Dennis Rodman the lawyer says that he is not a ' inelastic Dad '

Dennis Rodman the lawyer said Wednesday that the former NBA player not a "inelastic papa," court papers filed Tuesday after that claimed Rodman more than $ 800,000 in child support is owed.

Rodman told the lawyer, Linnea Willis, "the way that it makes it sound like he is painted is in terrible shape," ABCNews.com. "This makes him seem like he is a deadbeat dead. The bottom line here is that Dennis Rodman has always paid child support to the best of his ability and will continue to do so. "

Due on Tuesday a lawyer for Rodman of ex-wife, Michelle Rodman, documents submitted in a Court of Los Angeles claims Rodman more than $ 800,000 in back child support for 9-and 10-year-old children of the couple as of 1 March. He was previously ordered to pay his ex-wife $ 50,000 per month for child support. In response, Willis a motion against the $ 50,000 per month order submitted.

She said that the warrant has been issued in 2010 "without consideration of Dennis actual income, but rather was based on an exaggerated income amount created by his ex-wife lawyers." She also said that Rodman was not properly served legal papers.

Rodman of manager, Darren Prince, said that Rodman has paid "at least $ 4,000 or $ 5,000" to his ex-wife every month. Willis said the Court "no proof of all payments that were made."

"The only thing that was discussed was for certain months that her lawyer brought up, he pay something but it was not enough," said Willis.

A sentencing hearing for Rodman has been set for May 29. While his ex-wife lawyer said Rodman faces jail time for his inability to pay child and spousal support, Willis said the Court "clearly that he will not give him jail time."

Michelle Rodman the lawyer, Jack, did not respond to requests on ABCNews.com Kayajanian to comment.

Willis also clarifies the Rodman condition. Tuesday the court papers described the former Chicago Bulls star rebound as "extremely sick."

"The way that it makes it sounds like he is terrible in painted form is, he's not," she said. "He plays, he plays, he makes appearances in China."

On Tuesday Prince told ABCNews.com that Rodman, Rodman of manager, put through are "well-documented booze problem." Willis insisted that despite his setbacks, Rodman on good terms with his ex-wife and children continues.

"When he sees the children, and when they here, they talk," she said. "He loves her still. On their end, it is not controversial. "

Dennis Rodman and Michelle Rodman married in 2003 after four years dating. Michelle Rodman filed for divorce in 2004, but their marriage was not officially dissolved until earlier this year because of attempts at reconciliation.

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Philip Corboy Harnett, Jr. Receives Distinguished Alumni Award from DePaul ...-EON: Enhanced Online News (press release)

CHICAGO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Corboy & Demetrio partner Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr. has received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, the DePaul University College of Law. Philip "Flip" Corboy, Jr. is a law school in 1977. Corboy was used in his leadership roles in the legal community, for his lifelong work of charitable organisations, and his 35 years of achievements in the trial as a lawyer.

"This is the biggest difference in the Law College may bestow. The invitation to tender is to recognize alumni who have reached the pinnacle of their career, the level of the career of excellence in their lifetime. "

"This is the biggest difference in the Law College may bestow. The invitation to tender shall be identified on the basis of the former, who have reached the pinnacle of their career, the level of the career of excellence in their lifetime, "according to Gregory, Mark, Dean, DePaul University College of Law.

Translate Corboy in recent Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the legal assistance Foundation of Chicago, the nation's second-largest legal aid agency of the Government of the previous President. The flip was inducted in 2002 into the American College of trial lawyers, the nation's call for greater democratization of the Organization, only the trial version of the lawyers, which are the best.

Received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, is only one of many of the United States, Corboy has received his trial as a lawyer. The flip was named to the best lawyers in America, the 2012 Edition of personal injury litigation. This was the seventh year the line Corboy obtained such a fortune. His Chicago law firm, Corboy was the best companies in the Chicago law and Demetrio Helsinki metropolitan area designated by U.S. News in the market, which will be published in the US News and World Report.

Translate Corboy was given the designation of a the eighth line of the Illinois Super lawyer elite of the year 2012. Corboy was also named Top 100 lawyers Illinois Illinois Super lawyers, the fourth straight year.

In addition, leading lawyers network, the leading Corboy is the lawyer of the prestigious designation for nine consecutive years, after the inception of the.

