Attorney General

U.S. Plans to Collect DNA From Every Federal Arrestee

The U.S. government is planning to expand its DNA database by collecting samples from anyone arrested for a federal crime and from many foreigners detained by federal authorities. Currently, the federal government collects DNA only from those who are convicted of felonies. The new requirements would add an estimated 1.2…

Apr 17, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

Berkeley Dean Supports ‘Torture Memo’ Author

The dean of the University of California-Berkeley law school says he doesn’t agree with the legal analysis of the author of one of the so-called torture memos, but that doesn’t mean he should be fired from his post as a law professor. Dean Christopher Edley Jr. stated his views in…

Apr 15, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Alberto Gonzales Is Still Looking for Work

Usually a former U.S. attorney general has no trouble finding work at a prestigious law firm. But that’s not the case for Alberto Gonzales. Friends have inquired whether any Washington law firms are interested in hiring Gonzales, but none of them have made an offer, sources told the New York…

Apr 14, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

Mukasey Disavows Terrorism Exception to the Fourth Amendment

Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday that the Fourth Amendment applies to bar unreasonable searches by the military during terrorism operations in the United States. Mukasey said an opposing view taken in a controversial 2001 Justice Department memorandum is “not in force,” the Washington Post reports.…

Apr 11, 2008 3:17 PM CDT

Prosecutors Say They Will Retry Celebrity Coroner

Prosecutors say they will retry celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht after jurors deadlocked in his prosecution for mail and wire fraud. A new trial is set for May 27, but Wecht’s lawyers are seeking a delay while they challenge the charges and work on other matters, WTAE-TV reports. Wecht is represented…

Apr 10, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

Big Salaries May Await Top Government Lawyers

High-profile lawyers exiting the government could command salaries as high as $2 million or $3 million. That could be the take for top lawyers such as Solicitor General Paul Clement and Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Legal Times reports. Law firms snagging the big-name…

Apr 10, 2008 2:25 PM CDT

Does Deferring Prosecution Foster Risky Corporate Behavior?

The Justice Department has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years, sparing those companies the cost and stigma of going to trial. This is a major policy shift and spotlights a favorite tool of the Bush administration, deferred prosecutions, the New York…

Apr 9, 2008 10:36 AM CDT

DOJ Memo Considered Eye-Gouging and Ear-Cutting, in Graphic But Dry Detail

Can the president authorize interrogators to gouge the eyes of a terrorism detainee? To throw acid on him or to cut his nose or ear? All those questions were considered in dry but graphic language in a recently declassified 2003 memo for the Justice Department by John Yoo, then-deputy assistant…

Apr 7, 2008 3:45 PM CDT

DOJ Endorsed Terrorism Exception to 4th Amendment in Another Disavowed Memo

Reports of yet another controversial Justice Department memo by John Yoo have surfaced. This one said the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures doesn’t apply to military operations in terrorism cases on U.S. soil. The Associated Press was the first to report on the memo, which has since…

Apr 4, 2008 12:05 PM CDT

CBS Legal Analyst Sees Masterful Writing in ‘Wonderland’ Torture Memo

CBS legal analyst Andrew Cohen has one good thing—and only one good thing—to say about John Yoo’s so-called “torture” memo: At least the Justice Department attorney was persuasive. The recently declassified memo authorized harsh interrogation techniques by military investigators questioning al-Qaida suspects, leading critics to contend the 2003 document created…

Apr 3, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

Critics Contend 2003 DOJ Memo Created a Culture of Abuse

Updated: Some Democratic lawmakers contend a recently declassified 2003 Justice Department memo may have led to harsh treatment of military prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The New York Times points out that the memo applied to enemy combatants held in military custody rather than the largely civilian Iraqi population held at…

Apr 3, 2008 12:12 PM CDT

DOJ Probe Considers Whether Lawyer Was Ousted Due to Sexual Orientation Rumor

A Justice Department probe is considering whether a career lawyer there was ousted from her job because of rumors that she is a lesbian. Investigators with the Justice Department’s inspector general have raised questions about a decision to dismiss Leslie Hagen, a liaison between DOJ and the U.S. attorneys’ committee…

Apr 3, 2008 11:26 AM CDT

Declassified DOJ Memo Said President Could Override Torture Ban

Updated: A newly declassified 2003 Justice Department memorandum maintains that treaties and criminal statutes against torture and assault don’t apply to military interrogators questioning al-Qaida suspects overseas because the president has authority as commander-in-chief to override them. Interrogators who harm an al-Qaida prisoner would be protected by a “national and…

Apr 2, 2008 11:26 AM CDT

Two Newspapers, Two Different Views of Michael Mukasey

Two very different views of Attorney General Michael Mukasey emerged in recent editorials by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The Wall Street Journal calls the former judge, who is experienced in terrorism trials, “an attorney general worthy of the current moment.” Mukasey is backing legislation that…

Mar 31, 2008 2:57 PM CDT

DOJ Considers Dropping Charges Against Defense Lawyer

The Justice Department is considering whether to drop charges against a prominent Miami defense lawyer accused of laundering money by accepting fees from drug dealers. A government motion (PDF) filed Monday says a new lead prosecutor is now handling the controversial case against Ben Kuehne and is undertaking a review…

Mar 28, 2008 11:51 AM CDT