http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-25T21:27:32-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/irs_official_takes_fifth_in_house_testimony_but_did_she_waive_her_right_to_/ After invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to testify Wednesday, when she was called before a House committee looking into special Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of tax exemptions sought by conservative groups, an IRS official was put on administrative leave Thursday. But some observers are questioning whether Lois Lerner, who… Constitutional Law, Executive Branch, Legislation & Lobbying, Tax Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, District of Columbia Fri, 24 May 2013 07:20:10 -0500 44347.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/8_arrested_in_lobby_of_covingtons_dc_office_during_mortgage_foreclosure_pro/ Eight individuals were arrested Wednesday as they protested the U.S. government's lack of prosecution of bank mortgage foreclosure activities in the lobby of Covington & Burling's office building in Washington, D.C. Seven were charged with unlawful entry and one was charged with assaulting a police officer, reports Banking Law, Criminal Justice, Executive Branch, Law Firms, Large Firm, Real Estate & Property Law, States, District of Columbia Thu, 23 May 2013 09:47:11 -0500 44330.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_secretly_got_warrant_for_fox_reporters_email_claiming_that_his_news-ga/ News that federal authorities had apparently looked at the personal email of the chief Washington correspondent for Fox News under a search warrant secretly obtained in a criminal investigation of his 2009 news-gathering activities elicited outrage Monday from media organizations and others. The warrant, which was both issued and unsealed… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Executive Branch, Media & Communications Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, D.C. Circuit Court, States, District of Columbia Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:54 -0500 44284.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/obama_says_acting_irs_chief_will_resign_following_news_that_conservative_gr/ Responding to widespread criticism after news that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted groups with "tea party" and "patriot" in their names for extra scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steve T. Miller, would resign.… Constitutional Law, Executive Branch, Tax Law Wed, 15 May 2013 18:10:06 -0500 44210.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/state_dept._tells_texas_law_student_to_take_down_web_blueprints_for_3-d_pri/ A University of Texas law student says he has complied but is reviewing his legal options after being ordered by the U.S. State Department to take down blueprints posted online that show how a 3-D printer can be used to create a plastic gun. Cody Wilson is a founder of… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Executive Branch, Internet Law, Law Schools, States, Texas Fri, 10 May 2013 15:08:51 -0500 44136.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_federal_consumer_agency_sues_debt-relief_law_firms_one_attorney_is_also/ A new federal agency filed a lawsuit Tuesday against two New York City area law firms and an attorney who owns a related business. It contends that they charged illegal advance fees for so-called debt-relief services that provided little or no benefit to consumers, who routinely lost amounts ranging from… Consumer Law, Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Executive Branch, Trials & Litigation, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Tue, 07 May 2013 16:37:49 -0500 44077.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/justice_thomas_any_black_president_must_be_approved_by_elites/ Justice Clarence Thomas says he expected to see a black president win election in his lifetime, as long as the candidate got the approval of "the elites and the media." Thomas offered his views in comments at Duquesne Law School last month that are just… Executive Branch, Judiciary, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 06 May 2013 07:32:25 -0500 44039.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/obama_is_using_drone_strikes_to_replace_gitmo_detentions_says_ex-bush_admin/ A former Bush administration lawyer claims President Barack Obama is relying on drone strikes to kill terrorists because he doesn’t want to capture them and send them to Guantanamo Bay. Lawyer John Bellinger made the accusation at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday discussing the legality of drone killings,… Executive Branch, International Law, Terrorism, Guantanamo/Detainees Mon, 06 May 2013 06:00:53 -0500 44027.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sovereignty_showdown_kansas_plans_to_defend_law_shielding_state_guns_from_u/ Kansas officials are readying for a clash with the federal government after Attorney General Eric Holder declared that the state’s new gun law is unconstitutional. The state’s attorney general is seeking $225,000 to defend the state’s Second Amendment Protection Act, signed into law on April 17, the Attorney General, Constitutional Law, Executive Branch Fri, 03 May 2013 13:29:27 -0500 44033.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/in_truly_bizarre_situation_fda_oks_no-prescription_plan_b_pill_sale_to_teen/ In the latest round of a hard-fought political battle over the issue of whether the so-called morning-after birth control pill should be available without a prescription to 15- and 16-year-olds, a federal regulatory agency has told pharmacies they are free to sell one brand, Plan B One-Step, over the counter,… Administrative Law, Consumer Law, Executive Branch, Health Law, Legislation & Lobbying, Science & Technology Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Thu, 02 May 2013 11:15:55 -0500 44004.