Translate Corboy record success. He has tried more than 55, or, in cases where appropriate have inherited $ 1 million or more. These successes include the 2011 Rockford, Illinois, the woman, who died in a train derailment; family solution to 22.5 million dollars for 18 million dollars for the settlement of the Mexican national back to downtown Chicago; the glass piece in the record setting 17 million dollars put to the jury for the lunnaina of the brain damaged, the victim, who had myyntiprovisioksi the sedan; 11 million dollar settlement Chicago dental students burned car fire; a record-setting 7 of 78-year-old woman, a million dollars, which was injured when he was struck in the automatic door; and the record-setting of the 4.5 million dollar lunnaina Central Illinois-a couple that were in the car that was hit pizza delivery car.

Throughout his career Turn Corboy has shown strong commitment to public service. Before becoming a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer, Assistant State Attorney of Cook County on the State Attorney's Office in the coming seven years, "first Chair", the public prosecutor's Office and the main t?rkeist?.

The compilation is also maintained close relations with the law school that taught him. Corboy DePaul University College of Law Dean's Council and the President of the Board of Directors of the Club over the DePaul University.

Information About Corboy & Demetrio

Corboy & Demetrio is one of the nation's premier companies. It represents the people, and their families in the event of serious injury and death cases, unjustified and arrange for the courtroom and its contributions to the community. Rights and its customers ' concerns are: the core of the policy and Demetrio Corboy. That commitment, dedication, not compassion and relentless drive led to the exceptional service and exceptional results for its clients. The company has received more than 3 billion dollar settlements and court procedures and has achieved almost 600 settlements and court procedures for more than 1 million dollars. Contact information, or in the case of personal injury lawyer Chicago Corboy, call 312-346-3191 or toll free 800-356-3191. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about our law firm to go to corboydemetrio.com.

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Lawyer: Afghan suspect had depression after Iraq

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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians suffered a traumatic incident during his second tour in Iraq that triggered "tremendous depression," his lawyer said Wednesday.

Lawyer John Henry Browne said he could not discuss the details of the matter because it remains classified. But he expects the issue to become a focal point in the case against Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales.

"It caused him tremendous depression and anxiety," Browne said.

The lawyer previously said Bales experienced other major dangers in his deployments, including a serious foot injury and head trauma. In addition, a fellow soldier's leg had been blown off days before the Afghanistan massacre, he said.

Bales was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and other crimes. He is being held at a U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

A defense team is now in Afghanistan to collect evidence and interview other U.S. soldiers who knew Bales.

"Everyone they've spoken to in the military has nothing but amazingly positive things to say about him," said Browne, who is not part of the team in Afghanistan.

Due to security concerns, Browne doesn't think the team will visit the villages where the killings occurred. The investigators are likely to stay in Afghanistan a few more weeks.

Browne questioned the U.S. government's case against Bales, noting there is no preserved crime scene to assess.

"It's going to be a difficult case for the prosecution to prove," Browne said. "There's no 'CSI' information. There's no DNA that I know of. There's no ballistics that I know of."

Bales has indicated that he had no recollection of prescription drugs he may have been taking before the shooting — something the attorney took as an indicator of larger memory problems.

The lawyer also said his client has a sketchy memory of the night of the shootings. In a separate interview with The Washington Post, Browne said Wednesday that Bales remembered the smell of gunfire and of human bodies but not much more.

Browne added his client reported suffering from nightmares, flashbacks of war scenes and persistent headaches after his multiple combat tours. Bales told his legal team that he has long woken up with night sweats and often replays memories of a grisly scene in Iraq that he and his infantry company witnessed several years ago, Browne said.

The lawyer stressed that Bales did not confess and seemed surprised when his weapon was taken away, the newspaper reported.

U.S. military officials said Bales was drinking on a southern Afghanistan base on March 11 before creeping away to two villages at night, shooting his victims and setting many of them on fire. Nine were children.

Bales has had incidents involving alcohol and violence in the past.

In 2002, He was arrested for a drunken assault of a security guard at a Tacoma casino. That charge was dismissed after Bales completed 20 hours of anger management training.

In 2008, a couple accused an intoxicated Bales of grabbing a woman's hand and thrusting it toward his crotch before kicking and punching the woman's boyfriend, according to a police report. Prosecutors declined to pursue that case.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Baker can be reached at http://twitter.com/MikeBakerAP

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Lawyer says US blocks investigation of Afghan massacre - Reuters

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1 of 2. Attorney John Henry Browne (R), civil legal counsel to Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) based soldier Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the then-deployed U.S. Army soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians earlier this month, speaks in a press conference in his Seattle, Washington office March 30, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Anthony Bolante

By Bill Rigby

SEATTLE | Fri Mar 30, 2012 8:45pm EDT

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The lawyer defending the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians claims U.S. authorities are blocking his ability to investigate the incident.

