DISTRICT BRIEFING

D.C. GUN LAW

Lawyers Seek $3.5 Million in Fees

The lawyers who successfully sued the District over the reach of its gun law are asking a federal judge to order the city to pay more than $3.5 million in legal fees.

Alan Gura, Robert A. Levy and Clark M. Neily III filed a motion this week in U.S. District Court that included a breakdown of their hours and expenses. The lawyers represented Dick A. Heller in the civil suit, filed against the city in 2003. The case wound its way through the courts before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the District's handgun ban in June, saying it violated the Second Amendment.

In their motion, the lawyers said that they expect a fight with the D.C. government over the fees.

-- Bill Miller

THE MALL

King Memorial Receives $1 Million

The Boeing Co. yesterday announced a $1 million donation to help build the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

The gift was announced at a unity breakfast at the Democratic National Convention on the 45th anniversary of the civil rights leader's "I Have a Dream" speech.

The foundation working to build the national memorial on the Mall says it has raised $100 million for the effort. This month, the group announced that it must raise an additional $20 million to complete the project.

James A. Bell, Boeing's corporate president and chief financial officer, said the memorial will be an enduring reminder of King's legacy of inclusion, hope and freedom.

-- Associated Press

D.C. SUPERIOR COURT

Man Guilty in Killing Near Club

A D.C. Superior Court jury found a District man guilty yesterday of second-degree murder in the 2007 shooting of a man near the H20 Restaurant & Lounge after a party for boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

After a one-week trial, the jury found Rashod C. Holmes, 29, of the 500 block of Shepherd Street NW, guilty in the slaying of Nelson "James" Able Jr.

Able, 39, was shot in the back of the head during an altercation a block from the Southwest Washington nightclub. Prosecutors had charged Holmes with first-degree murder while armed. But Holmes's attorney, Brian McDaniel, argued that Holmes shot Able in self-defense. McDaniel maintained that Able brandished a knife, although none was found.

Holmes told authorities he carried a loaded gun into H20 and was able to bypass the club's security officers. That incident led city regulators to close the nightclub, in the 800 block of Water Street SW, for more than a week, and the club's owner was required to improve security procedures.

Judge Geoffrey M. Alprin scheduled sentencing for Oct. 31.

-- Keith L. Alexander