after growing increasingly concerned about the lack of due process afforded to Mohammed Jawad and his legal team, according to Michael J. Berrigan, deputy chief defense counsel for the commissions.

A former U.S. military prosecutor at Guantanamo, who accuses his superiors of suppressing evidence, refused Thursday to testify in a war crimes case unless he is granted immunity. Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, who was called as a defense witness, revealed a day earlier that he had quit over what he called ethical lapses by prosecutors. His action has sent ripples throughout the U.S.