The Supreme Judicial Court's punishment for Judge Ernest Murphy is slightly less severe than the public censure and $25,000 fine recommended by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct. The SJC did order Murphy to reimburse the commission for its costs.

The case began in 2002, after the Herald published a series of stories depicting Murphy as soft on crime. Several quoted Murphy as saying a young rape victim should "get over it."

Murphy won his lawsuit, then wrote threatening letters to the Herald publisher demanding payment.

Murphy agreed in August to step down from the bench, citing health problems brought on by the stress of the case.

Madoff, wearing a baseball cap and a black jacket, said nothing to reporters as he walked out of the building and drove away in an SUV. He was at the courthouse to sign over his Upper East Side apartment and his homes in Palm Beach and the Hamptons for his $10 million bond.

Madoff was accompanied to the courthouse by two lawyers as he and his wife signed court documents.

A chaotic scene erupted as he arrived at his home.

Madoff, smiling slightly, was surrounded by about two dozen photographers who jostled each other for a good position as he walked along the sidewalk. Someone said "Don't push me." Madoff appeared to extend his arm protectively, then was pushed backward by a photographer.

Madoff has already surrendered his passport, and now will be required to be at his Manhattan apartment from 7 p.m to 9 a.m. His wife was required to surrender her passport as well.

Part of Madoff's bail conditions also required that he find people to co-sign for him, and his wife and brother had already done so. Madoff had been required to find two additional co-signers to vouch for him, but with the scandal swirling around him, he was unable to do so.

The judge responded by modifying the bail package, and gave lawyers until next Monday to come up with additional paperwork.

His lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, said the electronic monitoring was in place by Wednesday evening.

Ok So-ri, who was handed a suspended jail term, had lost a battle in October to have the ban declared unconstitutional.

"I would like to say I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to society," a somber Ok told reporters after the verdict.

A district court in Goyang, near Seoul, handed Ok a suspended eight-month jail sentence, South Korean media reported, meaning she will not have to serve time. Ok's lover received a six-month suspended term.

There was no immediate word on any plans for appeal.

The sensational sex-and-celebrities case has been tabloid fodder for months, with Ok's challenge to the adultery law adding extra spice.

Last year, Ok acknowledged during a news conference that she had had an affair with an opera singer who was a friend of her husband for a few months in 2006. She stressed the affair was a result of her loveless marriage to actor Park Chul.

Construction manager Michael Murphy's plea Wednesday in federal court closes the case, which earlier led to guilty pleas by former state Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon and six other defendants.

Defendants were accused of using inflated and false invoices to bilk the state of $4.2 million during construction of the county courthouse in Albuquerque.

Murphy pleaded guilty to accepting a $20,000 check from a co-defendant, former court administrator Toby Martinez.

The 59-year-old Murphy faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Aragon faces 5 1/2 years in prison in a plea deal.

Teah Wimberly entered a written plea Thursday. She will be tried as an adult. If convicted, the 15-year-old could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison.

Authorities say Wimberly and 15-year-old Amanda Collette were longtime friends who had recently stopped speaking before Wimberly shot her at Dillard High School in November. She then ran to a nearby restaurant, called police and confessed.

Her lawyer has said Wimberly may need medication after a psychological evaluation found she had mental health issues.

Wimberly also pleaded not guilty to a count of carrying a firearm on school campus.

Nathan Johnson pleaded guilty Tuesday in Denver federal court to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He faces up to 3 years, 1 month in prison at his March 20 sentencing.

Johnson and two others were arrested in Aurora on Aug. 24, the day before the convention began. Authorities said they had methamphetamine, bulletproof vests and guns with them when arrested.

Witnesses said the three had discussed killing Obama because he's black. But prosecutors determined they posed no credible threat and did not charge them with making threats.

Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorneys were in federal court on Friday to seek emergency relief for investors, including an asset freeze and the appointment of a receiver for Madoff's firm, in an alleged $50 billion fraud that could be the largest ever pinned on an individual.

A federal judge granted the agency's request, enabling it to seize the assets of Madoff's 48-year-old company, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Madoff with a single count of criminal fraud, while the SEC accused him of civil fraud.

Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was influential and his self-named securities firm cut a high profile in Wall Street circles. SEC inspectors would have performed regular inspections of his securities brokerage operations as part of the agency's oversight program.

SEC officials stress that it was Madoff's separate and secretive investment-adviser business that was used to perpetrate the alleged scheme, and that examinations of the securities operations wouldn't necessarily have detected irregularities. The hedge fund business didn't register with the SEC until September 2006.

"If the SEC didn't come in and inspect (the Madoff hedge fund), then they have a hell of a lot to answer for," said James Cox, a Duke University law professor and securities law expert.

Other SEC critics questioned how Madoff could pull off, without the agency's notice, such an audacious fraud that prosecutors said amounted to a giant Ponzi scheme.

"The agency can't help but look bad," said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America. "It does raise questions ... about the quality of the enforcement division generally. It's obviously something that the new (Obama) administration has to get to the bottom of."

The SEC said in a statement Friday that staff in its New York office conducted two inquiries — in 2005 and 2007 — into Madoff's company. Inspectors examined the securities brokerage operation in 2005, finding three violations of rules requiring brokers to obtain the best possible price for customer orders. In 2007, enforcement staff completed an investigation and did not refer the matter to the SEC commissioners for legal action, the statement said.

Most recently, as family members turned Madoff in after he confessed his deceit to them, the SEC said, the staff reopened its investigation of his company and the civil fraud action resulted on Thursday.

The SEC wasn't the only regulator to be criticized over the Madoff affair. Bill Singer, a securities lawyer in New York who represents investors and firms, cited the role of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry's self-policing organization.

The organization, known as FINRA, only has authority to inspect and discipline securities firms and brokers; its jurisdiction doesn't extend to investment advisory firms.