Administrative Law

New Legal Strategy for Star Student in Deportation Case

With a lot of help from his friends and well-wishers, a star Miami student facing deportation with his family for overstaying their visitor visa has developed a new legal strategy. Juan Gomez, 18, his 19-year-old brother and their parents may have a good chance of successfully reopening their asylum petition,…

Aug 23, 2007 5:12 PM CDT

Gov’t Atty to Put ‘White Hat’ on Targets

A soon-to-be-former New York government regulator plans to switch sides and serve as a consultant helping those targeted by such probes to don a “white hat” and work cooperatively with the federal, state and/or local agency involved. David M. Grandeau, a lawyer known as an aggressive state lobbying regulator, will…

Aug 15, 2007 10:28 PM CDT

FL Fights for Internal State Farm Docs

A battle between Florida regulators and the state’s biggest property insurer is capturing the attention of lawyers there and elsewhere, because of what’s really at issue. Property insurance rate-setting is the official topic. But attorneys on both sides are waiting to see whether State Farm, a Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer, has…

Aug 15, 2007 5:26 PM CDT

Tale of 2 Cities: Tampa Porn Dorm Legal, But Miami’s Isn’t

A so-called porn dorm in Tampa, in which women live and participate in sexual activities that are videotaped and publicized over the Internet, is apparently legal. But that doesn’t mean that a comparable business—featuring buffed-up young men who are paid $1,200 plus room and board to live in a house…

Aug 15, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

Home-Demolition Derby in New Orleans

Chanel Debose has spent $90,000 to fix up her New Orleans home since Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. But it is now reportedly on the list of homes to be demolished as the city rushes to meet a deadline for qualifying for federal aid to do so. At least she knows about…

Aug 9, 2007 8:19 PM CDT

Somewhat Illegal Substance: Raw Milk

It isn’t completely banned in Boston—or in New York City, for that matter. But the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk is restricted in both Massachusetts and New York, as well as 24 other states, and it is completely illegal in another 15. This is encouraging an unlikely band of law-breakers,…

Aug 8, 2007 9:32 PM CDT

‘Dirty’ Money Enforcement Blitz in FL

So-called dirty money is big business in Florida. And that means the state is a magnet for enforcement of federal laws banning banks from participating in money-laundering and similar schemes. ”On a proportional basis, [given] the number of institutions that Miami has, South Florida leads the country in Bank Secrecy…

Aug 8, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

Pants Judge Gets Job Warning

The administrative law judge who sued a dry cleaners for $54 million is getting an official notice that he may be out of a job. The Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges in Washington, D.C., sent Roy Pearson a warning letter yesterday, the Washington Post reports. It…

Aug 8, 2007 2:09 PM CDT

Pants Judge Vote Today

The administrative law judge who unsuccessfully sued a dry cleaners for $54 million will soon learn whether a commission wants to reappoint him. Roy Pearson has had a history of combative behavior and has been a frequent critic of his employer, Washington, D.C.’s Office of Administrative Hearings, Legal Times reports.…

Aug 6, 2007 11:45 AM CDT

China Now Regulates Reincarnation

As of Sept. 1, Tibet’s exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, may no longer reincarnate himself—or recognize the reincarnation of others—without permission from China’s communist, atheist government. That is one key provision of new regulations developed by China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs, in an effort to limit the influence of…

Aug 3, 2007 9:29 PM CDT

Final Likely Loss for ‘Pants’ Judge: His Job

An administrative law judge who became a target of international disapprobation after suing his neighborhood dry cleaners for $54 million over an allegedly botched dry-cleaning job that resulted in the loss of his suit trousers, is now poised to lose more than his pants and the case. It is becoming…

Aug 2, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

Erosion of Trust

Hawaii’s Bishop Estate: a cautionary tale of mismanagement at a charitable organization

Aug 1, 2007 11:57 AM CDT

Court Bars Longer Trucker Hours

A federal appeals court has struck down a rule that allowed truckers to drive 11 consecutive hours a day. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled yesterday that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration failed to provide an adequate explanation for the 2005 rule, the Associated Press…

Jul 25, 2007 2:32 PM CDT

Mass. Judge a Quick Study on Insurance

When a former Massachusetts judge was put in charge of the state’s insurance department earlier this year, industry chiefs started worrying. Known to be a liberal Democrat, Nonnie S. Burnes also had no significant insurance experience. Now, however, they are breathing a sigh of relief. “Burnes last week shocked almost…

Jul 23, 2007 6:33 PM CDT

New Regulations for Subprime Lenders

A new regulatory pilot program for subprime lenders was announced by a group of federal and state agencies today—the eve of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s planned two-day testimony before Congress. Focusing initially on approximately a dozen “nondepository” subsidiaries of banks and thrift institutions, as well as mortgage brokers who…

Jul 17, 2007 11:01 PM CDT