Recent Posts in Current Events Category
| May 28, 2010 |
| Bompiani Named 2010 Super Lawyers Rising Star |
| Posted By Bompiani Law Group LLC |
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We are pleased to announce that L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire has been named as a 2010 Super Lawyers Rising Star.
Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a rigorous, multiphase process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.
The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. Since Super Lawyers is intended to be used as an aid in the selection of a lawyer, the list is limited to attorneys who can be hired and retained by the public, i.e., lawyers in private practice and Legal Aid attorneys.
The Super Lawyers selection process involves three basic steps: creation of the candidate pool; evaluation of candidates by the research department; and peer evaluation by practice area.
Only 2.5 percent of the attorneys in the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania are named to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list.
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| May 05, 2010 |
| Bompiani Recognized as Outstanding Young Lawyer |
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LATROBE BULLETIN - At the annual meeting of the Westmoreland Bar Association, Attorney Anthony Bompiani was recognized as the 2010 Outstanding Young Lawyer. This award is given to the young lawyer who best exemplifies outstanding leadership and distinguished service to the legal profession and the community.
Bompiani has been a member of the Westmoreland Bar since 2004. He is the immediate past chair of the WBA Young Lawyers Committee, and volunteers his time and expertise in many ways including Wills for Heroes program, which provides free wills for first responders; Get Help Now!, a Gov. Rendell initiative that provides legal assistance to Westmoreland County citizens; Pro Bono Program, which provides legal representation for the indigent, and CASA supporter.
An assistant public defender for Westmoreland County and founder of Bompiani Law Group LLC, he is a graduate of Hempfield Area High School, St. Vincent College and Duquesne School of Law. Bompiani resides in Greensburg with his wife Kristi, and their sons, Domenic, Gino, and Rocco.
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| February 26, 2010 |
| Prosecutor Removes Ash From Forehead at the Request of Judge |
| Posted By Bompiani Law Group LLC |
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The following article was published in the American Bar Association's Journal this month.
A
defense lawyer objected last Wednesday when an Iowa prosecutor returned to an attempted murder trial after a lunch break with ash on his forehead.
Assistant Marshall County Attorney Paul Crawford was observing Ash Wednesday, the Marshalltown, Iowa,
Times-Republican
reports. Defense
lawyer
Aaron Hawbaker objected, saying he
feared
jurors could be swayed for
or against the prosecution by the religious display.
Judge Michael Moon said he tended to agree with the defense objection, spurring Crawford to remove the ash, the story says. "I understand his position and his request was made out of an abundance of caution," Crawford told the newspaper. "I can live with it."
Rob Boston, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told the Times-Republican that the issue involves a gray area. In some instances, a display of religious preferences can be the basis for an appeal or mistrial, but he was unsure if this instance would meet the criteria.
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| February 19, 2010 |
| 'Harry Potter' Author Accused of Plagiarism |
| Posted By Bompiani Law Group LLC |
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The following article was recently published in the American Bar Association Journal.
The estate of the deceased author of a children's book has accused the author of the stunningly successful "Harry Potter" books of plagiarizing concepts and themes from Adrian Jacob's
The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No 1 Livid Land, which was published in 1987.
J.K. Rowling, who became the world's richest author due to the success of Harry Potter, has strongly disputed the claim, reports the London Times.
Bloomsbury Publishing, which printed the books, was named as a defendant in the London lawsuit in June, the newspaper recounts. However, Paul Allen of Australia, who is trustee of Jacob's estate, initially thought the statute of limitations had run on a potential case against Rowling, says Max Markson. An agent in Sydney, he represents Allen.
"I estimate it's a billion-dollar case," Markson tells the Times. "When you think of all the money that's involved, I would say $1 billion is a conservative estimate."
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| January 31, 2010 |
| Youngwood Man Charged in Check Fraud |
| Posted By Bompiani Law Group LLC |
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A Youngwood man is in Westmoreland County Prison on charges he used an ex-girlfriend's checks to defraud a local bank of more than $9,300.
Joseph A. Malago, 37, of 411 N. Fourth St., was arrested this week on two counts of theft and receiving stolen property, according to documents filed with Unity Township District Judge Michael Mahady.
County Detective Will Brown said that in January 2009, Malago deposited four checks from the woman's closed checking account into a savings account at Commercial National Bank & Trust in Unity. Malago then withdrew $9,300 and used $4,500 to purchase a vehicle, authorities said.
Malago's former girlfriend told police she was unaware of the scheme and "she was visibly upset that Malago would do this and implicate her in the theft of funds from the bank," according to court documents.
Malago was arraigned before Night Court District Judge Frank Pallone and held without bond after officials discovered Malago is wanted by authorities in Corpus Christi, Texas, on forgery and theft charges.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12 before Mahady.
If you have been charged with a crime in Pennsylvania, contact
Bompiani Law Group, LLC now for a free consultation by calling (724) 925-9600.
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| January 30, 2010 |
| Attorney Bompiani Comments on Tragic Case Against School |
| Posted By Bompiani Law Group LLC |
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The parents of a Valley High School student who died in a
car wreck have sued the New Kensington-Arnold School District, alleging that school officials did nothing to stop their son from leaving early on the day of the crash.
