Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer is charged in mask-markup plot; another remote LSAT is scheduled
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Lawyer is charged in alleged plot to sell KN95 masks at 50% markup
A California lawyer has been charged with conspiring to violate the Defense Production Act by selling one million KN95 respirator masks at a 50% markup. The law makes it illegal to acquire scarce medical supplies to hoard or sell at an excessive price. The lawyer, 56-year-old Kent Bulloch of Santa Rosa, California, was charged along with 64-year-old William Young Sr. of Phoenix. (The New York Law Journal, Department of Justice press release, the criminal complaint)
Another remote LSAT is scheduled for June
Because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a second remote Law School Admission Test has been added for June. The Law School Admission Council made the announcement on its webpage; it follows an April 7 announcement that the May LSAT would be online. That exam is expected to be administered the week of May 18, according to the website. The June exam, which will be available for people registered as of April 29, will be given the week of June 14. (The LSAC announcement)
Defendants bailed out by charities were charged with new crimes
Two nonprofits paid the bail of nearly 1,000 defendants in Cook County, Illinois, over the last three years. The Chicago Tribune was able to identify 162 of those defendants through public records, all of them charged with felonies. More than one-fifth were charged with new crimes while out on bond. The charities are the Bail Project and the Chicago Community Bond Fund. The groups told the Chicago Tribune that the newspaper was highlighting cases with poor outcomes, and they are helping address racial injustice. Both groups said they help released defendants stay out of trouble, with more than 90% success. (The Chicago Tribune)
Judge refuses to halt immigration hearings
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that he doesn’t have jurisdiction to order immigration courts to stop conducting hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nichols noted that the Immigration and Nationality Act says legal challenges to removal proceedings can only be brought in courts of appeals. He also said the immigrants who sued lacked standing because they did not have “an imminent in-person hearing.” (The National Law Journal, Law360, Nichols’ opinion, Nichols’ order, press release)
