Attorney General

Could George Zimmerman face federal prosecution? Justice Department is examining the case

George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin does not necessarily mean his criminal justice woes are over. The U.S. Justice Department announced on Sunday that its civil rights division has restarted an investigation of the incident, the New York Times reports. The probe had been delayed during…

Jul 15, 2013 11:48 AM CDT

Apple vows appeal after judge’s ‘stern rebuke’ of e-book strategy

Apple has promised to appeal a judge’s ruling Wednesday that the company colluded with five major U.S. publishers to drive up e-book prices as it entered the market in 2010. “Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations,” an Apple…

Jul 10, 2013 6:46 PM CDT

As Eric Holder promises justice, Snowden may have more US secrets stored on thumb drive

As the world waits to see where former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will surface after exposing a sweeping U.S. phone-surveillance program, it appears that he may have further secret files to reveal, at least some of which were transferred to a forbidden thumb drive. In addition to collecting…

Jun 14, 2013 3:45 PM CDT

US drops appeal over morning-after pill, paving way for sale without age restrictions

The United States won’t appeal a federal judge’s scathing ruling allowing unrestricted sales of the morning-after pill. The Justice Department announced plans to drop the appeal on Monday in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of Brooklyn, report the New York Times and the Washington Post. Korman ruled…

Jun 11, 2013 12:48 PM CDT

In ‘high-stakes gamble’ against extradition, surveillance whistleblower is in Hong Kong

Former CIA employee Edward Snowden revealed in a Guardian video interview from Hong Kong over the weekend that he is the leaker who exposed the data collection program by the National Security Agency. Can he avoid extradition? According to the Guardian, it’s a “high-stakes gamble” for the 29-year-old man. Snowden…

Jun 10, 2013 12:27 PM CDT

Leaker tells New York Times about off-the-record meeting on handling leak probes

Attorney General Eric Holder held an off-the-record meeting with journalists on Thursday to discuss possible changes in how the Justice Department handles investigations of reporters. The meeting follows a controversy over the department’s seizure of reporter phone records as part of its investigations into leaks of secret government information. What…

May 31, 2013 1:42 PM CDT

Reported nominee for FBI chief signed off on waterboarding, ACLU says

President Obama’s reported nominee to head the FBI, former Justice Department official James Comey, is being criticized by some civil liberties groups. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Obama planned to nominate Comey, formerly a deputy attorney general, U.S. attorney, hedge fund official and general counsel at Lockheed…

May 31, 2013 12:59 PM CDT

Holder spars with Issa over email release, says the lawmaker’s behavior is ‘shameful’

Attorney General Eric Holder clashed with a Republican lawmaker from California on Wednesday during questioning about a purported deal to drop a lawsuit against the city of St. Paul, Minn. Holder told U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa that his behavior was “unacceptable” and “shameful,” report ABC News, the Hill and the…

May 16, 2013 1:54 PM CDT

Obama has worse record than Nixon on press freedoms, says Pentagon Papers lawyer

A lawyer who represented the New York Times in a successful fight to publish the Pentagon Papers says the Nixon administration was deeply distrustful of journalists, but the Obama administration has a worse record on press freedoms. James Goodale expressed his opinion after the Associated Press revealed that the Justice…

May 15, 2013 3:21 PM CDT

Would-be law prof, a former state AG, loses age bias suit against Georgetown

A federal judge has dismissed an age bias suit filed against Georgetown University Law Center by former North Dakota Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle dismissed the case last week, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Spaeth had sued six schools after he…

May 14, 2013 11:35 AM CDT

AP complains of ‘massive and unprecedented intrusion’ by DOJ into reporters’ phone records

In a letter Monday to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Associated Press complains of a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” by the Department of Justice into its reporters’ newsgathering activities, contending that the feds secretly obtained two months of phone records on 20 lines used by AP journalists, including home and…

May 13, 2013 10:05 PM CDT

Thanks to DOJ OK, liquor companies saved 50 percent using predictive coding

Two beer companies seeking to merge won Justice Department approval after a review that used technology to find relevant electronic documents. The U.S. Department of Justice gave its OK to the use of a computerized document search using predictive coding in its review of the proposed merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev…

May 7, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Sovereignty showdown: Kansas plans to defend law shielding state guns from US regulation

Kansas officials are readying for a clash with the federal government after Attorney General Eric Holder declared that the state’s new gun law is unconstitutional. The state’s attorney general is seeking $225,000 to defend the state’s Second Amendment Protection Act, signed into law on April 17, the Kansas City Star…

May 3, 2013 6:29 PM CDT

Puppy mills and dogfighting rings targeted by New York’s attorney general

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced an animal protection initiative aimed at dogfighting rings and puppy mills. Schneiderman plans to monitor whether pet stores are complying with laws that require them to disclose the source of their animals and the history of their veterinary treatment, the New York…

May 3, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Obama is un-PC in remarks about AG thought to be Supreme Court material

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has a lot going for her. She is thought to be a possible Supreme Court nominee. She has cracked down on mortgage fraud and prosecuted drug traffickers. Is she also the best looking attorney general in the country? President Obama apparently thinks so, and his…

Apr 5, 2013 12:03 PM CDT