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As they used to sing on Broadway, the Wells Fargo wagon is a-coming, and this time it's carrying a little something for investors in its auction-rate securities. California Attorney General, Edmund "Jerry" Brown, Jr., announced today that he has secured a settlement in which Wells will pay investors, charities and small businesses $1.4 billion over the purchase of auction rate securities from Wells subsidiaries based on "misleading advice."

Advocates for same sex marriages won a small victory in the state of New York's Supreme Court on Thursday. The court unanimously rejected the challenge to NY's policies that can recognize benefits stemming from same sex unions legal in other states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont.

In a decision handed down Wednesday that is being called "groundbreaking," U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood Duval, Jr. found in favor of four plaintiffs and awarded damages totaling $719,00.00 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The suit was brought over alleged negligence by the Corps in building and maintaining the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet canal, eerily nicknamed "Mr. Go" by New Orleans residents. In the scope of the disaster wrought by Katrina, this award may sound like a mere drop, but the result opens the channel to many more potential claims.

What began with a history making raid on a congressional office and $90k found in a freezer, ended with a 13 year sentence for ex-Louisiana Congressman William J. Jefferson last Friday. Jefferson was convicted of 11 out of 16 counts of bribery, racketeering and money laundering related to business ventures in Africa. If he had been convicted on all counts, the 62 year old Jefferson could have faced up to 235 years in prison. As it stands, he is in for a comparatively light 13 years in federal prison. While he might get 15% of this time off for good behavior, there is no parole available in the federal sentencing system.

Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, announced Friday that Iowa has won a first step in its medicaid lawsuit against big pharma for allegedly over-charging taxpayers for medications. Eight of the 78 drug companies sued by the state have settled for $4.3 million. After lawyers' fees and the federal government has taken its share, Iowa will be left with about $1.2 million, some of which may actually reach it's financially strapped Medicaid program. Iowa's program insures about 422,000 adults and children who are poor, pregnant, blind or disabled.

There is an old saying among attorneys: he who represents himself has a fool for a client. A sharper illustration of this adage cannot be found outside Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision handed down last Thursday in the Philip Berg lawsuit, in which yet another "birther" sued regarding President Obama's birthplace and eligibility to serve as President.

There are a variety of ways someone can be guilty for a murder physically committed by someone else. In addition to being part of a conspiracy, or committing another felony (such as armed robbery) in which a partner kills the victim or a bystander, one of can be guilty of murder under something called the "provocative act" doctrine.

The "provocative act" doctrine applies when someone commits an act that provokes someone into killing someone else. The classic example is an attempted murder in which the victim is provoked into firing a gun in self defense, killing a bystander or an accomplice in the attempted murder.

Last week, the California Supreme Court narrowed the "provocative act" doctrine by making clear that to be guilty of first degree murder, all participants must act willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation.

The widely reported trial of two former Bear Stearns Co. fund managers ended with a surprise verdict on Thursday: not guilty. Despite our dampened collective mood and the need the country has to find someone or something to blame for the market debacle of last year, this one didn't quite stick. Much to prosecutors' surprise, the email evidence they had counted on to seal the fate of fund managers Matthew Tannin and Ralph Cioffi failed to convince the jury of their guilt. Perhaps it's not only what you say, but how you say it.

In a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding first amendment rights on Thursday, outed spy Valerie Plame Wilson received one more "assist" from the government. Upholding the lower court's decision, the Court of Appeals found Ms. Plame would not be allowed to disclose "classified information" in her memoir relating to her pre-2002 service with the CIA.

It's all over, including the shouting. The feuding families of Silicon Valley, known to the rest of the world as chip makers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), have settled a major suit, announced today. The two companies are known throughout the tech community for their contentious, litigious relationship. The AMD vs Intel battle dates back to at least the 1980's, but who exactly wore the white or black hat, of course, depends on who you ask. Or who you work for.