Government

Law Firm’s $8K Monthly ‘Retainer’ Payments to Another Law Firm Were Bribes, Indictment Says

Monthly “retainer” payments of $8,000 by one law firm to another law firm were actually bribes, a federal indictment says. It charges Eric Wisler, who was then with DeCotiis Fitzpatrick & Cole, and Wayne Bryant, a former state senator and then-partner in a Cherry Hill, N.J.., law firm, with funneling…

Sep 28, 2010 11:52 PM CDT

Woman Wins $75K for 1-Day Jail Stay + $25K for Strip Search in ID Theft Mix-Up

A Florida jury deliberated only about two hours before awarding a 32-year-old woman $100,000 for being jailed overnight in an identity-theft mix-up. Kimberly Shields Hesketh, 32, was arrested in 2002 on a Charlotte County warrant after a car thief stole her identity and violated probation. Although the mistake was clear…

Sep 28, 2010 10:01 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Consider State Secrets in Contract Dispute Over Avenger Plane

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the federal government violated the Constitution by asserting a state secrets privilege in two disputes involving government contractors. The two companies, the Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp, argue the government’s position prevented them from defending themselves in a contract dispute…

Sep 28, 2010 2:49 PM CDT

Embattled DA Accused of Sending Sexually Harassing Texts Will Resign, His Lawyer Says

An embattled veteran prosecutor in Wisconsin will resign, his lawyer says, following accusations that he sexually harassed at least three women he apparently met on the job, according to the CNN Justice blog. The news came at a scheduling hearing today for what was to be an expedited removal proceeding…

Sep 27, 2010 6:05 PM CDT

Private Conversation on Open Mic Reveals ‘Miracle’ of AG Holder’s Survival

A private conversation between two former White House lawyers caught on an open microphone reveals White House tensions and the “miracle” of Attorney General Eric Holder’s survival. The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times reports on the comments, obtained by the National Law Journal when it requested a recording of…

Sep 27, 2010 1:44 PM CDT

Can Carrier Block Texts Based on Content? T-Mobile Tells Federal Court the Answer Is Yes

In what the Threat Level blog of Wired describes as the first federal case addressing whether wireless providers are permitted to block text messages based on their content, T-Mobile USA Inc. argued in a filing (PDF) yesterday in federal court in Manhattan that it does have this power. The issue…

Sep 23, 2010 11:41 PM CDT

Protect Against Online Attack by Creating Safe ‘Dot-Secure’ Site, Says New US Cyberwar Chief

The chief of the new United States Cyber Command post is calling for the creating of a restricted computer network to help protect critical civilian services, such as the power grid, from Internet attack, reports the New York Times. Dubbed “dot-secure” by some, the proposed network has not been specifically…

Sep 23, 2010 8:47 PM CDT

Add Leon County, Fla., to List of Jurisdictions Probing Planned New Courthouse Construction

It isn’t just in Maricopa County, Ariz., and Philadelphia that expensive new court construction efforts have drawn fire. A grand jury is being convened in Leon County, Fla., to address an unidentified citizen’s complaint about a planned $48 million new courthouse for the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee,…

Sep 23, 2010 6:11 PM CDT

Fireworks Expected: Maricopa Board Axes Ogletree Deakins, Law Firm for Sheriff Arpaio

In the latest battle in a hard-fought war between Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., and the county’s board of supervisors, the governing body voted today to fire the law firm that has been representing Arpaio and his office against the board and even some judges in a fight…

Sep 22, 2010 11:32 PM CDT

Tenn. Prosecutor Resigns, NY Judge Loses License over Relationship with Defendant

An explosion of embarrassing news lately about claimed sexual and relationship misconduct by lawyers in positions of authority has cost two their careers. A longtime Tennessee prosecutor has resigned, after a female defendant in a felony drug case provided text and voice mail messages to support her claims that he…

Sep 22, 2010 6:42 PM CDT

As Gov Leans on Wis. DA in Sext Case, AG Says Lawyer Discipline Group Didn’t Do Its Job

Updated: The governor of Wisconsin promised in a press conference earlier this week to seek the removal of a controversial district attorney accused of harassing two women and asking a third to attend an autopsy on a date, as soon as a citizen made the prerequisite complaint. Now multiple citizens…

Sep 22, 2010 4:59 PM CDT

Eight High-Salaried Officials in LA Suburb Arrested for Alleged Misappropriation

Eight current and former officials of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell were arrested Tuesday on charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million in public funds. Among those arrested was former city manager Robert Rizzo, who earned nearly $800,000 a year, according to stories by CNN, the Associated Press and…

Sep 22, 2010 3:33 PM CDT

Law Grad’s American Dream: A Career and a Better Presidential Answer

Indiana University law school graduate Ted Brassfield is disappointed in President Obama’s answer to his American Dream question, posed at a CNBC town hall meeting. Brassfield, 30, told Obama that he had been inspired by his campaign, but “that inspiration is dying away.” What he really wanted to know, Brassfield…

Sep 22, 2010 2:40 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Reimbursed Commute to Work: $67K

A Wisconsin lawyer who served as the state’s gaming chief counsel had some hefty commuting costs for his 140-mile trips between Chicago and Madison. But the lawyer, Michael McClure, didn’t have to pay. The state of Wisconsin reimbursed him, paying him more than $61,000 for mileage, hotels and meals since…

Sep 22, 2010 11:29 AM CDT

50 Years Later, Harper Lee’s ‘Mockingbird’ Still a Cautionary Tale for Our Times, AG Holder Says

It’s been 50 years since Harper Lee published her now-famous book To Kill a Mockingbird. But her fictional tale of racial injustice, focused on a Southern lawyer’s efforts to defend an unpopular client at trial in a rape case, is still a cautionary story for our times, said U.S. Attorney…

Sep 21, 2010 11:44 PM CDT