Government

Pregnant Pro Se Mom Argued Treatment Case from Hospital Bed & Lost; Will Lawyer Win Appeal?

Already the mother of two daughters, Samantha Burton had obtained prenatal care for her third pregnancy and voluntarily went to the hospital when she experienced symptoms she’d been told to look out for, in the hope of saving her baby, according to her lawyer. When the 29-year-old questioned the medical…

Jan 26, 2010 9:22 PM CST

DA Calls for Boycott of Judge

In a rare call by a prosecutor for a blanket boycott of a jurist, the Santa Clara, Calif., district attorney told her staff Friday not to bring any cases before Superior Court Judge Andrea Bryan. Dolores Carr even confirmed the move in a news release, saying that it was not…

Jan 25, 2010 10:41 PM CST

Ariz. Judges Defending Controversial Civil RICO Case Seemingly Win a Round

The Valley Fever Blog of the Phoenix New Times has made no secret of its negative opinion of the federal racketeering lawsuit (PDF provided by Valley Fever) filed last month by the Maricopa County, Ariz., attorney against a number of county officials, judges and their private legal counsel, on behalf…

Jan 25, 2010 6:22 PM CST

Election ‘Vendetta’ Launched Against Top State-Court Judge Over Abortion Rulings

An anti-abortion group launched a campaign today to oust at least one judge on the Kansas Supreme Court, based on her authorship, on behalf of a majority of the court’s justices, of abortion rulings. The executive director of Kansans for Life tells the Associated Press that the group will campaign…

Jan 23, 2010 1:42 AM CST

Young Lawyer’s Soaring Career Is Interrupted by Federal Indictment

After he graduated from a North Carolina law school in 1998, Charles Ruffin Poole’s legal career clearly was on an upward trajectory for which the sky seemed to be the limit. Hired to work in the state attorney general’s office, he quickly gained a much higher political profile when former…

Jan 22, 2010 7:45 PM CST

IG Urges More ‘Corrective Action’ By DOJ re ‘Troubling’ FBI Pursuit of Phone Records

In a report released today (PDF) with some portions redacted, an inspector general for the U.S. Department of Justice calls for “additional corrective action” concerning a long-standing and “troubling” federal law enforcement program of obtaining telephone records without appropriate legal authorization. Citing emergencies that often didn’t exist and sometimes using…

Jan 21, 2010 1:40 AM CST

9th Cir. Lawyer Sues Obama Admin Over Withheld Benefits for Same-Sex Spouse

A federal government lawyer who works for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sued the Obama administration over its decision to withhold health benefits from her same-sex partner. The decision concerning benefits for the wife of attorney Karen Golinski, who works for the court in San Francisco, was…

Jan 21, 2010 1:05 AM CST

Judge Calls Ex-Detroit Mayor a Liar, Says He Must Pay $319K Within 90 Days

A Michigan judge called the former mayor of Detroit a liar today in a court hearing over Kwame Kilpatrick’s claim that he can’t afford to pay all of the $1 million in restitution called for in plea bargains in two criminal cases. The plea bargains resulted from a racy text-messages…

Jan 20, 2010 11:37 PM CST

New Report Faults Prison ‘Extravagance’ as Officials Seek Cheaper Alternatives

A new report (PDF) by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency on the “Extravagance of Imprisonment” is likely to fall on receptive ears as government officials struggling to balance budgets in many regions throughout the country look for cost-cutting alternatives. Focusing on prison populations in California, Florida, New York…

Jan 20, 2010 9:47 PM CST

Execs & Gen’l Counsel Among 22 Nabbed in 1st FBI Foreign Bribes Sting

In what one observer described as a case of “compliance roulette” marking an apparent new era of federal enforcement concerning illegal foreign bribes, 22 people—including corporate executives and at least one general counsel—have been arrested in what is reportedly the first FBI undercover sting operation concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices…

Jan 19, 2010 11:57 PM CST

DOJ Settles Kindle E-Book Reader Complaints With 4 Colleges

Encouraging college students to use Kindle e-book readers might not seem like a highway to high-profile federal litigation. But that’s what led to a just-announced settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and three well-known institutions of higher learning. Because the Kindle DX electronic reader offered by Amazon as part…

Jan 13, 2010 10:38 PM CST

Ethics Ruling Finds $2M Attorney Fee Excessive in Class Action Aiding 7 People

The founding partner of a Florida law firm violated legal ethics rules by arranging a $7 million class action settlement on behalf of seven individuals rather than all Miami taxpayers, a referee in a Florida Bar attorney disciplinary case has determined. And Henry Adorno of Adorno & Yoss also breached…

Jan 13, 2010 12:45 AM CST

‘Secret’ Videos of Public Police Work Can Be Considered Criminal

Ever since the police beating of Rodney King in 1991 made international headlines after being captured by a citizen bystander on videotape, such recordings have often played a key role in substantiating claims that authorities have abused suspects and arrestees. However, a more than 40-year-old two-party consent law in Massachusetts…

Jan 13, 2010 12:23 AM CST

Suspect in Courthouse Shootout Angry Over Social Security Suit, Officials Say

Although an investigation of today’s fatal shootout at a federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas is still ongoing, unidentified law enforcement officials say the suspect’s anger over losing a lawsuit about his Social Security benefits may have motivated the crime. The officials say Johnny Lee Wicks was killed in a…

Jan 4, 2010 11:48 PM CST

Secret Sharers

A government blunder tipped two lawyers that somebody was spying on them. But a government secrets policy now keeps them from knowing why.

Jan 2, 2010 5:39 AM CST