Afternoon Briefs: Trump accused of violating disability law; CoreCivic settles suit over recorded attorney-client calls
President Donald Trump. Photo from Shutterstock.com.
Lawsuit seeks sign language interpreters at Trump’s COVID-19 briefings
The National Association of the Deaf alleges in lawsuit that President Donald Trump is violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by refusing to provide American Sign Language interpreters at coronavirus briefings. Section 504 says individuals with disabilities may not be excluded from participation in programs and activities conducted by executive agencies. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer is representing the National Association of the Deaf along with the NAD Law and Advocacy Center. (Law.com, National Association of the Deaf Aug. 3 press release, National Association of the Deaf Aug. 3 lawsuit)
CoreCivic agrees to settle suit over recorded attorney-client calls
Private prison company CoreCivic and phone provider Securus Technologies Inc. have agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle an attorney class action over recorded attorney-client phone calls. The class consists of about 750 lawyers whose conversations with clients were recorded at the Leavenworth, Kansas, prison. (Law360)
Judge tosses defamation suit against legal blogger
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has tossed a lawyer’s defamation suit over blog posts by Georgetown Law professor Michael Frisch on the Legal Profession Blog. Howell said the plaintiff, John Paul Szymkowicz, couldn’t show that he meets the federal jurisdictional minimum of $75,000 in damages. One of Frisch’s blog posts about Szymkowicz’s ethics case was titled, “District of Columbia Court Absolves Attorneys of Horrific Elder Abuse Conflict.” (Law360)
Threats rise against federal judges and prosecutors
Threats and inappropriate communications have jumped against federal judges, prosecutors and court officials, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. In 2015, the service recorded 926 such threats. In 2019, the number was 4,449. (ABC News)
