Attorney General

Kansas AG Sues Founder of Association for Honest Attorneys

Corrected: The Kansas Attorney General’s office has sued the head of the nonprofit Association for Honest Attorneys. The suit claims the group’s founder, Joan Heffington, is violating consumer protection laws by advertising that she can help people with lawsuits, even though she does not have a law license, the Wichita…

Dec 14, 2009 7:04 PM CST

Former AG Gonzales Turns Reflective in Magazine’s Meaning of Life Issue

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reflected on what’s important and what he would have done differently in a magazine’s meaning-of-life issue. “This may sound egotistical, but to me it is important that when I leave this earth, I would have made a difference—that people would know Al Gonzales lived, he…

Dec 9, 2009 3:20 PM CST

GQ Labels AG Holder ‘Maverick of the Year’

Attorney General Eric Holder didn’t win the Mustached American of the Year contest, but he has succeeded on another front: A men’s magazine has named him maverick of the year. GQ magazine named Holder one if its men of the year, and gave him a separate designation as maverick of…

Dec 8, 2009 5:18 PM CST

DOJ Second-in-Command Is Leaving

The Justice Department’s second-in-command is resigning after less than a year on the job. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden announced his resignation today without elaborating on the reason for his departure, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Ogden joined the Justice Department as deputy attorney general in…

Dec 3, 2009 3:35 PM CST

DOJ Pays $15M for Legal Research, Including $4M for Pacer

An open records advocate contends that a free source of legal documents could eventually save the federal government $1 billion, and he offers the Justice Department as Exhibit A. A freedom of information request by Carl Malamud reveals that Justice Department paid more than $4 million in 2009 for access…

Dec 2, 2009 4:25 PM CST

ABA Praises Holder for Decision to Bring Gitmo Detainees to Trial

ABA President Carolyn Lamm sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday, praising his move to bring detainees suspected of being involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks to trial. “The transfer of these high-profile cases to federal court affirms this nation’s adherence to due process and the rule of…

Nov 25, 2009 8:05 PM CST

Judge Cites Tough ‘New Era’ in Conflicts Cases as She Sentences Ex-DOJ Lawyer

Former Justice Department lawyer Robert Coughlin cried in court Tuesday as he apologized to a judge for accepting gifts from a lobbyist friend while working on legislative affairs in the Justice Department. Coughlin could have been sentenced to six months in jail. Instead he was sentenced to a month in…

Nov 25, 2009 4:07 PM CST

Prosecutors from Va. and NY Vied for Trial of 9-11 Suspects

Top prosecutors from Manhattan and Alexandria, Va., visited a secret command center in the Justice Department’s headquarters on two different occasions to present their case for handling the trial of suspected Sept. 11 plotters being held at Guantanamo Bay. Attorney General Eric Holder chose Manhattan for the trial of the…

Nov 16, 2009 1:19 PM CST

Warning: Eric Holder Doesn’t Really Want You to Pay $370

The FBI has issued a warning about a new e-mail scam that uses the name of Attorney General Eric Holder in an effort to collect $370. The e-mail tells the recipients that they are being investigated for terrorism and money laundering crimes, but they can pay $370 to buy a…

Nov 11, 2009 12:51 PM CST

Authorities Probe Possible Link Between Fort Hood Shootings and Terrorism

Although federal authorities have said there is no known link between last week’s shootings at a military base at Fort Hood, Texas, and organized terrorist groups, a former U.S. attorney general under President George W. Bush is characterizing the attack, allegedly by a lone U.S. military gunman, as terrorism. Meanwhile,…

Nov 9, 2009 9:15 PM CST

NY AG Claims Intel Used ‘Bribery and Coercion,’ Violated Antitrust Laws

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel that alleges the company paid kickbacks disguised as rebates to keep computer companies from using competitors’ chips. Cuomo maintains the rebates were accompanied by threats, according to stories in the New York Times and the Wall Street…

Nov 4, 2009 4:29 PM CST

GQ List of Influence Puts Chief Justice at No. 10, SCOTUSblog Founder at No. 45

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is the 10th most influential person in Washington, D.C., beating out Attorney General Eric Holder, who comes in at No. 13. GQ magazine said it ranked Roberts 10th on its list of the 50 most powerful people in D.C. because of his apparent influence…

Oct 30, 2009 3:52 PM CDT

Calif. AG Spokesman Secretly Taped Reporter Phone Calls; Was Law Violated?

California Attorney General spokesman Scott Gerber has taped reporters’ phone calls without their knowledge. California law bars the recording of a private conversation without consent, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said she believes the taping was outrageous…

Oct 30, 2009 11:45 AM CDT

Suit by Ex-Prosecutor Claims U.S. Attorney’s Office Was a ‘Girls Club’

A former assistant U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico has filed a lawsuit that claims he was treated differently that those in the office’s “girls club.” The allegations by plaintiff Juan Milanes became public when a federal judge transferred the suit from Washington, D.C., to Puerto Rico, Legal Blog Watch reports,…

Oct 26, 2009 3:01 PM CDT

LA DA Plans Crackdown on Some Pot Clinics as DOJ Softens Policy

New Justice Department guidelines say federal prosecution of medical marijuana clinics or their patients will not be a priority, as long as state laws are being followed. But one local prosecutor is planning to keep up the pressure. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced last week that he…

Oct 20, 2009 11:35 AM CDT