Attorney General

Utah asks Supreme Court to uphold its same-sex marriage ban

Corrected: Utah announced on Wednesday that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a recent decision by the 10th Circuit and uphold its same-sex marriage ban. According to the Associated Press, the state’s attorney general will not seek an en banc review from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court…

Jul 10, 2014 9:03 PM CDT

BNP Paribas will pay nearly $9B, a record fine for violating US sanctions

BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, has agreed to pay nearly $9 billion as part of a guilty plea to charges that it concealed transactions with countries sanctioned by the United States. The settlement is the largest amount paid for violations of U.S. sanctions and the largest penalty paid by a…

Jul 1, 2014 1:35 PM CDT

Hundreds of Nebraska inmates released early due to sentence miscalculations, officials say

More than 300 Nebraska prison inmates have been freed prematurely due to a miscalculation of their sentences, state officials acknowledge. Forty-one of those inmates are in the process of being rounded up to serve out the rest of their sentences, the Omaha World-Herald reports. More than 250 others whose sentences…

Jun 30, 2014 9:12 PM CDT

Which laws are unworthy of defense? Four candidates for Wisconsin attorney general list them

Four lawyers running for Wisconsin attorney general have a list of laws they won’t defend. The three Democratic candidates won’t defend or appeal rulings striking down the state’s ban on gay marriage, its voter ID law or recent restrictions on abortion, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The Republican candidate won’t…

Jun 16, 2014 12:59 PM CDT

Food manufacturing associations challenge Vermont’s GMO labeling law

Four major manufacturing associations are seeking to invalidate Vermont’s law requiring manufacturers to disclose on labels when their products have genetically modified organisms. The Burlington Free Press reported that the groups filed a lawsuit late Thursday in Vermont federal district court. The Grocery Manufacturers Association the Snack Food Association, the…

Jun 13, 2014 7:46 PM CDT

ABA and DOJ seek retroactive application of new federal drug-sentencing guidelines

The Department of Justice on Tuesday formally announced that it would support a plan to reduce sentences for drug offenders who have not been involved in violent crimes. The DOJ is backing those who have suggested applying retroactively new reduced sentencing guidelines for drug trafficking to those who are already…

Jun 10, 2014 9:28 PM CDT

US asks court for additional deletions in drone-strike memo

The U.S. Justice Department isn’t yet ready to release a redacted memo justifying the killing of an American terrorism suspect living overseas. The Justice Department agreed last week to release the memo, paving the way for confirmation of its author, David Barron, as a judge on the Boston-based 1st U.S.…

May 29, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Drone-memo author is confirmed as federal appeals judge

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Harvard law professor David Barron as a judge on the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals amid controversy over a memo he wrote for the U.S. Justice Department. The Senate confirmed Barron on Thursday after the Justice Department indicated it would release Barron’s memo…

May 23, 2014 12:46 PM CDT

Airbnb will provide anonymous user data in New York’s investigation of illegal hotels

The home-rental website Airbnb has agreed to turn over anonymous user data in a New York probe of violations of a state hotel law that bars short-term apartment rentals. The website will give the anonymous data to New York Attorney General Schneiderman, according to the agreement (PDF). Airbnb will turn…

May 21, 2014 4:31 PM CDT

US will release drone-strike memo holding up judicial confirmation of former Justice official

U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. won’t appeal an appeals court order requiring disclosure of a classified legal memo justifying the killing of an American terrorism suspect living overseas, according to published reports. The Justice Department told the White House on Tuesday of its decision to release the 2011 memo…

May 21, 2014 12:50 PM CDT

Credit Suisse will pay $2.6B in tax evasion case, but won’t have to identify US clients

Credit Suisse pleaded guilty on Monday to a criminal charge of conspiring to aid tax evasion and agreed to pay about $2.6 billion in penalties. According to the New York Times DealBook blog, Credit Suisse is the most prominent bank to plead guilty to a criminal charge in the United…

May 20, 2014 1:19 PM CDT

US criminally charges Chinese military officials with cyberspying

Updated: Attorney General Eric Holder has announced an indictment accusing five Chinese military officials of directing a conspiracy to hack into U.S. companies. The indictment alleges that the officials sought to steal trade secrets and intellectual property by hacking operations, report the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA…

May 19, 2014 2:40 PM CDT

A ‘culture of misinformation’? Two senators express concern about DOJ statements to Supreme Court

Two Democratic senators have written Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. to express concerns about statements made to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case challenging the foreign surveillance law. Senators Mark Udall of Colorado and Ron Wyden of Oregon claimed the administration is trying to “ignore or justify” statements it…

May 14, 2014 1:31 PM CDT

Former supervisor with US prison bureau is shocked to learn he’s not a citizen

Citizenship was a job requirement when Mario Hernandez worked as a federal prison supervisor. But Hernandez is not a U.S. citizen, an issue that wasn’t discovered in background checks conducted every five years when Hernandez worked for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the New York Times reports. Hernandez discovered the…

May 14, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

State AG’s suit says school officials punished middle-school students for reporting sexual abuse

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has filed a lawsuit that alleges school officials in Mingo County retaliated against two middle-school students who reported sexual abuse last year and protected the two male youths they accused. The suit (PDF) claims that school officials minimalized the allegations, undertook an ineffective investigation,…

May 9, 2014 4:35 PM CDT