John Henry Browne, the lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said U.S. forces in Afghanistan have prevented his team from interviewing injured civilians at a hospital in Kandahar, and are allowing other potential witnesses to scatter, making it difficult to track them down.

"When prosecutors don't cooperate, it's because they are concerned about the strength of their case," said Browne at a press conference at his downtown Seattle office on Friday.

Bales was formally charged last week with the murders of eight adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan on March 11, which further eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already strained by a decade of war.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

No date has been set for a trial, but U.S. military prosecutors are putting together their case while Browne is preparing his defense.

Browne said he has a team of investigators in Afghanistan now, but they are receiving little cooperation from military prosecutors who filed the charges.

"We are facing an almost complete information blackout from the government, which is having a devastating effect on our ability to investigate the charges preferred against our client," he said in a statement released earlier on Friday.

A reliable account of the events of the night of the massacre has not yet emerged. A recent report indicated Afghan villagers doubt Bales acted alone. Other reports suggest Bales left his base twice during the night.

"I don't believe that's the case, but we don't know for sure at this point," Browne said on Friday.

Browne said his investigators had spoken to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan but had not managed to contact any witnesses.

DENIED ACCESS

"When we tried to interview the injured civilians being treated at Kandahar Hospital we were denied access and told to coordinate with the prosecution team," Browne said in the earlier statement.

"The next day the prosecution team interviewed the civilians injured. We found out shortly after the prosecution interviews of the injured civilians that the civilians were all released from the hospital and there was no contact information for them." That means potential witnesses will scatter and could prove unreachable, Browne said.

Prosecutors had not shared their investigative findings with his team, and would not share images captured by a surveillance camera on a blimp above the base which the Army says shows Bales returning to the camp after the alleged shooting, he said.

The next step in the case is for Bales - who is being held at a military detention center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - to undergo a mental assessment by Army doctors independent of both the prosecution and defense, to determine if he is fit to stand trial, known as a "sanity board" in the Army.

That could take several months, Browne said.

After that has occurred, the military justice system requires a preliminary hearing, known as an "Article 32" hearing, to establish whether there is a strong enough case to proceed to a court martial.

Browne said it was too early to say whether post-traumatic stress disorder would feature in his defense against the charges. "I don't know whether it will at all," said Browne.

"First thing we have to find out is whether the government has a case. Until we're convinced the government has a case, we're not going to start speculating on what our defenses are going to be."

(Reporting By Bill Rigby; Editing by Todd Eastham and Paul Simao)

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Rodman's Lawyer: He's No 'Deadbeat'

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Dennis Rodman's lawyer said Wednesday that the retired NBA player is not a "deadbeat dad," following court papers filed Tuesday that claimed Rodman owes more than $800,000 in child support.

"The way that it's being painted makes it sound like he's in horrible shape," Rodman's lawyer, Linnea Willis, told ABCNews.com. "This makes him sound like he's a deadbeat dead. The bottom line here is that Dennis Rodman has always paid child support to the best of his ability and will continue to do so."

On Tuesday, a lawyer for Rodman's ex-wife, Michelle Rodman, filed papers in a Los Angeles court claiming Rodman owed more than $800,000 in back child support for the couple's 9- and 10-year-old children as of March 1st. He was previously ordered to pay his ex-wife $50,000 per month for child support. In response, Willis filed a motion to counter the $50,000 per month order.

She said that order was issued in 2010 "without consideration of Dennis' actual income, but rather was based on an exaggerated income amount made up by his ex-wife's attorneys." She also said that Rodman was not properly served legal papers.

Rodman's manager, Darren Prince, said Rodman has been paying "at least $4,000 or $5,000" to his ex-wife each month. Willis said the court "didn't have evidence about all the payments that were made."

"The only thing that was at issue was for certain months that her attorney brought up, he did pay something but it wasn't enough," Willis said.

A sentencing hearing for Rodman has been set for May 29. While his ex-wife's attorney said Rodman faces jail time for his inability to pay child and spousal support, Willis said the judge "made it very clear he's not going to give him jail time."

Michelle Rodman's lawyer, Jack Kayajanian, did not respond to ABCNews.com's requests for comment.

