What's better than Vegas? Hearing the legendary Jim Perdue, Sr. in Vegas on Friday, Feb 22! | 2013 Vegas CLE, February 21-23,Bellagio Hotel,Las Vegas. Don't gamble with your cases. 48 hours in Vegas can change your practice forever! Join some of TTLA's battle-tested veterans and emerging superstars in Las Vegas for a CLE experience that'll change your luck in the courtroom. Our most popular destination CLE, Sin City plays host to legendary TTLA speakers, including Jim Perdue, Sr. and Jim Perdue, Jr. in a special joint presentation. Click on the headline to learn more. | Suit Filed Over Police Beating in Connecticut | | A Connecticut man has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Bridgeport, Conn., police officers after being beaten savagely. Video shows three officers kicking and stomping the plaintiff after he was shot with a stun gun at the end of a car chase. The suit accuses the officers of "violating [the plaintiff's] constitutional rights and using excessive force." Wire Report, San Francisco Chronicle 01/29/2013 | Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle | Suit Over Inmate Sex Change Operation Revived | | A federal appeals court in New York has reinstated a lawsuit filed by a transgendered Virginia prisoner against state prison officials. In the suit, the plaintiff claims the state is refusing to allow her to undergo a sex-change operation, a violation of her Eighth Amendment rights. The circuit court agreed that the plaintiff could argue that her rights were violated; six months ago a judge in Boston ordered Massachusetts to pay for a sex-change operation of an inmate who suffered gender identity disorder. Joseph Ax, Reuters 01/29/2013 | Read Article: Reuters | Man Sues Airlines over Death of Obese Wife | | A New York man has filed a $6 million lawsuit against three airline companies over the death of his morbidly obese, wheelchair-bound wife. The woman died in the couple's vacation home in Hungary after seeing a medical specialist for weight-related illnesses. The suit claims the three airlines refused to accommodate her size and weight, despite telling the couple otherwise, leaving them stuck in Hungary. Staff Report, Chicago Tribune 01/28/2013 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | Guilty: BP Admits to Causing Deaths in Spill Disaster | | A federal judge gave the green light Tuesday to a deal that allowed BP to plead guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill in exchange for a $4 billion fine, probation and independent monitoring. U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance's decision during an emotional hearing in New Orleans was issued over the objections of victims of the disaster and relatives of some of the 11 workers who were killed on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The ruling and guilty plea to 14 criminal charges ends the criminal case against BP over the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. It marks the first criminal conviction to result from the disaster. Harry R. Weber, Houston Chronicle 01/29/2013 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | GM Recalls 1,000 Full-Sized Vans | | General Motors Co. has issued a recall of certain Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana 2013 full-size vans that have potential roll-away problems. The company said issues in the vans' ignition lock systems can lead to them rolling away without notice. The recall is expected to cover about 1,000 vehicles, GM officials said. Jonathan Welsh, WSJ Blogs 01/29/2013 | Read Article: WSJ Blogs | Patient Violence Jumps at State Psychiatric Hospitals | | Patient-on-patient violence at Austin State Hospital has soared more than 170 percent over the past five years, one of the most dramatic increases in a system seeing an escalating number of such episodes at all of its inpatient psychiatric facilities. According to an American-Statesman analysis, incidents of violence at all of the state-run hospitals have increased 22 percent since 2008, rising from 2,700 to 3,300 in fiscal 2012. Andrea Ball, Austin American Statesman 01/29/2013 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman | Doctors Tied to Multiple Overdoses | | More than a dozen Houston-area physicians have lost three or more patients to accidental prescription overdoses in recent years — including doctors accused of running pill mills and some of the state’s top prescribers of pain pills and anti-anxiety drugs, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis. Doctors previously targeted for disciplinary action by the state medical board for pill mill activity or prescription-related problems were often the sources of drugs found at multiple death sites, a review of medicines given to more than 200 people who accidentally overdosed in Harris County in 2008 and 2009 shows. However, some local physicians with high volume practices — and no association with pill mills — who specialize in pain management or psychiatry also prescribed medicines found at multiple deaths. Lisa Olsen, Houston Chronicle 01/29/2013 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Suit Filed Against Walnut Creek Police Officers | | The death of a Walnut Creek, Calif., man at the hands of local police has prompted a $15 million wrongful death lawsuit by the man's family. Officers say they shot the victim after he charged at them with a knife during an altercation with his roommate, but the lawsuit claims the disagreement was over when police arrived. According to the suit, police tripped over each other in the doorway of the home, causing a panic and one of the officers shot at the victim, prompting the other officers to start shooting as well. Erin Ivie, Contra Costa Times 01/29/2013 | Read Article: Contra Costa Times | | |