Scott and Brenda Grau filed a federal
lawsuit asking for unspecified damages for the district's alleged failure to enforce rules and prevent their 17-year-old son, Colin, from walking out of school.
Colin Grau died when the car he was in collided with a pickup truck near Memorial Park on Route 366 on Jan. 21, 2009.
The driver of the car, Nicholas Masi, 18, and the driver of the truck, Paul Luzik, 41, were injured in the crash.
Classmates told Channel 4 Action News at the time of the crash that Grau and Masi left school early because their last class of the day was a study hall.
Attorney Charles Steele says Colin Grau could be alive today if the district had enforced a campus policy which forbade students to leave during the school day without permission.
The district was advised by legal counsel not to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.
Channel 4 Action News asked
Anthony Bompiani, an independent attorney, about a possible defense.
"The first thing that came to my mind is governmental immunity, and what that is is a law that protects the school district and other governmental entities from liability,"
Bompiani said. "There are exceptions to the governmental immunity general rule."
Grau's family attorney says the federal lawsuit will prove what's called a state-created danger -- a school next to a highway that some consider to be dangerous with, according to the lawsuit, an estimated 88 vehicle collisions along Route 366 in a four-year period.
There is specific mention in the lawsuit of the district not providing busing next to the so-called "dangerous highway." Busing was started eight months after Colin Grau's death.
Valley Principal Jon Banko, Vice Principal Jeffrey Thimons and school directors are named in the lawsuit, which does not specify any damages being sought.
The Grau family attorney says the lawsuit isn't just about money, but also justice for their son and prevention of another student's death. |
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| January 15, 2010 |
| Westmoreland Bar Association Takes a Technological Step Forward... |
| Posted By Michael V. Quatrini, Esquire, and L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire |
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On the heels of the new WBA website, the WBA Technology Committee is excited to formally announce the launch of the WBA Blog.
The term "blog" (sometimes referred to as a "blawg" in the legal world) is short for "web log." In its most simple form, a blog is an online space, authored by one or more people, with regular entries or "posts." These posts can include articles, observations, invitations to events, and other material, such as photos or videos.
The WBA Blog was quietly started in early 2008 as a casual information space for members of the bar. Since then, the Blog has collected legal and somewhat legal-related content of all shapes and sizes.
Regular posts include articles from law-related websites, technology tips, legislative alerts, and reminders for WBA events. Comment sections, supervised by Blog authors L. Anthony Bompiani and Michael V. Quatrini, offer readers a space for observations on each particular article. The Blog archives each post under a specific topic so users can easily research past articles. Readers can also set up direct delivery of the Blog to their Microsoft Outlook or Internet Explorer homepage.
The new online space gives the WBA a heightened online presence and provides a new level of information and interaction. |
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| August 19, 2009 |
| Young Lawyers Committee to Host CASA Fundraiser |
| Posted By L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire |
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The Young Lawyers Committee of the Westmoreland County Bar Association will be hosting a fundraiser for the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) organization. The event will take place at the Headkeeper in Greensburg, on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Please contact Attorney Anthony Bompiani at abompiani@bompianilawgroup.com for more details.
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| August 18, 2009 |
| Westmoreland County Attorneys Offer Free Help to Recession Victims |
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Richard Robbins
Tribune-Review
August 9, 2009
Bankruptcy lawyer Jeff Golembiewski felt disheartened. The Greensburg attorney, a volunteer counselor for "Get Help Now, Pennsylvania," had heard the woes of people whose financial world has collapsed because of the recession.
"It's frustrating and sad," Golembiewski said of the number who say they sign their names to credit card applications and mortgage contracts without bothering with the bottom line or the fine print.
"People have got to study up," he said.
"Get Help Now, Pennsylvania," initiated by the Rendell administration in response to a call by President Obama for volunteers to help Americans in trouble, deploys attorneys and bank and credit union professionals to provide free advice to financially strapped individuals.
They are people like Margaret Fink, 70, of Loyalhanna Township, who dropped by the Westmoreland Bar Association office in Greensburg after spotting a "Get Help Now" pamphlet at the courthouse.
Scammed by a couple who used to help her with household chores, Fink said she heard "conflicting advice" about how to recover her missing cash -- $4,000 the couple said they needed to purchase a car. When she sat down with volunteer Jack Bergstein, a Monessen attorney, she confessed to being totally confused. With guidance from Bergstein, she left with a clear head and a plan of action.
"It was wonderful," Fink said.
As of last week, some 370 people across the state had taken advantage of the free services. Of the five Western Pennsylvania counties selected for the program, Allegheny assisted 40 people; Westmoreland, 25; Washington, 60; and Butler, 17. Beaver County had two.
The program came together within days, said James Antoniono, president of the Westmoreland Bar Association. "I think everyone did an amazing job" Antoniono said, including a guide to social, financial and legal service agencies hurriedly put together by Rendell's staff and the state bar association and supplemented by the local bar.
