The admission came as part of a $75 million settlement in a case involving more than 165 lawsuits filed against some of the nation's largest corporations from the 1970s through 2005, prosecutors said in a statement released late Monday.

Then known as Milberg Weiss, the firm dominated the field of securities class-action lawsuits involving shareholders who claim they suffered losses because executives misled them about a company's financial condition. Milberg's lawsuits targeted AT&T Inc., Lucent, WorldCom, Microsoft Corp., Prudential Insurance and other companies.

As part of the settlement, prosecutors will not pursue criminal charges against Milberg, which has retained a compliance monitor.

U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said the settlement reflects the seriousness of what was probably the longest-running scheme ever conducted by a law firm.

"The monetary payment will punish the firm for allowing this conduct to occur, and the compliance monitor should ensure that Milberg will not again lie to judges presiding over cases it is litigating." O'Brien said.

The deal was initially disclosed Monday by Sanford Dumain, a member of Milberg's executive committee. If the criminal case had gone forward, the firm risked having to pay forfeitures and penalties of hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.

The firm was charged with aiding and abetting mail fraud and with money-laundering conspiracy. A trial had been expected to start in August.

A seven-year investigation has resulted in guilty pleas by three former partners.

Charles Dean Hood initially won a reprieve just over an hour before he could have been put to death Tuesday when a state district judge withdrew his execution warrant. But an appeals court reinstated the warrant, saying the judge didn't have permission to spare Hood from lethal injection.

The warrant is scheduled to expire at midnight. The U.S. Supreme Court has denied three other appeals, likely clearing the way for Hood's execution.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma has executed its first death row inmate since last August.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday ruled that Routier should be allowed to conduct DNA testing on blood stains, flakes of dried blood and hairs found at the crime scene.

Routier's previously appeals to the court had been denied, but state law allows for post-conviction DNA testing in some cases. Routier has maintained that she is innocent of the murders.

Routier was accused in the slayings of the young boys, Damon and Devon, but was only tried and convicted in the death of Damon. She has maintained that an intruder at the family's home killed them.

The court in western Rhineland-Palatinate state said Wednesday that the woman was sent a letter in May 2007 asking that she supply evidence to support continued payments for her daughter.

After she failed to respond, she was notified in July 2007 that the money was being cut off and given a month to appeal. Only in September did she reply and supply the requested documents, telling authorities — who threw out her appeal because it was too late — that she had a phobia of official correspondence.

The woman, who was not identified by the court, said "she had already suffered many financial disadvantages" as a result of leaving mail lying around or throwing it out, a court statement said.

It added that she sought to justify her actions by saying that "she was and still is petrified of the contents of official letters." She said she had long considered seeking psychological treatment, but had been too ashamed to follow through.

The court rejected the woman's case, saying it was a long-term problem, she would have had plenty of time to seek help from her daughter or others.

The Liberty Council had asked a state appeals court to block same-sex weddings until voters could decide the issue on the November ballot.

The three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal refused the request in a brief ruling issued Tuesday as gay marriages began in full swing around the state.

Earlier the appeals court had ruled against allowing gay marriages but the state Supreme Court overturned that decision last month. In its latest ruling the appeals court says the high court has made it clear that same-sex marriage should be allowed.

The proceeding lasted only a few minutes. Drew and her lawyer declined to comment to reporters waiting outside the courtroom.

Drew, of suburban St. Louis, Mo., is accused of helping to create a MySpace account that appeared to belong to a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. The boy did not exist.

Drew's daughter had been a friend of 13-year-old neighbor Megan Meier and the fake account was used to send cruel messages to the girl, including one stating the world would be better off without her. Megan hanged herself in 2006.

Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Meier.

The charges were filed in California where MySpace is based. MySpace is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp.

Drew's case was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge George Wu and her trial scheduled for July 29. A status conference was scheduled for June 26. U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said Drew would be allowed to return home pending trial.

Each of the four counts against Drew carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.