For over 30 years, Carlene Borden, 65, and Vicky Williams, 55, have been incarcerated for the murders of their abusive husbands. Their sentences, life without the possibility of parole for fifty years, were handed down without any evidence of their abuse being presented at their trials. At the time they were arrested, there were few resources for women, domestic violence was poorly understood, and evidence of abuse was not presented at trial, according to the lawyers involved in the case. 

“Today is an extraordinary day for Carlene and Vicky,” said Armstrong Teasdale Attorney Amy Lorenz-Moser, who represents the two women. “We have worked tirelessly for over 10 years to reduce the harsh sentences of women like Vicky and Carlene, which were passed down so many years ago. We are thrilled that the board has finally granted parole to these two survivors of domestic violence.”

The women have remained incarcerated despite a Missouri law enacted in 2007 specifically intended to help the cases of Williams and Borden, said Lorenz-Moser. The law states that offenders who had murdered their spouses would be eligible for parole if they had served at least 15 years in prison, had no prior violent felony convictions, had a history of “substantial physical abuse or sexual domestic violence” not presented at trial, and were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.

The bill was important because, until 1991, spousal rape wasn’t even recognized as a crime under Missouri law. Battered Spouse Syndrome was not a defense in Missouri until the 1980’s. Borden and Williams were convicted in the late 1970’s.

Although both women received two previous parole hearings after the law was passed, the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole denied them freedom. A July 2010 court order allowed the women a third parole hearing, and new parole determinations. Under the guidance of this new order, their parole was finally granted.

Williams is in prison in Chillicothe and Borden is in Vandalia. They are scheduled to be released on Oct. 15.

About Armstrong Teasdale LLP: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 250 lawyers in offices across the U.S. and China, has a demonstrable track record of delivering sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service to a dynamic client base. Whether an issue is local or global, practice area specific or industry related, Armstrong Teasdale provides each client with an invaluable combination of legal resources and practical advice in nearly every area of law.

A former Mason City Mayor is facing a lawsuit over a business deal.

A Michigan company that creates what they call "laser printed focused collection letters" is seeking a $105,000 judgment against Thomas Jolas and Associates.

Focus 1 of Dearborn claims the defense attorney did not pay for services they provided during 2009 and 2010.

Jolas said it is a dispute over a printing bill.

He said he hadn't seen the court filing, but confirmed he and Focus 1 had been negotiating back and forth.

"We’re resolving it," said Jolas, "they're just trying to get my attention.”

Jolas said he has been dealing with personal issues over the past year.

Five states are asking a federal judge in Chicago to take emergency action to close two shipping locks and install barriers to prevent Asian carp from overrunning the Great Lakes via a "carp highway."

At the first hearing in the case Monday, Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. showed no signs of rushing into a decision. He scheduled Sept. 7 and 8 to hear expert testimony in the case, including from scientists about the environmental DNA testing that has found genetic material from Asian carp in Illinois waterways near Lake Michigan.

The judge's questions reflected awareness of the DNA test's limits.

"Could it have been from something that ate a fish?" the judge asked about carp DNA found in water samples. Michigan assistant attorney general Robert Reichel acknowledged a bird that ate an Asian carp could excrete carp DNA into the water. The states' experts believe it's more likely that the findings show the recent presence of carp, Reichel told the judge.

The judge also asked about a single 20-pound carp discovered in June, the first to be found in a Chicago waterway above the electric barrier system. The judge asked whether scientists could pinpoint how it got there.

Law firm Shapiro & Fishman has accused Attorney General Bill McCollum of pre-election grandstanding and “abuse of power” in connection with McCollum’s recent announcement that his office is conducting a foreclosure fraud investigation into that firm and two others.

The allegations are in response to a coordinated investigation announced by McCollum during an Aug. 10 press conference. McCollum said his office is looking at whether the three South Florida firms engaged in unfair and deceptive actions in their handling of foreclosure cases.

The other firms were the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale and the Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A. in Plantation.

The firm’s response came Friday in a motion to quash a subpoena in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

Kimmel and Silverman, a lemon law firm in the Northeast, says that the fuel pump issue with BMW vehicles is on the rise. The law firm reports it has successfully resolved numerous lemon law and breach of warranty claims dealing with this BMW fuel pump issue for both refunds and significant cash recoveries. The firm has seen this problem with 1-series, 3-series and 5-series vehicles.

The Lemon Law firm indicates that BMW is working to correct the problem and has extended the warranty on the fuel pump to 10 years/120,000 miles. In the meantime, some BMW drivers are dealing with multiple repairs for the same problem. Fuel pump failure can lead to stalling so it is essential that shops continue to monitor the problem on vehicles they service.

To assist your customers and prevent problems on your end, make sure that all clients receive invoices for service done to their vehicles. These invoices should specifically identify the problem the consumer is complaining of, the amount of the days that the car was in service, a detailed explanation on how the problem was fixed and a list of all the components replaced in the vehicle.

A law firm subpoenaed by the attorney general's office in its investigation of excessive pay in a Los Angeles County city gave $5,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Jerry Brown.
Brown, a Democrat, subpoenaed tax and salary records this week from the city of Bell, along with records from its former law firm, Best, Best & Krieger.

A partner in the firm, Edward Lee, was Bell's city attorney and approved the pay, which included $1.5 million in annual pay and benefits to the city manager.

Finance reports show the firm gave Brown's campaign $5,000 in March. Two attorneys with the firm also gave Brown money: Michael Cowett contributed $500 in March and Brant Dveirin gave Brown $1,000 in April.

Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford says the firm isn't accused of wrongdoing.