THE COST OF RECLAMATION
A Westchester judge will re-open a piece of Nazi history, sorting out the German real estate holdings of a family destroyed by the Holocaust. The New York Law Journal reports that Westchester Supreme Court Justice W. Denis Donovan must consider the thorny case. Apparently, a German judge had ruled that a White Plains woman must pay $400,000 for repairs to a building she reclaimed after she proved that her family owned the apartment building before they fled to the United States. The woman’s brief argues an emotional point about the German struggle to provide restitution to Jewish families around the world: "Indeed, any nominal sense of vindication which Ms. Sutton got from recovering one of the nine properties the German government immorally seized from her family is now displaced by the horror of having a German court order that she return two-thirds of the proceeds of this sale for reasons that defy logic and justice."

 
QUEST FOR JUSTICE
Jury selection begins today for the trial of Joe Nacchio, the former CEO of Quest Communications. According to The New York Times, the embattled CEO stands accused 42 counts of insider trading on numerous stock deals — the values of the individual sales range from $190,000 to $13 million. While the trial is set in Denver, where the company is headquartered, the company coverage extends over 14 states. U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham will be sifting out any potential jurors associated with the telecommunications firm, which has so far managed to survive the $3 billion accounting scandal. Given the complexity of transactions at issue, the trial could take as long as eight months.

 
GIANT ALIMONY
A New Jersey Superior Court judge rebuked a Giants football player for trying to duck $6.5 million he must pay to his wife in a divorce, calling the player’s actions "unconscionable." Judge James Convery set a new payment deadline for Michael Strahan after the football player missed paying his divorce settlement by a court-imposed deadline in February. The player is currently appealing the ruling, but the judge would have none of his excuses, as The New York Daily News notes: “Convey put his foot down again when Strahan asked that the twins' baptismal cradle be part of the auction. ‘The cradle,’ the judge said, ‘belongs to the children.’" The judge handled the sticky divorce earlier this year, setting child support at $18,000 a month.

SPECTOR OF A SHOW TRIAL
The man who once helped shape Beach Boys and others' records into shimmering productions will now sing for a jury in California. According to the Times, jury selection begins today in the homicide trial of rock producer Phil Spector. The producer stands accused of killing a House of Blues hostess who was found shot in the head in his house. The jury must decide if the death was suicide or if Spector pulled the trigger. The article doesn’t name the judge, but notes that the trial will be televised, as per judicial order. The article notes: “His theatrical attire usually includes 3-inch-high boots, frock coats and outlandish wigs." And his star power? Spector's musical legacy," the piece concludes, "may be dusty enough to escape notice by most younger prospective jurors.”