Afternoon Briefs: Pryor Cashman associate gets bond; firm's contact form crashes after pro bono offer
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Judge OKs bond for 2 lawyers charged in Molotov cocktail attack
Two lawyers accused in a Molotov cocktail attack on an unoccupied New York police car can be released to home confinement on $250,000 bond each, U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie said Monday. One of the lawyers is Urooj Rahman, who had represented tenants in Bronx housing court and helps take care of her ailing mother. The other is furloughed Pryor Cashman associate Colinford Mattis. Rahman was accused of throwing the incendiary device, while Mattis was accused of acting as the getaway driver. The two lawyers face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years, prosecutors said in a letter arguing that they should be held without bond. (Law.com, PIX 11, AM NY, the prosecutors’ letter)
Law firm’s offer of pro bono protester help yields strong interest
Indianapolis law firm Saeed & Little tweeted an offer Saturday to represent protesters arrested in Indianapolis, Chicago or Louisville, Kentucky. That afternoon, the firm’s online contact page shut down because it was so overloaded. By Monday morning, the firm had heard from about 52 protesters who needed lawyers, including one accused of stealing a police officer’s horse. (The Indiana Lawyer)
Suit claims Trump nondisclosure agreements violate First Amendment
A would-be class action lawsuit filed Monday claims that President Donald Trump’s broad nondisclosure agreements with 2016 campaign staffers, contractors and volunteers violate constitutional protections of speech and press. The suit was filed by lawyers from Protect Democracy, Ballard Spahr and Bowles & Johnson. (Courthouse News Service, the lawsuit)
Theft of drug task force cash appears to be inside job, DA says
The theft of as much as $150,000 from the drug task force in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, appears to be an inside job, according to District Attorney Heather Adams. The state attorney general has been asked to investigate. The task force was already controversial because its operations were funded by cash and assets seized from suspected drug dealers. (Lancaster Online)
