Government

There Ought to Be a Law ... Against Body Odor and Being Loaded While Loaded?

Despite a plethora of laws already on the books, there’s still plenty of bad behavior that hasn’t yet been banned. But officials in New York and Hawaii are proposing laws to close two such loopholes. Noting that there is no law making it criminal to carry a loaded weapon while…

Sep 3, 2009 10:24 PM CDT

Definition of ‘Service Animal’ a Hot Issue in Pet-Friendly Portland, Ore.

It may seem like a no-brainer that dogs don’t belong in a supermarket. But in pet-friendly Portland, Ore., the question is controversial enough to require state officials to weigh in with a new campaign intended to educate the public about what is and is not a service animal, reports the…

Sep 3, 2009 7:32 PM CDT

Madoff Thought Jig Was Up in 2006, But SEC Didn’t Check Trades

Questioned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2006, Bernard Madoff gave the feds his account number at the Depository Trust Co. independent clearing agency and figured he was only hours away from being exposed as the architect of a massive investment fraud. “I thought it was the end,…

Sep 3, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Study: US Government Will Need to Go on Hiring Binge, Legal Jobs Included

A study by a think tank says the federal government needs to hire more than 270,000 workers in “mission-critical” jobs, and the legal sector is one of five fields where more workers are needed. The study by the Partnership for Public Service says hiring will need to be beefed up,…

Sep 3, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

Pfizer Whistle-Blower’s $51.5M Payday Could Spark More Qui Tam Suits

Five whistle-blowers will share $102 million as part of a record-breaking $2.3 billion settlement by Pfizer Inc. of a federal criminal probe and civil qui tam litigation over the company’s drug-marketing practices. Among those expecting a hefty payday under the False Claims Act is a former Texas sales representative for…

Sep 3, 2009 12:09 AM CDT

Credit Card Co. Amends Policy After Telling Vision-Impaired Woman to Fill Out Form

A national credit card company whose workers told a vision-impaired woman that she had to fill out a written form to make a complaint about merchandise she says she was charged for but never received has promised to change its policies. In an agreement announced yesterday by New York Attorney…

Sep 2, 2009 11:25 PM CDT

SEC Never Did ‘Thorough & Competent’ Madoff Probe, Internal Report Says

Despite at least six complaints over a period of nearly a decade that Bernard Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme under the guise of a hedge fund, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission never did a “thorough and competent” investigation into what turned out to be a record-breaking $65 billion…

Sep 2, 2009 7:59 PM CDT

Stanford Receiver Defends $27M Bill Against SEC’s ‘Shrill Objections’

In an unusual public battle over a court-appointed receiver’s $27 million bill, attorney Ralph Janvey is telling the feds that cleaning up an alleged $7 billion bank Ponzi scheme of which Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford is the accused mastermind costs money. In a filing last night in federal district…

Sep 2, 2009 6:22 PM CDT

Pfizer to Pay Record $2.3B, Subsidiary to Plead to Felony in Drug Marketing Case

A $2.3 billion global settlement by Pfizer Inc. detailed by federal authorities today reportedly includes a number of record payments to resolve both a federal criminal probe and a pharmaceutical whistle-blower case. The case concerns the company’s alleged illegal off-label marketing of multiple drugs and related claimed Medicare/Medicaid fraud, according…

Sep 2, 2009 5:41 PM CDT

CIA Resists Disclosure of Additional Interrogation Documents

The CIA has told a federal court that disclosure of additional documents about its interrogation of terrorism detainees could jeopardize national security. The CIA outlined its position in a court filing in a freedom of information suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The CIA said the documents, including…

Sep 2, 2009 11:49 AM CDT

DOJ to Hire 50 More Lawyers, Gear Up for Civil Rights Enforcement Drive

The U.S. Department of Justice is gearing up for a renewed emphasis on traditional civil rights enforcement after a shift in focus during the administration of former President George W. Bush to a greater emphasis on religious rights, human trafficking and individual cases in which there was evidence of intentional…

Sep 1, 2009 10:04 PM CDT

Ex-Ontario AG Charged in Fatal Accident; Victim Reportedly Clung to Car

A former attorney general in Ontario, Canada, Michael Bryant, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death after a fatal auto accident in Toronto yesterday. The victim, a 33-year-old bicycle courier, clung to the side of a convertible for about 100…

Sep 1, 2009 8:14 PM CDT

Law Says Ill. Inmates Must Get DNA Tests, But Some 50K Weren’t Done

A state law took effect in Illinois in 2002 requiring officials to collect DNA samples from convicts before they were released from prison or county probation. But officials didn’t do so for perhaps 50,000 released individuals, reports the Chicago Tribune. Among the reasons why are a shortage of both test…

Sep 1, 2009 5:55 PM CDT

Minn. County Must Pay for Lawyer for Mother in Child-Custody Case

Everyone agreed that a mother at risk of losing custody of her child needed a lawyer. But who would pay the attorney’s fees? She couldn’t afford to, and officials for Rice County and the state of Minnesota pointed the finger at each other. Upholding County Judge Thomas Neuville, a state…

Sep 1, 2009 5:38 PM CDT

Venable Partner Resigns, Lost Monitor Job Due to Texts With Ex-Detroit Mayor

A white-collar criminal defense partner has resigned from Venable after stepping down in July from her role as an independent monitor of court-mandated Detroit police reforms. Sheryl Robinson Wood resigned from the law firm effective yesterday, a spokeswoman tells the Detroit Free Press. Wood, who is a former federal prosecutor,…

Sep 1, 2009 5:10 PM CDT