In a bribery case decided Tuesday, an en banc Ninth Circuit reinstated indictments against independent contractors who allegedly deprived the state of Washington of their “honest services.” The ruling was unanimous, but Judge Richard Clifton issued a brief concurrence saying the ruling was likely to cause confusion.

A man who molested his stepdaughter did not automatically lose parental rights to his male children, California’s Second District Court of Appeal has ruled, in an issue that has divided the state’s appellate courts.

A judge on Wednesday awarded the state of Arkansas $1.2 billion following a Tuesday jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson over the marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. Houston firm Bailey Perrin Bailey, which represented Arkansas, stands to receive a 15 percent contingency fee, or nearly $180.9 million.

A State Bar of Texas employee is under investigation for the alleged misappropriation of funds from a Texas Supreme Court account primarily used to reimburse lawyers who overpaid annual fees.

Depositions in California-filed lawsuits would be presumptively limited to one seven-hour day under legislation recently introduced in the state Assembly, which would conform state civil procedure law with federal rules.