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/oconnor_maybe_scotus_should_have_declined_cert_in_bush_v._gore/ Election Law, Executive Branch, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:43:54 -0500 43952.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_drop_ricin_case_against_elvis_impersonator_over_letters_to_obama_lawma/ All charges were dropped Tuesday in a federal case over suspected ricin-laced letters reportedly sent to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator from Mississippi and a state-court judge. As the day began, a preliminary hearing against defendant Paul Kevin Curtis was continuing. Then he was released from custody and the… Criminal Justice, Executive Branch, Judiciary, 5th Circuit Court, States, Mississippi Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:42:34 -0500 43881.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bombing_suspect_to_be_tried_in_civilan_courts_white_house_says/ Updated: The White House on Monday put to rest speculation about how the prosecution against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would proceed. The administration announced that Tsarnaev would be tried on terrorism charges under civilian law, the Associated Press reports. A court official confirmed that Tsarnaev… Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Executive Branch, Military Law, Terrorism Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:14:39 -0500 43855.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/fertilizer_plant_explosion/ Updated: As responders continue searching for more survivors in the decimated remains of a Texas fertilizer plant and its surrounding neighborhood after a Wednesday night explosion, authorities have recovered 12 bodies and say more than 200 people were injured by the blast, according to the Associated Press… Corporate Law, Environmental Law, Executive Branch, Government Law, Labor & Employment, States, Texas Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:02:09 -0500 43827.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/military_judge_postpones_9_11_cases_due_to_nearly_catastrophic_server_crash/ A military judge overseeing the cases of detainees accused of plotting the 9/11, terrorist attacks has postponed hearings scheduled for next week after what a Pentagon official described as "a nearly catastrophic server crash.” Defense lawyers had previously complained about document losses and confidential email provided to prosecutors, which resulted… Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Executive Branch, Military Law, Terrorism, Trials & Litigation Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:50:53 -0500 43778.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/us_tortured_after_9_11_says_independent_constitution_project_panel_report/ In the most ambitious effort so far by an independent, bipartisan group to assess American detention and interrogation programs after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a Constitution Project panel has concluded that “it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture” in its treatment… Constitutional Law, Executive Branch, Military Law, Terrorism, Guantanamo/Detainees Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:10:21 -0500 43768.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/it_workers_gave_federal_prosecutors_540k_emails_between_gitmo_defense_lawye/ An order by the chief defense lawyer for Guantanamo Bay military tribunals that banned colleagues from using the Pentagon's computer system for confidential documents and emails followed news that information technology workers for the government had shared 540,000 defense emails with prosecutors. The sharing resulted from an apparently legitimate search,… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity, Executive Branch, Military Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:40:37 -0500 43710.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/2nd_circuit_blasts_sec_for_regrettable_inaction_in_massive_madoff_fraud_but/ Expressing sympathy for the victims of a record-breaking Ponzi scheme by Bernard Madoff, a federal appeals court on Wednesday blasted the Securities and Exchange Commission for "regrettable inaction" in addressing the fraud but said the SEC is nonetheless protected from suit. The… Consumer Law, Executive Branch, Securities Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:26:39 -0500 43675.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/slavery_continues_to_haunt_the_modern_world/ Bar Associations, ABA, Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Executive Branch, Government Law, Immigration Law, International Law, Labor & Employment, Legal Ethics, Legislation & Lobbying, Trials & Litigation, Features Mon, 01 Apr 2013 05:00:31 -0500 43209.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bradley_manning_pleads_guilty_to_charges_of_leaking_classified/ Pfc. Bradley Manning has pleaded guilty to 10 charges in connection with what the government says is the largest leak of classified information in the nation's history. The Army intelligence analyst is accused of stealing thousands of classified documents while on duty in Iraq and turning the material over to… Executive Branch, Government Law, Military Law Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:21:31 -0600 43047.abajournal.com