Greensburg attorney Anthony Bompiani said he advised a homeowner whose "entire problem was an adjustable rate mortgage. Once the adjustable rate started going up, it was unaffordable."
Find the entire article here.
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| July 31, 2009 |
| DA John Peck Comes to Judge's Defense |
| Posted By L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire |
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Here is an excerpt from an article published in the Tribune Review on July 30, 2009. The article was written by Rich Cholodofsky. Click here for the full text of the article.
District
Attorney John Peck said Wednesday that Internet child predators won't
run free in Westmoreland County in the wake of the attorney general's
announcement that the state office will no longer prosecute those cases
here.
"It's
not going to affect us. We're going to look very closely at each and
every case to file all possible cases if the attorney general's office
is not going to prosecute those in Westmoreland County," Peck said.
Attorney
General Tom Corbett's office announced on Tuesday that it has withdrawn
its Internet child predator task force from a Westmoreland County
office and will no longer bring cases before county judges. Instead,
the task force will try to steer suspects to other counties to make
arrests.
That
decision was the fallout over a sentencing disagreement involving the
case against Thomas Rose, a former sports editor at the
Observer-Reporter in Washington.
Rose
went before Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr. on Tuesday after
Pennsylvania appeals court judges ordered McCormick to reinstate a
felony conviction he had set aside following a three-day trial in
October 2006.
McCormick,
who in early 2007 imposed a four-year probation term on Rose, gave him
no further sentence on the felony offense. Prosecutors with Corbett's
office wanted Rose, 56, of Delmont, to spend at least two years in a
state prison.
That
prompted Corbett, through an office spokesman, to say that state agents
would no longer bring child predator cases in Westmoreland County
because McCormick's sentence was too lenient.
Peck
did not comment on the Rose case yesterday but defended McCormick,
saying his sentences typically are neither lenient nor excessive."
Judge
McCormick's career on the bench has been characterized by his unlimited
patience for litigants and his never-ending willingness to understand
arguments. He has a very refined sense of individualism as a judge, and
he's not a servant of the prosecution or defense attorneys.
"He's not deserving of personal criticisms because he made a decision a prosecutor doesn't agree with," Peck said.
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| May 14, 2009 |
| LAW DAY - Educating Fourth Graders at Stanwood Elementary |
| Posted By L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire |
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Wednesday,
I had the opportunity to celebrate law day by giving a presentation to
100 fourth graders about Abraham Lincoln. I talked about why President
Lincoln decided to grow a beard. This is a very interesting story that
most people do not know. Just before the election, an 11-year old girl
from Westfield, NY wrote a letter to Mr. Lincoln suggesting that he
grow a beard. Surprisingly, he responded to the letter, and then
stopped to see her in Westfield on his way to be sworn in as President.
Here is a picture of the memorial at the Westfield train station.
The little girl's name was Grace Bedell. Click here for some more information. What a great story.
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| May 05, 2009 |
| Former PA Supreme Court Justice Ralph J. Cappy Passes Away at Age 65 |
| Posted By L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire |
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Judge
Ralph J. Cappy, the former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, passed
away suddenly on Friday night. Justice Cappy was arguably the most
forceful leader of the Court for the past 20 years, but came under fire
during the 2005 pay raise.
Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who succeeded Cappy as the court’s leader, issued a press release regarding the loss.“Ralph
was well respected nationally by the chief justices of the United
States." Justice Castille said. "He served on the board of directors of
the Conferences of Chief Justices and the National Center for State
Courts. He was awarded the National Center’s prestigious Justice Harry
Carrico Award for outstanding leadership and innovative programs that
addressed court-related problems. He was the recipient of numerous
other awards both during his tenure and after his retirement from the
court.“We are deeply saddened by his untimely passing.”
Prior
to being elected to the high court in 1990, Justice Cappy had been an
Allegheny County Common Pleas judge since 1978. He became chief justice
of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2003.
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| April 26, 2009 |
| Hollywood Fights RealDVD in Court Battle |
| Posted By L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire |
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Hollywood blasts RealDVD
calling it "rent, rip and return" and contends it's one of the biggest
technological threats to the movie industry's annual $20 billion DVD
market - software that allows you to copy a film without paying for it.
On Friday, the trial began between RealNetworks, Inc.
and Hollywood's six largest movie studios. Attorneys for the studios
argue that RealNetworks Inc.'s DVD "ripper" is an illegal digital
piracy tool, which violates a federal law known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Act was signed into law by President Clinton in 1998.
The company claims that the $29.99 software that allows DVDs to be easily copied to computer hard drives is legitimate and actually adds more stringent protections to prevent piracy or other illegal copying. Specifically,
the Seattle-based company says its RealDVD product is designed to
simply let customers back up a purchased DVD and that the software
allows for only one copy to be made.
The
three-day trial is being heard by the same federal judge who shut down
music-swapping site Napster in 2000 because of copyright violations.
In
October, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel temporarily barred
sales of RealDVD after the product was on the market for a few days. At
the time, the judge said it appeared the software did violate federal
law against digital piracy, but ordered detailed court filings and the
trial to better understand how RealDVD works.
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