Willis also clarified Rodman's condition. Tuesday's court papers described the former Chicago Bulls rebound star as "extremely sick."

"The way that it's being painted makes it sound like he's in horrible shape, he's not," she said. "He plays, he plays in China, he makes appearances."

On Tuesday, Prince, Rodman's manager, told ABCNews.com that Rodman has been sidelined by his "well-documented drinking problem." Willis insisted that despite his setbacks, Rodman remains on good terms with his ex-wife and children.

"Whenever he sees the kids and whenever they're here, they talk," she said. "He loves her still. On their end, it's not contentious."

Dennis Rodman and Michelle Rodman married in 2003 after dating for four years. Michelle Rodman filed for divorce in 2004, but their marriage was not officially dissolved until earlier this year because of attempts at reconciliation.

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Supreme Court rejects damage claim in HIV privacy case

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The Supreme Court limits "actual damages" under the Privacy ActA California man sued when the government publicly revealed his HIV statusThe 5-3 ruling pitted the court's conservative majority against the liberal minorityJustice Elena Kagan, the former solicitor general, did not participate

Washington (CNN) -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against a California pilot who sued after the federal government publicly revealed his HIV status.

In a 5-3 ruling, the high court decided Stanmore Cooper's claims of mental and emotional distress are not covered under the Privacy Act.

"The Privacy Act does not unequivocally authorize damages for mental or emotional distress and therefore does not waive the government's sovereign immunity for such harms," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the conservative majority.

Three liberal justices dissented, while a fourth, former Solicitor General Elena Kagan, did not participate.

In a statement Wednesday, Cooper said it was "discouraging that a majority of the court sided with the government."

Cooper became a licensed recreational pilot in 1964, but two decades later, the San Francisco man was diagnosed with HIV. As his condition worsened, he let his private pilot's certificate and his airman medical certificate lapse.

In 1996, Cooper applied for long-term disability with the Social Security Administration.

"I was in bad shape, I didn't have long to live," he said last year. But his health improved thanks to a cocktail of anti-retroviral therapy. He went back to work and wanted to fly again.

"I found out they were issuing medicals (exemptions) and I reapplied" to the Federal Aviation Administration "without revealing my HIV status," he said. "Big mistake."

He received his new pilot's certificate but, unknown to him, a joint local-federal initiative called Operation Safe Pilot was launched in 2002. Using a spreadsheet, the agencies shared and compared the names and personal data of about 45,000 pilots in Northern California, looking for potentially medically unfit individuals who were also receiving federal benefits.

Cooper was among four dozen or so pilots tagged as a "person of interest." When confronted by government agents, he admitted to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report.

He was sentenced to probation and fined, and his pilot's certificate was revoked. The retired business executive's name was listed in a federal press release and later, through his prosecution, Cooper's medical history suddenly was a matter of public record.

"I had been able to control those (with) whom I shared my information about my HIV status, limited to some co-workers, family, and close friends," he said "And suddenly that was out of my control."

Cooper, who was eventually allowed to fly again, sued.

"I chose not to reveal my HIV infection and that was a very bad thing," he said. "I took responsibility for it and I paid the price. I was punished. And I think now it's the government's turn to own up to breaking the law and take responsibility for what they did."

A federal judge found both the FAA and the Social Security Administration violated the Privacy Act with the information-sharing investigation, but said under the law, only "actual damages" could be collected by plaintiffs seeking redress.

Since Cooper made no claims for economic harm, such as lost wages or medical expenses, he was out of luck. The judge found "emotional injury" alone did not qualify and dismissed the lawsuit.

A federal appeals court reversed that decision, ruling for Cooper. The FAA then asked the high court to intervene.

During an hour of oral arguments last year, the justices stayed away from the specific claims of emotional harm made by Cooper, focusing instead on what the law says about qualifying for damages.

"The argument you have made -- and I certainly understand it, that this is the Privacy Act and so it's precisely these types of damages that you would be concerned about -- really cuts both ways," Chief Justice John Roberts said to Cooper's lawyer.

"What you are saying is this (law) covers a really big chunk of damages, because this is what the whole act was about," Roberts said. "And it seems to me that argument suggests that there is some weight to the government's point: That if you are going to get that, you really do need clearer" language in the law that would immunize the government to some extent, from a flood of hard-to-disprove lawsuits.

