Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary ruled Monday that requests by Forest Park Medical Center doctors and officials for a new trial are "meritless." The seven defendants were convicted last year of taking part in a massive insurance fraud scheme. The judge also criticized trial tactics employed by one of the prominent lawyers during the trial as "dirty and nasty" and a "cheap stunt." The Texas Lawbook has complete details.
Andrea Kay Smith, who kept the books for the bribes paid to surgeons at the now defunct Forest Park Medical Center, was sentenced Wednesday in a Dallas federal court. Smith testified about the scheme as part of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors. The Lawbook's Bruce Tomaso reports.
Four physicians convicted earlier this year in the Forest Park Medical Center bribery and kickback trial have been suspended by the Texas Medical Board. The suspensions are not final, but they are mandatory while the convictions are being appealed. Bruce Tomaso has the details.
The U.S. government is seeking more than $17 million in forfeitures from the seven defendants found guilty in April in the Forest Park medical fraud trial. Defrauded insurance companies could be demanding more. Bruce Tomaso has the latest in the Forest Park MC kickbacks case.
In separate pleadings filed last week, six of the defendants found guilty in the spring for their roles in a bribery and kickback scheme at the now-defunct Forest Park Medical Center are asking the U.S. District Court in Dallas for judgments of acquittal or, alternatively, new trials. Texas Lawbook correspondent Bruce Tomaso provides a summary of the arguments.
A prominent Dallas spinal surgeon convicted in the Forest Park Medical Center fraud case is seeking a new trial. The filing on Monday by David Gerger of Houston-based Gerger Khalil & Hennessy, claims a string of harmful errors by federal prosecutors and the trial judge requires that the conviction in April of Dr. Michael Rimlawi be vacated. Bruce Tomaso has the story.
Surgeon Nick Nicholson was one of 22 Forest Park Medical officials indicted in one of the largest and most complex healthcare bribery and kickback schemes in Texas history. But Dr. Nick was the only one a jury found not guilty. In an exclusive, in-depth interview, Nicholson and his lawyer, Tom Melsheimer, take readers inside the confidential sanctuary of the attorney-client relationship to discuss in vivid detail every aspect of the case and the decisions they made that led to the dramatic acquittal earlier this year. This is their story.
Melsheimer and his legal team worked more than 4,000 hours defending Forest Park Medical Center Surgeon Nick Nicholson against allegations of bribery and kickbacks. In a joint interview, the pair provide The Texas Lawbook insights into their relationship, how the use of mock juries helped them develop a successful legal strategy, the decision whether to quote from the King James Version or a modern Bible translation and their opinions of the prosecutors, judge and other defendants. Here they are in their own words.
Twenty-two medical professionals, including nine surgeons, were indicted by federal prosecutors in Texas in a bribery/kickback scheme that rocked the health care community. Nine went to trial. Only one person, Dr. Nick Nicholson, was found not guilty. On Monday, Texas Lawbook correspondent Bruce Tomaso gives readers an exclusive, in-depth look into the groundbreaking case and trial through the eyes of Dr. Nicholson and Tom Melsheimer, the lawyer who defended him. Click here for a video preview.
Jurors in the Forest Park Medical Center bribery trial headed home late Monday. They will resume Tuesday after 19 hours of deliberation. Like last week, the jurors had questions. But unlike last week, those questions were answered via telephone from Toledo. Bruce Tomaso explains.
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