Administrative Law

Asked About Famous 1961 Speech, Ex-FCC Chair Says TV is No Longer a ‘Vast Wasteland’

A former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission who became a household name after calling television a “vast wasteland” in a 1961 speech says he’s changed his opinion about the medium since then. Speaking at a National Press Club event on the 50th anniversary of his famous remarks, Sidley Austin…

May 12, 2011 6:06 PM CDT

SC Lawyer Rapped for Overselling His Small Firm in Brochure, Phone Book and Online Ads

A South Carolina attorney has been publicly reprimanded by the state supreme court for overselling his small firm’s experience and expertise by exaggerating and making statements that could not be factually verified. For example, Michael Hensley Wells said on his firm’s website and in a brochure that he’d “worked in…

May 9, 2011 7:20 PM CDT

Contractor Claims Supreme Court’s Need for Quiet Caused Millions in Cost Overruns

A contractor working on U.S. Supreme Court renovations claims requests for quiet and decorum added millions of dollars in costs to the project. Grunley Construction is seeking as much as $40 million in disputes over project costs in a series of claims in the administrative appeals process, the Daily Business…

May 6, 2011 7:02 PM CDT

Judge Rapped for ‘Injudicious’ Public Comments About Parking in Handicapped Space Without Placard

An Indiana municipal judge has been admonished by a state disciplinary agency for comments he made to a reporter about having parked in a handicapped spot. Although Judge Charles Hunter was not formally charged with an ethics violation, he agreed to the written criticism of his conduct, explains the Indiana…

May 5, 2011 6:02 PM CDT

DOJ Considers Antitrust Probe of Bowl Championship Series, Asks NCAA to Explain Procedure

In a letter to the National College Athletic Association made public today, the U.S. Department of Justice announces that it is considering an antitrust probe of the way the participants in the Bowl Championship Series are selected. Unlike many other college sports, college football doesn’t have a playoff to determine…

May 4, 2011 8:18 PM CDT

Given Reprieve re Deportation Plan, Illegal Immigrant Brought to US as Child Hopes for Legal Career

Arrested last year for a traffic violation on campus at Kennesaw State University, a 22-year-old Georgia woman was nearly deported when authorities learned she had been brought to this country illegally as an 11-year-old child. But, after spending 37 days in detention and attending numerous court hearings, Jessica Coloti got…

May 3, 2011 11:54 PM CDT

Fla. Lawyer Sued by Colo. AG Is Now Suspended in Fla. Over Alleged Personal Use of Trust Funds

A Florida lawyer recently sued by the Colorado attorney general over his “debt management” work on behalf of clients there is now suspended in his home state, based on apparently unrelated alleged misconduct. After an investigation, Clint Johnson has been charged with using his law firm trust account funds for…

May 3, 2011 10:18 PM CDT

Shamed Judge Pleads to Keep His Job, Tells Top SD Court ‘I’m Not Perfect But I Have Changed’

In a voice choked with emotion, a South Dakota judge today pleaded with the state’s top court to let him stay on the bench until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70. “I’m not perfect, but I have changed,” said Circuit Judge A.P. “Pete” Fuller of Rapid City, who…

Apr 28, 2011 11:22 PM CDT

Ga. Lawyer Gets 2-Year Suspension After Sending Sex Video to Undercover Officer He Thought Was 16

In an attorney discipline case that explores the boundaries of when private sexual misconduct renders a lawyer unfit to practice, and for how long, a Georgia practitioner says he was blindsided by a state supreme court decision this week to suspend him for two years after a misdemeanor conviction for…

Apr 28, 2011 7:45 PM CDT

Top SC Court Reminds Lawyers to Mind Their Manners, Raps Practitioner for Email re Opponent’s Child

Representing clients in “an emotional and heated domestic dispute” apparently pushed three South Carolina lawyers into a dispute of their own that has now resulted in a general “letter of caution” to all attorneys from the state’s highest court. Reminding the state’s lawyers to mind their manners, the supreme court…

Apr 26, 2011 7:17 PM CDT

Feds Probe: Does Harvard Law School Sexual Harassment Complaint Policy Violate Title IX?

Responding to complaints made by an attorney on behalf of a Harvard Law School student, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating whether the HLS policy for handling sexual harassment complaints violates Title IX. Attorney Wendy Murphy, who is a professor at New England School of…

Apr 21, 2011 9:34 PM CDT

Baseball Commissioner Mulls Possible Use of Contractual Powers to Force Dodgers Sale

It may no longer be Frank McCourt’s ex-wife Jamie who poses the biggest threat to his continued ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Baseball commission Bud Selig not only plans to appoint an individual to oversee the team’s operations but, according to unidentified sources, may use his power to protect…

Apr 20, 2011 9:59 PM CDT

Federal Circuit Tosses 30-Year-Old Agent Orange Litigation on Jurisdictional Grounds

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has dismissed a petition in Agent Orange litigation originally filed more than 30 years ago. The Federal Circuit ruled it had no jurisdiction in the case, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The original suit had challenged a Veterans Administration…

Apr 19, 2011 1:38 PM CDT

Fatal Collision with Cyclist Leads to Law License Suspension for Kansas Attorney

A Kansas attorney has been temporarily suspended from law practice after pleading no contest last week to felony charges related to a fatal collision with a bicyclist last year. Marc A. Schultz of Topeka will be sentenced in June for involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving…

Apr 18, 2011 7:07 PM CDT

City of LA Seeking Fines That Could Add Up to Millions for ‘Supergraphic’ Signs That Had No Permits

A company that owns billboards, some of which are large-scale ones known as “supergraphics,” faces a civil enforcement action from the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, which maintains that the large structures are illegal. The signs in question are from Van Wagner Communications. Each sign, now removed, is reported to…

Apr 15, 2011 7:09 PM CDT