Man who committed suicide in Wisconsin claimed killing of federal judge’s family News
Man who committed suicide in Wisconsin claimed killing of federal judge’s family

[JURIST] A man who committed suicide during a traffic stop Wednesday evening in Wisconsin claimed in a suicide note found by police that he killed the husband and mother [JURIST report] of US District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow [official profile] last week. The man, Bart Ross, had apparently sent a letter to Chicago television station WMAQ in which he described breaking into Lefkow’s home in the early morning of Feb. 28 with the intent to kill her and anyone else in the home. Ross, who left the home before Lefkow returned, claimed that the killings were motivated by Lefkow’s dismissal of his civil case in Sept. 2004, during which Ross challenged doctors, the federal government, and the State of Illinois over injuries he claimed to have suffered as a result of cancer treatments, and lawyers from unsuccessful civil suits he had attempted previously. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.