Government

Justices Grapple with Technology in Cop’s Privacy Suit Involving Steamy Text Messages

U.S. Supreme Court justices had some questions about pager technology in a suit that contends a police officer’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when supervisors read his steamy text messages sent on a department-issued device. What happens, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wanted to know, if the officer “is…

Apr 20, 2010 2:35 PM CDT

Former White House Counsel Is Advising Goldman Sachs

President Obama’s first White House counsel, Gregory Craig, is advising Goldman Sachs as it fights a civil fraud suit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Craig is a lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who is assigned to represent the investment bank, according to Bloomberg and…

Apr 20, 2010 11:42 AM CDT

Lawyer in Hot Water for Helping Newspaper Reporter Write About Prison Sex

A Kansas attorney could have his law license suspended for helping a newspaper reporter interview inmates for a story about alleged illegal sex and the trafficking of contraband within the Topeka Correctional Facility. An investigator with the state’s office of attorney discipline has recommended a six-month suspension for Keen Umbehr,…

Apr 19, 2010 9:11 PM CDT

Former Blackwater Gen’l Counsel, 4 Other Ex-Execs Indicted in Weapons Case

Five former executives of a private security company that made headlines over its involvement in a 2007 Baghdad shooting incident that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead are now under indictment, facing apparently unrelated charges that they illegally stockpiled automatic weapons at Blackwater Worldwide’s headquarters in North Carolina and filed false…

Apr 17, 2010 12:06 AM CDT

Shock Waves at Manhattan DA’s Office as Veteran Lawyers Are Laid Off

Faced with a 25 percent budget cut, the newly elected Manhattan District Attorney has made layoffs. Although the total number of positions Cyrus Vance Jr. cut was under 10, the action sent shock waves through the office because all the lawyers asked to resign were said by unidentified prosecutors to…

Apr 16, 2010 6:52 PM CDT

Lawyers ‘Livid’ and ‘Upset’ Over Destroyed Interrogation Tapes, E-Mails Show

A decision by a top official of the CIA to destroy 92 videotapes showing the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects was done without the knowledge or assent of two top lawyers—White House counsel Harriet Miers and CIA acting general counsel John Rizzo, according to newly released e-mails. The lawyers were…

Apr 16, 2010 12:33 PM CDT

Benjamin Hooks, Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 85

Benjamin Hooks, a minister, a lawyer and renowned civil rights leader who revitalized the NAACP while serving as its executive director from 1977 to 1992, died today at his home in Memphis, Tenn., after a long illness. He was 85 years old. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II,…

Apr 15, 2010 8:15 PM CDT

Lawyer Plans to Sue Town Over Citizen E-Mail Addresses Given to Others

A Florida lawyer who is a resident and volunteer in Miami Lakes plans to sue the municipality over its policy of treating citizen e-mail addresses as public records. Ceasar Mestri announced his plan to seek a declaratory judgment from a state court on the issue at yesterday’s town council meeting,…

Apr 14, 2010 8:35 PM CDT

Report: FDIC and OTS Sat Back as WaMu ‘Mortgage Time Bomb’ Ticked

Federal bank regulators took a lackadaisical approach as signposts loomed pointing toward Washington Mutual’s record-breaking 2008 collapse, allowing executives to continue on a course of risky subprime lending that one WaMu executive characterized as “a mortgage time bomb,” according to information released today by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on…

Apr 12, 2010 10:59 PM CDT

Jail Officials Recorded Inmate Threats to Murder Police But Did Nothing to Stop Him, Attorney Says

Jailhouse monitoring of prisoners’ phone conversations has previously ignited controversy from opponents of the practice over claimed violations of attorney-client privilege and inmates’ constitutional rights. But a planned $134 million lawsuit announced today in Washington state contends that officials in Pierce County haven’t been listening closely enough to prisoner phone…

Apr 9, 2010 12:06 AM CDT

Manhattan DA Works Misdemeanor Call in Effort to Reduce Case Backlog

The top prosecutor in Manhattan scrambled to handle a busy misdemeanor call this morning, making plea deals in minor check forgery cases and reporting grand jury action in petty larcenies in an effort to make a dent in a backlog of cases. Rookie Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has…

Apr 8, 2010 10:44 PM CDT

Watch the Video: Would-Be AG Says She’s Qualified Despite Zero Trial Experience

A deposition that has made headlines in Connecticut–especially after counsel for the deponent, secretary of state and would-be Democratic attorney general candidate Susan Bysiewicz, briefly sought a protective order to prevent disclosure of the transcript and video of the three-day session–has now been made public. As her testimony on March…

Apr 8, 2010 8:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Pleads to Law Firm Theft, Resigns Gov’t. Job Citing ‘Combination of Factors’

A Tennessee attorney has pleaded guilty to felony theft from his former law firm and resigned as Knox County Law Director, effective today. Special prosecutor H. Greeley Wells Jr. says William Lockett Jr. pocketed $62,572.99 in client fees intended for Kennerly Montgomery & Finley and still owes the firm about…

Apr 8, 2010 5:05 PM CDT

DOJ Places Gag Order on ‘Largely Invisible’ Laurence Tribe

Noted Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe is facing some constraints in his new, specially created job in the Obama administration as “senior counselor for access to justice.” Tribe has a small budget and a limited staff, and he is not allowed to speak to the press, the New York…

Apr 8, 2010 2:29 PM CDT

Prosecutors Want Testimony of Ex-Ill. Gov’s General Counsel

Prosecutors in the federal corruption case against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich have asked a federal judge to force his one-time general counsel to testify. Prosecutors claim the attorney client privilege doesn’t apply to conversations between public officials and their taxpayer-provided lawyers, the Chicago Tribune reports. Prosecutors also say Blagojevich…

Apr 8, 2010 12:44 PM CDT