Government

Top S.C. Court Tells State Gov to Take $700M in Federal Stimulus Money

Siding with South Carolina legislators in a budgetary power play with the state’s chief executive, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered Gov. Mark Sanford to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money that lawmakers included in the state spending plan. Sanford opposed accepting the money, which will be used…

Jun 4, 2009 10:07 PM CDT

Lawyer for New York City Accused of Mortgage Fraud

An assistant corporation counsel for New York City has been placed on administrative leave after federal prosecutors accused him of mortgage fraud. Lawyer Hugh Zuber, 38, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, including mortgage fraud, and forging a judicial signature, according to LoHud.com. He made an…

Jun 3, 2009 4:02 PM CDT

Federal Judge Tells DOJ to Make Gitmo Case Files Public

Siding with the media and lawyers representing detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., today gave the government a July 29 deadline. By that date, the U.S. Department of Justice must either to seek to protect specific information about the cases against…

Jun 2, 2009 12:25 AM CDT

Oops. Fooled By Fake No-Parking Signs, Police in Fla. Town Issue 233 Tickets

The no-parking signs around a popular city restaurant looked legitimate, apparently even to police officers in Tarpon Springs, Fla. They reportedly issued 233 citations for “violations” of the seeming parking ban over a two-year period. But the signs were actually fakes for which a local developer with a beef against…

May 28, 2009 6:51 PM CDT

Fla. City Says Gay Pride Rainbow Flags Violate Banner Rule, Lack Written Message

A Florida group trying to hang rainbow flags from street lights poles during an annual gay pride event in St. Petersburg has run into a roadblock. Because the flags don’t contain a written message, such as “St. Pete Pride,” they violate the city’s street banner policy, officials tell the St.…

May 27, 2009 7:38 PM CDT

Next Calif. AG Will Make 18% Less Than Jerry Brown’s $184K

Across-the-board pay cuts for top officers of the state of California being made in the midst of a budget crisis include an 18 percent decrease for the next attorney general after Jerry Brown finishes his current term. Approved Wednesday by a 5-1 vote of the California Citizens Compensation Commission, the…

May 22, 2009 10:30 PM CDT

Federal Judge Grants Craigslist Injunction Against South Carolina AG

A federal judge in South Carolina has granted an injunction sought by Craigslist Inc. in a declaratory judgment action against the state’s attorney general. U.S. District Judge Weston Houck today ordered AG Henry McMaster “to refrain from initiating or pursuing any prosecution against Craigslist or its officers,” reports the Associated…

May 22, 2009 9:45 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge to Hear Request to Ban Media Photos of Handcuffed N.Y. Lawmaker

Saying that First Amendment protections are not absolute, a federal judge in New York has scheduled a hearing to consider whether the media’s repeated publication of photographs of an apparently handcuffed New York lawmaker violate his right to a fair trial. Rejecting arguments by a lawyer for Newsday and News12…

May 21, 2009 6:25 PM CDT

Craigslist Sues South Carolina AG in Showdown Over Erotic Services Ads

Threatened with potential criminal prosecution over its role in allegedly promoting prostitution through Internet ads posted by third parties on its website, Craiglist Inc. has responded with a pre-emptive strike. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in South Carolina today, the national classified advertising website seeks a declaratory judgment…

May 20, 2009 10:44 PM CDT

Former Judge Cleared in Fla. Probe of Woman’s $400K Gifts to His Family

A former Florida judge who made headlines when he presided over custody hearings concerning Anna Nicole Smith’s infant daughter has been cleared once again in a second state agency investigation of over $400,000 in gifts reportedly made to his family by an elderly woman. There were no indications of exploitation…

May 20, 2009 8:32 PM CDT

Did 5 Detroit Lawyers Craft $8.4M Pact to Conceal Ex-Mayor’s Perjury?

Five lawyers who helped craft a controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit that papered over then-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s perjury in police whistle-blower litigation are now facing ethics charges. They include not only top in-house attorneys and outside counsel for the city but plaintiffs lawyer Mike Stefani, who…

May 20, 2009 5:40 PM CDT

Facing Budget Crisis, Calif. Gov Asks, What About Legalizing—and Taxing—Marijuana?

Advocates for the legalization of marijuana apparently may be gaining traction with a perhaps-unlikely ally to their cause—the Republican governor of California. In news that has been making national headlines for weeks, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he is not necessarily in favor of decriminalizing marijuana, according to the Christian Science…

May 19, 2009 11:57 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rejects Medical Marijuana Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to California’s medical marijuana law. San Diego County had sought to overturn the state’s medical marijuana laws in “a last, long-shot chance” before the Supreme Court, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. San Diego County, joined by San Bernardino County, claimed…

May 18, 2009 5:34 PM CDT

Shocking Story Update: 43 Fla. Kids Stunned, 21 Prison Workers Disciplined

Within little over one day last month, 43 Florida schoolchildren visiting three separate state prisons were reportedly jolted, directly and indirectly, with electronic stun guns during what the Miami Herald describes as “Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day” events gone wrong. In a fourth situation that same day,…

May 15, 2009 11:25 PM CDT

Miller Canfield Lawyer Charged in Biker Gang Case to Resign Detroit Post

Updated: Before his orientation was even finished, a Detroit lawyer announced Wednesday that a member of the new city mayor’s volunteer crisis turnaround team has effectively been fired. Meanwhile, the mayor is taking it on the chin from a political opponent for his choice of Hatim “Tim” Attalla, who works…

May 15, 2009 7:37 PM CDT