Attorney General

Afternoon Briefs: SCOTUS tosses child slavery case; DOJ drops suit and probe over Bolton book

SCOTUS tosses suit over child slavery in Ivory Coast The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Nestlé USA and Cargill can’t be sued here under the Alien Tort Statute for allegedly providing assistance to Ivory Coast cocoa farms that used child slaves. In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the…

Jun 17, 2021 3:48 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Hate speech mustn’t be normalized, ABA president says; Title IX protects gay and transgender students

ABA president: Hate speech legitimizes intolerance ABA President Patricia Lee Refo said Tuesday the association is “deeply troubled” by recent hate speech directed at Jewish, LGBTQ, Asian American and Muslim people. Refo said studies show a correlation between exposure to hate speech and the increase in hate crimes. Hate speech…

Jun 16, 2021 3:45 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Dechert associate wins ‘Jeopardy!’ and fans’ hearts; judge sides with hospital requiring vaccines

Dechert associate wins over Jeopardy! fans Dechert associate Julia Markham Cameron won over Jeopardy! fans with her quirky facial expressions during an appearance earlier this month in which she won more than $16,000. “It’s certainly not what I thought I would be known for at this stage in my career.…

Jun 14, 2021 4:29 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Toobin returns to CNN after Zoom exposure; DOJ inspector general will review leak subpoenas

Jeffrey Toobin returns to CNN after Zoom incident Journalist and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin has returned to CNN eight months after he masturbated during a break in a Zoom call with colleagues at the New Yorker. Toobin was fired from the New Yorker after 27 years with the magazine. In…

Jun 11, 2021 3:18 PM CDT

Texas attorney general faces ethics probe over election suit; former AG Barr fares better in DC

Asked to probe two high-profile officials, disciplinary authorities in Texas and Washington, D.C., took different tacks.

Jun 11, 2021 9:22 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: An unusual SCOTUS lineup; suit says Google is a public utility

SCOTUS rules for defendant in career criminal case Two conservative justices supported liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices Thursday to rule that a crime of recklessness is not a “violent felony” requiring a longer sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Justice Elena Kagan wrote a plurality opinion favoring defendant Charles…

Jun 10, 2021 4:09 PM CDT

DOJ says it can defend religious exemption that allows LGBTQ discrimination in education

The U.S. Department of Justice is opposing an attempt by Christian colleges to intervene in a lawsuit by asserting that it can defend a religious exemption that allows the schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students.

Jun 9, 2021 11:25 AM CDT

Taking same stance as former AG Barr, Biden’s DOJ seeks to defend Trump in defamation suit by rape accuser

The U.S. Department of Justice under President Joe Biden is arguing that the United States should be substituted as the defendant in a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump by a woman who claimed that he defamed her by denying her allegations of rape.

Jun 8, 2021 11:36 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer, 75, is oldest American to scale Mount Everest; fake claims made of SCOTUS justice’s arrest

Retired lawyer is oldest American to climb Mount Everest Retired Chicago lawyer Arthur Muir became the oldest American to scale Mount Everest last month. Muir, 75, tried to climb the mountain in 2019, but he had to turn back after hurting his ankle. Muir took up mountain climbing seven years…

Jun 1, 2021 4:34 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Kristen Clarke confirmed as DOJ civil rights chief; SCOTUS chief justice speaks to law grads

Senate confirms Kristen Clarke The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kristen Clarke to head the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division on a 51-48 vote. Clarke was president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She is the first woman and first Black woman to…

May 26, 2021 4:31 PM CDT

DOJ releases few pages of memo concluding evidence didn’t support Trump prosecution

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday evening released the first one-and-a-half pages of a nine-page internal memo concluding that former President Donald Trump should not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice.

May 25, 2021 12:38 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Controversial remarks by ‘QAnon shaman’ lawyer; progressive district attorney wins primary

Lawyer for ‘QAnon shaman’ says rioters are ‘short-bus people’ Albert Watkins, the lawyer for the accused U.S. Capitol Hill rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman,” told Talking Points Memo that a lot of the rioting defendants are “short-bus people.” Watkins said the defendants are people with “brain damage, they’re f-…

May 19, 2021 4:19 PM CDT

Federal judge complains that New York’s federal detention facilities ‘are run by morons’

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York reluctantly sentenced a drug conspiracy defendant to the mandatory minimum of five years in prison last month, as she complained about the "inhuman" conditions that the woman had to endure at federal detention facilities in New York City.

May 10, 2021 2:07 PM CDT

Federal judge orders DOJ to release memo that said Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted for obstruction

A U.S. Department of Justice memo concluding that former President Donald Trump should not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice was not protected by privilege because then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr had already reached that conclusion, a federal judge ruled Monday.

May 5, 2021 11:00 AM CDT

After ransomware attack on state attorney general’s office, hackers begin posting documents

Hackers have posted documents that are said to be stolen from the Illinois attorney general’s office, including documents labeled “judgments entered,” “shakedown cases” and “state prisoners.”

May 4, 2021 11:17 AM CDT