Lawyer Files Ethics Complaint Against Miss. AG Claiming Campaign Ad Prejudged His Client

A defense lawyer alleges in an ethics complaint that Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood “unjustly condemned” his client in a campaign ad. Lawyer Brian Alexander filed the complaint based on a campaign ad that pictured his client, Jeremy Manieri, report the Biloxi Sun Herald, WLOX and the Associated Press. The…

Nov 30, 2011 2:17 PM CST

Jury Convicts Texas Judge in Bribery Case; Campaign Donors Allegedly Expected Favorable Rulings

A Texas judge was convicted yesterday of multiple counts of bribery and other crimes, in a case focused on 2008 campaign donations from individuals who allegedly expected favorable rulings in a family court matter, in exchange for the money. District Judge Suzanne Wooten, 43, testified that she knew nothing about…

Nov 23, 2011 9:02 PM CST

Lawyer Says AG Campaign Ad Calling His Client a Priest-Murderer Has Tainted Jury Pool

Defense lawyer Brian Alexander claims the Mississippi attorney general managed to taint the jury pool throughout the entire state because of a campaign ad that prejudged the guilt of Alexander’s client. According to WLOX, Alexander is taking issue with this line in the ad by Attorney General Jim Hood: “Then,…

Nov 10, 2011 5:22 PM CST

Herman Cain Denies All Claims of Sexual Harassment, Retains ‘Pit Bull’ Celebrity Libel Lawyer

Following reported claims by four women that he sexually harassed them years ago when he headed the National Restaurant Association, Herman Cain continues to say all of the allegations are false. And the Republican presidential candidate has hired celebrity libel lawyer Lin Wood, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’ve been brought…

Nov 9, 2011 2:02 AM CST

Justice O’Connor Defends Her Post-Retirement Work

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor hasn’t slowed down in retirement, and some of her work is provoking controversy. O’Connor has participated in more than 140 cases before federal appeals courts since she retired from the Supreme Court in 2005, even as she backs changes in states that…

Nov 7, 2011 3:45 PM CST

Investigators Seize Pa. Lawmaker and Ex-Prosecutor’s Computers in Evidence-Tampering Probe

Three Pennsylvania state senate computer hard drives were seized in Harrisburg today concerning a probe of what a judge called doctored evidence when he declared a mistrial earlier this year for a lawmaker accused in a political corruption case. Defense exhibits in the trial of Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, who…

Oct 21, 2011 8:14 PM CDT

Cutting Edge: San Francisco Judge Orders Circumcision Measure Off the Ballot

Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM CDT

Unions That Criticized Citizens United Now Embrace the Campaign Finance Ruling

Unions initially criticized the U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that corporations have a First Amendment right to expressly support political candidates for Congress and the White House. But now the unions are following the lead of corporations and taking advantage of the 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election…

Sep 26, 2011 3:41 PM CDT

Citizens United: Good for Gay Rights?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling has gotten lots of attention for its holding that corporations have a First Amendment right to support political candidates. But little attention has been paid to a section of the 2010 decision upholding campaign disclosure requirements. The Supreme Court’s support for transparency wasn’t…

Sep 19, 2011 4:07 PM CDT

Center Stage for the First Amendment: Protecting Controversial Speech Shows a Libertarian Bent

Sep 1, 2011 7:50 AM CDT

Celebrity Litigator Pleads Guilty to Illegal Campaign Contributions

Pierce O’Donnell, a Los Angeles litigator whose clients over the years included Faye Dunaway, Art Buchwald and Steven Spielberg, pleaded guilty yesterday to making illegal campaign contributions. The federal plea agreement states that the two charges are misdemeanors, according to the Los Angeles Times. O’Donnell, a former clerk for U.S.…

Aug 5, 2011 9:40 PM CDT

Blagojevich Found Guilty of 17 Corruption Counts

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was tried on 20 criminal counts ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy to soliciting a bribe, was convicted on 17 of those counts this afternoon. A status hearing for Blagojevich’s sentencing is set for Aug. 1, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge James…

Jun 27, 2011 7:35 PM CDT

Supreme Court Strikes Down Arizona Campaign Finance Law

Developing: The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Arizona’s system of public financing for political campaigns on First Amendment grounds. The law gave publicly financed candidates more public dollars when their privately funded opponents spent more. The court struck down the law in a 5-4 decision holding that the matching…

Jun 27, 2011 2:41 PM CDT

John Edwards Is Indicted; Charges Based on FEC Advisory Opinion

Updated: Former presidential candidate John Edwards was indicted today on charges related to payments made to his former campaign aide and mistress. Edwards was charged with four counts of illegal campaign contributions, one count of conspiracy and one count of false statements, the Washington Post reports. The prosecution contends that…

Jun 3, 2011 1:11 PM CDT

As Other States Watch, Florida’s Redistricting Fracas May Set the Lines for the Future

The polls had closed only hours earlier when the electronic complaint sailed across the virtual transom over the federal courthouse door in downtown Miami just shy of 2 a.m. on Nov. 3, hitting the docket with a resounding thud. Nearly two-thirds of the Florida voters who went to the polls…

Jun 1, 2011 8:50 AM CDT