Government

‘Perk of Partnership’ at N.Y. Law Firm: Public Pension for No-Show Job

For some lawyers at one Albany, N.Y., area law firm, getting a public pension for a no-show school district job was a standard “perk of partnership,” a state prosecutor said at a news conference today. “Ellen Biben, special deputy attorney general for public integrity, said a number of lawyers of…

May 8, 2008 11:43 PM CDT

Military Judge Threatens to Suspend Khadr Terror Trial Over Evidence Issue

A military judge has sided with the defense in pretrial proceedings in the the controversial terrorism case of a Canadian suspect captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan at age 15. Unless the military turns over to defense lawyers by May 22 a prison log of Omar Khadr’s treatment at the…

May 8, 2008 10:17 PM CDT

Internet Archive’s Suit Gets FBI to Withdraw National Security Letter

The FBI is dropping its demand for information about a subscriber from the Internet Archive as part of a settlement of a lawsuit. The agency is also agreeing to allow discussion of the case, which challenged a national security letter issued by the agency. The victory is one of only…

May 8, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Fla. Tree Owners Win Citrus Comp Class Action, But Get Only $11.5M

Plaintiffs’ counsel had hoped for $50 million or so. But a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., jury effectively awarded less than $5 million to 58,000 Broward County homeowners who had sought additional state compensation for more than 130,000 trees destroyed during a failed campaign to eradicate citrus canker. The total verdict was…

May 7, 2008 5:42 PM CDT

Jury Still Out in Fla. Citrus Tree Class Action; Millions at Stake

The jury apparently is still out in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., class action over the destruction of more than 130,000 citrus trees in Broward County that could require the state government to pay millions of dollars in compensation to 58,000 homeowners. The jury’s deliberations, which began Monday, are being closely…

May 6, 2008 10:12 PM CDT

Restaurant Sex Violated Permit, Pa. Appeals Court Says

Live sex between patrons is not an accessory use permitted under a Philadelphia restaurant permit, a divided Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled. “The majority said sexual activity was not subordinate to dining at Club Kama Sutra because the establishment’s pricing structure seemed more in keeping with that of a sex…

May 6, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Ashcroft & Yoo to Testify in Hearings; House Panel Subpoenas Top Cheney Aide

A House panel is moving ahead with efforts to force testimony by those believed to have played leading roles in helping the Bush administration craft aggressive interrogation policies for terrorism suspects. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft and John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer who wrote an interrogation memo that…

May 6, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

FBI Raids Federal Watchdog Agency

The FBI has raided the watchdog agency created to investigate complaints by federal employees and battle fraud in the U.S. government. Agents searched the Office of Special Counsel this morning and shut down its computer network, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Investigators seized computers and documents belonging to…

May 6, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

Judge Rules Utah Tribe Is Phony, Throws Out Arbitration Awards

A federal judge has ruled that an Indian tribe formed during a meeting at an Arby’s restaurant in Provo, Utah, is a “complete sham” and the judgments awarded to the group by an arbitration council are phony. The group calls itself the Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band, and…

May 6, 2008 2:24 PM CDT

Vietnam Vet Arrested After Pointing Finger at Town Meeting

In the midst of a contentious town meeting in a small Chicago suburb earlier this year, resident Greg Kachka committed a criminal act, officials contend: Wearing a custom T-shirt with a Marine Corps insignia that states “Don’t Move. If You Run, You’ll Only Die Tired!!” the 60-year-old Vietnam veteran pointed…

May 2, 2008 8:22 PM CDT

Texas Appeals Court to Hear Emergency Challenge in Polygamy Ranch Raid

As Texas officials separated more than 100 mothers from their children in a controversial 462-child custody case concerning a religious sect that has advocates polygamy and teenage marriages, a state appeals court has agreed to hear a due-process challenge on an emergency basis. (The number of children said to be…

Apr 25, 2008 12:11 AM CDT

New Louisiana AG Wants to Prosecute Like a Private Practitioner

In his first 12 weeks on the job, the new Louisiana attorney general says he has been busy dealing with (and, in some cases, dismissing) a number of civil actions his predecessor filed at the end of his term and trying to depoliticize the office. James “Buddy” Caldwell, 61 and…

Apr 24, 2008 6:34 PM CDT

Meet Gordon Erspamer, VA’s ‘Worst Nightmare’ in PTSD Benefits Case

A busy BigLaw rainmaker who has for nearly 30 years made time to promote the rights of armed services veterans “is a big, unresponsive government agency’s worst nightmare,” a California newspaper says. Gordon Erspamer, a Morrison & Foerster partner who went to trial this week in a federal class action…

Apr 24, 2008 5:43 PM CDT

$7.4 M Legal Bill Stuns Officials in Mich. Girls Sports Season Case

Officials at the Michigan High School Athletic Association are still reeling, weeks after a federal judge awarded $7.4 million in legal fees to the prevailing plaintiff in a 10-year-old case contending that Michigan’s sports seasons discriminated against girls. Now, saying that an award of prejudgment interest, in particular, came as…

Apr 22, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

Child Protection v. the Constitution: Did Removal of 437 Kids Violate Parents’ Rights?

Updated: As the state of Texas proceeds with DNA tests this week to try to determine exactly who parents and siblings are in a controversial custody case that, at last count, involved 437 children, lawyers for the families—as well as some observers—are expressing concern about possible violations of parents’ constitutional…

Apr 22, 2008 6:28 PM CDT