Attorney General

Fast-track death-penalty appeals get a boost with 9th Circuit standing decision

Justice Department regulations that would allow states to certify capital cases for fast-track habeas appeals can’t be challenged by two organizations that represent death-row inmates, a federal appeals court has ruled. Fast-track appeals are a step closer as a result of the March 23 appellate decision, the Wall Street Journal…

Mar 28, 2016 8:05 AM CDT

Second-highest bidder is OK’d to buy corporate owner of OC Register after DOJ files antitrust suit

Updated: A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of the corporate owner of two California newspapers to the second-highest bidder in a bankruptcy auction after the U.S. Justice Department objected to Tribune Publishing’s plans to buy the company. U.S. District Judge Mark Wallace approved the sale of Freedom Communications…

Mar 21, 2016 1:45 PM CDT

Justice Department warns local courts about illegal enforcement of fees and fines

The U.S. Justice Department is sending a “dear colleague letter” warning state and local courts about constitutional concerns regarding fees and fines imposed on poor defendants. The letter (PDF) from the department’s Civil Rights Division and the Office for Access to Justice urges courts to review procedures regarding fines to…

Mar 14, 2016 12:11 PM CDT

Justice Department reportedly grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton’s email server

The U.S. Justice Department has reportedly granted immunity to a former State Department staffer who set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server at her home. The government granted immunity to former staffer Bryan Pagliano as part of a criminal investigation into possible mishandling of classified information, the Washington Post reports.…

Mar 3, 2016 10:25 AM CST

Facing an impeachment probe, Pennsylvania AG says she won’t seek re-election

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced on Tuesday that she won’t seek re-election. Kane’s announcement “puts an end date on a tumultuous chapter in her once-promising political career,” the Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.) reports. “Kane swept into office in January 2013 as the first woman and first Democrat elected attorney…

Feb 17, 2016 9:54 AM CST

Texas attorney general’s gay-marriage advice requires ethics probe, panel says

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will have to respond to an ethics complaint for advising local officials they didn’t have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals reinstated the ethics complaint against Paxton on Feb. 2, report the Associated Press, the Austin American-Statesman, the…

Feb 11, 2016 10:01 AM CST

Pennsylvania attorney general survives ouster vote, for now

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane survived a state Senate vote on her ouster on Wednesday, even as the House approved an impeachment investigation. The Senate ouster bid, which required a two-thirds majority, failed by four votes, report the New York Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.)…

Feb 11, 2016 9:08 AM CST

DOJ sues Ferguson one day after it sought changes in proposed policing pact

A yea-and-a-half after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown ignited a civil rights movement in Ferguson, Missouri, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued the city. Announced by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the DOJ in the Eastern District of Missouri follows a Tuesday…

Feb 10, 2016 5:05 PM CST

Federal judge issues ‘order on ineptitude’ in prosecutor benchslap

Updated: A federal judge in Houston has issued an “order on ineptitude” that takes “pretentious lawyers” from the U.S. Justice Department to task for experiencing difficulties when ordering a transcript. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes issued the unusual order (PDF) in the prosecution of Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, who…

Feb 9, 2016 7:59 AM CST

Pennsylvania AG fails to get her law license reinstated; state senate to consider her removal

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday refused to reinstate the law license of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, saying she waited too long to seek its reinstatement. The Feb. 5 order said Kane did not seek recusal of now-suspended Justice J. Michael Eakin “at the earliest possible time” and her…

Feb 8, 2016 9:11 AM CST

Proposed consent decree would reform Ferguson policing and municipal courts

The U.S. Justice Department has reached a proposed agreement with the city of Ferguson, Missouri, to reform its police department and its municipal courts. The consent decree still must be approved by the city council, report USA Today and the New York Times. The agreement follows a Justice Department report…

Jan 28, 2016 11:54 AM CST

Fast and Furious documents are not protected by executive privilege, judge rules

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the U.S. Justice Department must release internal documents regarding the Fast and Furious gun-running probe. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the administration’s claims of executive privilege because much of the information was already made public in an Inspector General’s…

Jan 21, 2016 9:12 AM CST

Former federal prosecutor settles with Justice Department for an estimated $1.8M

A former federal prosecutor who claimed retaliation led to his firing in January 2009 has settled with the U.S. Justice Department for an estimated $1.8 million. The former prosecutor is Thomas Gruscinski, who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Cleveland before his firing in 2009, Cleveland.com reports. The National…

Jan 20, 2016 5:45 AM CST

DOJ files multibillion-dollar suit against Volkswagen over environmental violations

Volkswagen admitted that it had cheated on its emissions tests. Now the automotive giants will have to face the wrath of the federal government. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit (PDF) in Eastern Michigan federal district court accusing VW of violating the Clean Air Act. The…

Jan 4, 2016 2:03 PM CST

Massachusetts law firm is accused of suing debtors without ‘meaningful attorney involvement’

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is seeking civil penalties against a debt-collection law firm accused of pursuing cases based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Healey filed a civil complaint last week against the firm, Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, according to a press release and the Boston Globe. The press release…

Dec 28, 2015 8:44 AM CST