Jack Earley

In the middle of a hushed courtroom, Irvine attorney Jack Earley held up a picture of what appeared to be the All-American family: A beaming father and mother with their two young daughters and two young sons. With the jury looking on attentively, Earley suddenly raised the framed photograph above his head and slammed it on the lectern, shattering the glass and drawing gasps and looks of horror from spectators and even the judge.

In the middle of a hushed courtroom, Irvine attorney Jack Earley held up a picture of what appeared to be the all-American family: A beaming father and mother with their two young daughters and two young sons. With the jury looking on attentively, he suddenly raised the framed photograph above his head and slammed it on the lectern, shattering the glass and drawing gasps and looks of horror from spectators and even the judge.

In the middle of a hushed courtroom, Irvine attorney Jack Earley held up a picture of what appeared to be the all-American family: A beaming father and mother with their two young daughters and two young sons. With the jury looking on attentively, he suddenly raised the framed photograph above his head and slammed it on the lectern, shattering the glass and drawing gasps and looks of horror from spectators and even the judge.

In the middle of a hushed courtroom, Irvine attorney Jack Earley held up a picture of what appeared to be the All-American family: A beaming father and mother with their two young daughters and two young sons. With the jury looking on attentively, Earley suddenly raised the framed photograph above his head and slammed it on the lectern, shattering the glass and drawing gasps and looks of horror from spectators and even the judge.

At a minimum of $60 per hour in attorney's fees, county taxpayers will foot the bill for the second defense of La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick, accused of killing her ex-husband and his second wife, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled Thursday. Rather than appointing a public defender, Judge Jesus Rodriguez ordered Jack Earley, a Newport Beach lawyer who represented Broderick in the first trial, to remain on the case.

A Vista Superior Court jury found 28-year-old Linda Ricchio guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder in the so-called "Fatal Attraction" killing of her one-time boyfriend in Carlsbad. But the jury did not find Ricchio guilty of lying in wait when she shot and killed Ron Ruse on Dec. 14, 1987, thereby sparing her from spending the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole. Instead, Ricchio faces a prison term of 27 years to life when she is formally sentenced May 22 by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Miller.

EVERYBODY IN LA JOLLA knew the Brodericks. Daniel T. Broderick III and his wife, Betty, seemed to have a classic society-page marriage. Dan was a celebrity in local legal circles. Armed with degrees from both Harvard Law School and Cornell School of Medicine, the prominent malpractice attorney was aggressive, persuasive and cunning--a $1-million-a-year lawyer at the top of his game.

The trial of 19-year-old David Attias, charged with running down and killing four people with his car in February in Isla Vista, will begin in April. Superior Court Judge Thomas Adams issued the order Wednesday. If Attias is convicted on 13 felony counts that include murder and manslaughter, he could be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Defense attorney Jack Earley indicated an insanity plea was a possibility.

Jurors in the two-month trial of David Attias heard closing arguments Monday and began deliberations in the murder case that included testimony from more than 100 witnesses, many of them detailing Attias' history of mental problems. Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrick McKinley told jurors the former UC Santa Barbara freshman was "a mad, violent, angry and aggressive" young man who chose to speed his car down a crowded street in Isla Vista on Feb. 23, 2001.

David Edward Attias pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 13 felony charges in the deaths of four people who were run down by the youth's car Feb. 23 on an Isla Vista street. No trial date was set. Attias, a UC Santa Barbara freshman at the time, was charged with murder, manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs.

At a minimum of $60 per hour in attorney's fees, county taxpayers will foot the bill for the second defense of La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick, accused of killing her ex-husband and his second wife, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled Thursday. Rather than appointing a public defender, Judge Jesus Rodriguez ordered Jack Earley, a Newport Beach lawyer who represented Broderick in the first trial, to remain on the case.

A Vista Superior Court jury found 28-year-old Linda Ricchio guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder in the so-called "Fatal Attraction" killing of her one-time boyfriend in Carlsbad. But the jury did not find Ricchio guilty of lying in wait when she shot and killed Ron Ruse on Dec. 14, 1987, thereby sparing her from spending the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole. Instead, Ricchio faces a prison term of 27 years to life when she is formally sentenced May 22 by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Miller.

More than three years have passed since Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick shot and killed her ex-husband and his new wife as they lay in bed in their Georgian-style mansion. Convicted of second-degree murder, Broderick, 45, is serving 32 years to life in the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. She cannot be paroled until 2010.

The oldest daughter of Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick testified Monday that her mother told her she intended to commit suicide after shooting her ex-husband and his new wife, but that her .38-caliber pistol ran out of bullets. Under cross-examination for the second day in her mother's second murder trial, Kim Broderick, 21, said that, in a phone conversation after the shootings, she remembered her mother being upset but not crying.