Attorney General

Eric Holder Announces $2.4M in Grants to Help Improve Indigent Criminal Defense Services

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced two new Justice Department programs aimed at helping to bolster indigent defense services at the state and local levels. Between them, the two programs will make up to $2.4 million in federal funding available to research projects studying the barriers that prevent criminal…

Feb 4, 2012 11:24 PM CST

ACLU Sues DOJ to See ‘Targeted Killing’ Legal Justification Memos

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued to compel the Justice Department release of memos disclosing the legal justification for strikes that have killed U.S. citizens abroad. A lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Wednesday follows the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-Yemeni citizen and suspected al-Qaida militant who was…

Feb 3, 2012 5:48 PM CST

DOJ Racks Up $1.8M Bill Defending Prosecutors in Botched Corruption Case Against Sen. Stevens

The Justice Department has spent nearly $1.8 million defending prosecutors accused of breaking the law during a failed corruption case against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. The government’s case against the senator crumbled three years ago when the DOJ acknowledged attorneys had concealed evidence that could have helped the defense,…

Feb 3, 2012 11:46 AM CST

Scalia and Holder to Speak at ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans

The ABA Midyear Meeting returns to New Orleans today, six years after Hurricane Katrina forced the association to move its midyear gathering out of the city. To ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, the meeting has symbolic significance. “In returning to New Orleans, we hope the ABA will demonstrate…

Feb 1, 2012 11:45 AM CST

BofA Borrowers Sign Confidentiality Pacts Before Getting Loan Modifications, Ariz. AG Says

The Arizona Attorney General’s office is asking a judge to block confidentiality agreements signed by borrowers who get mortgage modifications from Bank of America. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says the agreements are impeding his office’s investigation of the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit, according to the Phoenix Business Journal and…

Jan 27, 2012 2:03 PM CST

Obama Calls for Quicker Judicial Nominee Votes, Mortgage Crisis Unit; Four Justices Skip Speech

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. stayed away from the State of the Union speech for the second year in a row after his well-publicized reaction to the 2010 speech. Alito was one of four justices who did not attend on Tuesday evening, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal…

Jan 25, 2012 12:59 PM CST

ABA President Calls for Probe of Attorney-Client Privilege Violations at Guantanamo

ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III is urging U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to reverse a new Guantanamo policy that appears to violate attorney-client privilege. In a letter to Panetta dated Dec. 21, Robinson says lawyers for detainees are reporting that their privileged attorney-client communications are being intercepted and…

Dec 22, 2011 6:36 PM CST

New York Times Sues Justice Department for Legal Memo Approving Targeted Killing

The New York Times claims in a lawsuit that the U.S. Justice Department has failed to provide records on the legality of targeted killing as required by the Freedom of Information Act. The suit seeks a secret memo authorizing the targeted killing of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, according to the…

Dec 22, 2011 3:20 PM CST

Death Is a Growth Industry for Hospices; Lawsuits Detail Incentives for Referrals

Hospice care has become a $14 billion industry that is profiting in part because of financial arrangements and gifts that encourage referrals. Bloomberg Business examined court records and interviewed more than 45 hospice employees, patients and family members to detail the financial incentives that are helping make hospice care a…

Dec 19, 2011 4:22 PM CST

Obama to Sign Bill Authorizing Indefinite Detention; Holder Stayed on the Sidelines

President Obama has indicated he will sign a bill that allows indefinite detention of terrorism suspects and gives prosecution authority to the military. Obama had threatened to veto the bill, but changed his mind after amendments addressed his concerns, the New York Times reports. Attorney General Eric Holder “took an…

Dec 16, 2011 3:43 PM CST

Holder to Testify on ‘Inexcusable’ Gun-Running in Fast and Furious Hearing

Attorney General Eric Holder is set to testify in a congressional hearing today that it was “inexcusable” for federal law enforcement agencies to allow guns to cross the border as part of a gun-trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. Politico obtained Holder’s prepared remarks. “As I have repeatedly stated,…

Dec 8, 2011 2:17 PM CST

Former SG Drew Days to Retire from Law Firm Where He Worked for 14 Years

Former Solicitor General Drew Days is retiring from Morrison & Foerster, the law firm where he worked for 14 years. Days had an of counsel position at the firm, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Asked why he is leaving, Days gave the blog two reasons. “They…

Dec 6, 2011 2:30 PM CST

Swiss Drug Maker Wants No Part of Nebraska’s Lethal Injection Regime

A Swiss drug company has asked Nebraska officials to return a drug it made that the state plans to use for the execution of death row inmates. The CEO of Naari says the company did not supply the drug to the state and would never support its use in a…

Nov 30, 2011 8:09 PM CST