The ambiguity has divided lower courts for years, and privacy experts said the ease with which the government can collect and share information in the digital age makes the issue of personal privacy liability ripe for review.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg repeatedly hammered away at the government lawyer arguing for the FAA. She said the federal damages provision in question is similar to state tort claims that include both emotional and financial harm.

"The person who is subject to this, to this embarrassment, this humiliation, doesn't have out-of-pocket costs, but is terribly distressed, nervous, anxious, and all the rest," Ginsburg said. "The act that the Congress is reaching, the impact is of that nature. I mean, pecuniary (monetary) damages ordinarily attend conduct that embarrasses, humiliates you, causes mental distress."

Eric Feigin of the Justice Department said the Privacy Act's language may be interpreted as allowing damages for such things as "humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish," but said because the phrase "actual" damages remains vague, the government should get the benefit of the doubt, tipping the case in its favor.

"Simply because a plaintiff may have suffered an adverse effect" from the privacy violation, argued Feigin, "doesn't mean that the plaintiff suffered actual damages."

Raymond Cardozo, Cooper's lawyer, pointed out during the hearing that his client's information was made public and his name and HIV status are still posted on a federal government database. He also made a larger argument, that his client's dilemma is one that may affect all Americans.

"Congress passed this act to restore the citizens' faith in their government, and it made a solemn promise to the American citizens that in cases of intentional and willful violation, the United States shall be liable for actual damages," Cardozo said. "Today, the government is proposing that "actual damages" be read in a way that renders this act virtually irrelevant. That makes a mockery of that solemn promise."

Cooper attended the public session at the court and expressed optimism afterward he would prevail.

"They've betrayed my trust and I can't get that back," Cooper said at the time. "There was nothing to lose here. I had to do it. It was the right thing to do."

The case is Cooper v. FAA (10-1024).

CNN's Tom Cohen and Kate Bolduan contribute to this report.

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Lawyer says US blocks investigation of Afghan massacre

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SEATTLE (Reuters) - The lawyer defending the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians claims U.S. authorities are blocking his ability to investigate the incident.

John Henry Browne, the lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said U.S. forces in Afghanistan have prevented his team from interviewing injured civilians at a hospital in Kandahar, and are allowing other potential witnesses to scatter, making it difficult to track them down.

"When prosecutors don't cooperate, it's because they are concerned about the strength of their case," said Browne at a press conference at his downtown Seattle office on Friday.

Bales was formally charged last week with the murders of eight adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan on March 11, which further eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already strained by a decade of war.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

No date has been set for a trial, but U.S. military prosecutors are putting together their case while Browne is preparing his defense.

Browne said he has a team of investigators in Afghanistan now, but they are receiving little cooperation from military prosecutors who filed the charges.

"We are facing an almost complete information blackout from the government, which is having a devastating effect on our ability to investigate the charges preferred against our client," he said in a statement released earlier on Friday.

A reliable account of the events of the night of the massacre has not yet emerged. A recent report indicated Afghan villagers doubt Bales acted alone. Other reports suggest Bales left his base twice during the night.

"I don't believe that's the case, but we don't know for sure at this point," Browne said on Friday.

Browne said his investigators had spoken to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan but had not managed to contact any witnesses.

DENIED ACCESS

"When we tried to interview the injured civilians being treated at Kandahar Hospital we were denied access and told to coordinate with the prosecution team," Browne said in the earlier statement.

"The next day the prosecution team interviewed the civilians i njured. We found out shortly after the prosecution interviews of the injured civilians that the civilians were all released from the hospital and there was no contact information for them." That means potential witnesses will scatter and could prove unreachable, Browne said.

Prosecutors had not shared their investigative findings with his team, and would not share images captured by a surveillance camera on a blimp above the base which the Army says shows Bales returning to the camp after the alleged shooting, he said.

The next step in the case is for Bales - who is being held at a military detention center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - to undergo a mental assessment by Army doctors independent of both the prosecution and defense, to determine if he is fit to stand trial, known as a "sanity board" in the Army.

That could take several months, Browne said.

After that has occurred, the military justice system requires a preliminary hearing, known as an "Article 32" hearing, to establish whether there is a strong enough case to proceed to a court martial.

Browne said it was too early to say whether post-traumatic stress disorder would feature in his defense against the charges. "I don't know whether it will at all," said Browne.

"First thing we have to find out is whether the government has a case. Until we're convinced the government has a case, we're not going to start speculating on what our defenses are going to be."

(Reporting By Bill Rigby; Editing by Todd Eastham and Paul Simao)

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