Government

Maricopa County Supervisors Exchange Fire with Ogletree Deakins Over Sheriff’s Suits

Upping the ante in a hard-fought battle for control of Maricopa County, Ariz., that some observers fear has threatened the rule of law there, the county’s board of supervisors is reportedly expected to consider tomorrow whether to fire the private law firm that has been representing the sheriff’s office in…

Sep 21, 2010 11:12 PM CDT

As Gov & Lawmakers Sparred Over Top Court Vacancy, Chief Judge Made Temp Appointment

As the new governor of New Jersey and state lawmakers deadlocked for months about filling a vacancy on the state’s highest court, its top judge finally took action. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner filled the vacancy—temporarily—himself, two weeks ago, by elevating a judge from state appellate court. Whether he had the…

Sep 21, 2010 10:45 PM CDT

Did Border Patrol Have Right to Deport Baby, a US Citizen, Over Citizen Mom’s Objections?

Updated: Deporting a baby, who happened to be a United States citizen, along with her undocumented Mexican father, despite frantic objections from her U.S. citizen mother, was hardly optimal, a federal appeals court said. But the majority opinion in a sharply divided panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit…

Sep 21, 2010 12:16 AM CDT

DOL Sues Tyson Sub for Discrimination, Seeks to Cancel All Federal Contracts

The Department of Labor has filed an administrative complaint against a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc., alleging that Tyson Fresh Meat systematically refused to hire women at its Joslin, Ill., plant. In addition to seeking back pay for 750 rejected applicants and jobs for 100, the DOL is also seeking…

Sep 16, 2010 12:02 AM CDT

Case Closed Against WSJ Reporter Arrested in Courthouse Interview With Blago Lawyer

A federal court in Chicago has dismissed a misdemeanor case against a Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in July while trying to conduct a courthouse lobby interview of a defense lawyer during the high-profile corruption trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Douglas Belkin declined to comment, but…

Sep 15, 2010 9:34 PM CDT

11th Circuit Must Decide: Did Lawyer with TB Plead a Sufficient Case Against CDC?

A lawyer who found himself at the center of an international furor after traveling with what was originally publicly proclaimed to be a highly contagious form of tuberculosis is fighting to revive a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alleging that the CDC violated his privacy by…

Sep 15, 2010 7:07 PM CDT

County Sues 70 Alleged Gang Members, Seeking to Give Police New Powers

Taking a page out a playbook being used in California and by a neighboring suburban Chicago county, officials in Kane County have filed a civil suit against 70 alleged gang members in Elgin. If it is successful, in addition to potentially winning monetary damages, the suit will prevent the defendants…

Sep 15, 2010 5:52 PM CDT

Judge Dismisses Baltimore Blight Suit Against Wells Fargo, Will Allow Refiling

A federal judge has dismissed an unusual “reverse redlining” lawsuit in which Baltimore contends Wells Fargo Bank’s subprime mortgage loans cost the city tax revenue by targeting minority homeowners for high-interest debt that encouraged them to default. As a result, the city contended, not only these properties but surrounding areas…

Sep 15, 2010 1:27 AM CDT

US Citizen Deported as Illegal Alien Returns to Texas, Mulls Possible Suit

Alberto Delgado was born in the United States. But he doesn’t speak English very well, because he grew up in Mexico with his mother after his parents divorced. Delgado was detained and questioned for eight hours after a traffic stop in South Texas in June. He says he showed U.S.…

Sep 14, 2010 11:36 PM CDT

Report: Famed Civil Rights Photographer Was Also an FBI Informant

As a trusted ally of the civil rights movement, freelance Memphis, Tenn., photographer Ernest Withers marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and sat in on some sensitive strategy meetings. Immediately after King was assassinated in 1968, Withers took historic photos of his dispirited aides. He had photographed King himself…

Sep 14, 2010 11:10 PM CDT

Judge Orders DNA Tests for City Officials in Ballot Fraud Case Over Alternative Party Primary

A state-court judge has ordered officials in Troy, N.Y., to take DNA tests to help prosecutors determine who may or may not be responsible for alleged absentee ballot fraud in an alternative party primary election a year ago. Court records concerning a search-warrant request claim that individuals affiliated with the…

Sep 14, 2010 5:02 PM CDT

Planned Law Firm Office Building Sparks Architectural Debate

A plan to demolish a historic building in Kansas City, Mo., in order to build an eight-story glass office building anchored by the Polsinelli Shughart law firm has sparked an ongoing architectural debate. Even after the initial plans announced were modified to preserve the facade of the original Spanish-style balcony…

Sep 13, 2010 9:00 PM CDT

Top County Prosecutor & Executive Assistant Indicted in Political Corruption Case

An indictment in a political corruption case was unsealed Friday against the top prosecutor in a suburban Chicago county. McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi, 67, was accused, along with his executive assistant, Joyce Synek, 62, of conspiring together to misuse government staff and equipment for his campaign work between…

Sep 13, 2010 6:21 PM CDT

Saul Ewing Partner’s Success Advice: Meet a Lot of People and Treat Them Well

A Saul Ewing partner who is chairman of the Securities Investor Protection Corp. attributes his success to networking and his faith in God. The Washington Post interviews Orlan Johnson, an “under-the-radar dealmaker,” for a “what it takes” column. Johnson’s resumé includes an internship for the former chief executive of Beatrice…

Sep 13, 2010 3:58 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Represented Ex-Mayor of Detroit to Get 179-Day Law License Suspension

In the latest penalty assessed in an ongoing series attorney discipline cases resulting from a controversial secret settlement in a Detroit police whistleblower case, the lawyer who represented then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was given a 179-day license suspension today by the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board. However, such penalties are normally stayed…

Sep 10, 2010 9:31 PM CDT