Government

Why Were Lawyers Wiretapped?

Soliman Al-Buthi has never read Franz Kafka’s The Trial. The absurdist novel chronicles the last months in the life of banker Joseph K., who is arrested, hauled into court, condemned and put to death without ever learning the charges against him. Al-Buthi doesn’t need Kafka. That’s because he’s living a…

Dec 27, 2009 10:23 PM CST

Did Ex-Marine Take US Customs Job in Plan to Help Mexican Drug Smugglers?

Faced with miles of new fencing at the United States border and upgraded security technology, Mexican traffickers reportedly are using another tactic to bring illegal drugs into this country—corrupting the border police. Among those who may have applied for a Customs and Border Protection job with the intention of cooperating…

Dec 18, 2009 10:26 PM CST

Paper: War Over $340M Court Tower Threatens Rule of Law in Ariz. County

In an escalating yearlong war between government officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County, the sheriff and a local prosecutor are now accusing all members of the governing body, at least four judges, multiple administrators and two lawyers of corruption concerning the construction of a $340 million court office tower. But, based…

Dec 17, 2009 12:51 AM CST

Feds Arrest 30, Including Doctors, in 3-State Medicare Fraud Sweep

Federal authorities have reportedly begun rounding up 30 suspects, including doctors and nurses, in a three-state Medicare fraud sweep. Arrests are expected Brooklyn, N.Y., Detroit and the Miami-Dade area in Florida, reports the Miami Herald. South Florida is the epicenter of the problem nationally, which generally involves bribes paid for…

Dec 15, 2009 8:48 PM CST

Prosecutor’s E-Mail Sent to His Lawyer on a Work Account is Privileged, Court Says

A federal prosecutor’s e-mail to his own lawyer is privileged, even though he sent it from work on a government computer, a federal court has ruled. Because he is allowed to use his work e-mail account for personal communications, assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel had a reasonable expectation of privacy…

Dec 15, 2009 7:06 PM CST

Judges Are Believers in Meditation Program for Parolees

Approached by a stranger business suit who wanted to teach prison inmates in Missouri to meditate, “I thought he was crazy at first,” state Circuit Judge David Mason tells the Washington Post. But now, some 14 years later, Mason has long been persuaded of the wide-ranging stress-reduction benefits of the…

Dec 14, 2009 10:38 PM CST

Supreme Court to Decide Privacy Rights of Texting Government Employees

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police officers have a constitutional right to privacy in their personal text messages sent on city-owned pagers. The Supreme Court will review a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the officers have a reasonable…

Dec 14, 2009 4:58 PM CST

New Turmoil in Embattled Ariz. County as Appeals Court Bans Sheriff from Searching Judge’s Computers

In the latest turmoil in an Arizona county in which the sheriff’s office and a government lawyer are virtually at war with members of the judiciary and elected officials, a state appeals court has issued a temporary restraining order barring the execution of a search warrant on the home and…

Dec 12, 2009 1:22 AM CST

Criminal Case Against Ariz. Judge Raises Questions About Prosecution

After yesterday’s announcement of felony charges against the presiding criminal court judge in Maricopa County, some lawyers in Arizona are questioning the ethics of a county attorney involved in bringing the charges and even calling for outside intervention. Such prosecutions of a judge over his rulings on assigned cases are…

Dec 11, 2009 1:57 AM CST

Over Body-Freezing Co.‘s Objection, Judge OKs Autopsy of Client’s Corpse

Concerning that a client’s corpse is “decomposing by the minute,” a cryogenics company today asked a Florida judge to stop a planned autopsy to determine why a 48-year-old Navy veteran died last week. But Hillsborough Circuit Judge Martha Cook denied the emergency petition by Alcor Life Extension Foundation, saying that…

Dec 10, 2009 9:29 PM CST

Judge Axes Guilty Plea, Says Broadcom Exec Didn’t Lie to SEC, Dismisses Case

Nearly 18 months ago, Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli pleaded guilty to a felony charge of lying to securities regulators about his role in an alleged company stock options backdating scheme. But in fact Samueli didn’t make any material misstatement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal judge…

Dec 10, 2009 6:15 PM CST

Judge Criminally Charged re Court Rulings in Battle for Control of Ariz. County

A sitting Arizona judge has been charged with three major felonies, apparently at least partly in connection with his court rulings concerning a battle among local officials for control of Maricopa County and an ongoing dispute over the construction of a $340 million court tower. Although news coverage is sketchy…

Dec 10, 2009 12:36 AM CST

Lawyer Sues N.Y. Over Alleged Harm to His Reputation from Pension Clawback

After winning an initial round in an ongoing battle with the state of New York over his contested pension benefits, an attorney is fighting back with a lawsuit alleging that his professional reputation was harmed as a result of a due-process violation. A New York judge ruled earlier this year…

Dec 8, 2009 6:13 PM CST

US Plans to Revise Blago Charges to Avoid ‘Honest Services’ Problem

Prosecutors plan to revise charges against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to avoid any delays that could be caused by an adverse Supreme Court ruling on honest services fraud. The court filing says the new charges will still focus on the same alleged misconduct, but the new charges will avoid…

Dec 8, 2009 5:57 PM CST

Ex-Mayor Denies Gucci Shoes, Takes 5th in $1M Detroit Restitution Battle

Asked whether he had spent $595 on Gucci shoes, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said the brand doesn’t fit his feet properly. But, he admitted in a Detroit court hearing today, he did spend $15,000 on plastic surgery for his wife within weeks of telling a judge he couldn’t afford…

Dec 8, 2009 12:18 AM CST