Attorney General

Pennsylvania attorney general survives ouster vote, for now

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane survived a state Senate vote on her ouster on Wednesday, even as the House approved an impeachment investigation. The Senate ouster bid, which required a two-thirds majority, failed by four votes, report the New York Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.)…

Feb 11, 2016 9:08 AM CST

DOJ sues Ferguson one day after it sought changes in proposed policing pact

A yea-and-a-half after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown ignited a civil rights movement in Ferguson, Missouri, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued the city. Announced by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the DOJ in the Eastern District of Missouri follows a Tuesday…

Feb 10, 2016 5:05 PM CST

Federal judge issues ‘order on ineptitude’ in prosecutor benchslap

Updated: A federal judge in Houston has issued an “order on ineptitude” that takes “pretentious lawyers” from the U.S. Justice Department to task for experiencing difficulties when ordering a transcript. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes issued the unusual order (PDF) in the prosecution of Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, who…

Feb 9, 2016 7:59 AM CST

Pennsylvania AG fails to get her law license reinstated; state senate to consider her removal

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday refused to reinstate the law license of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, saying she waited too long to seek its reinstatement. The Feb. 5 order said Kane did not seek recusal of now-suspended Justice J. Michael Eakin “at the earliest possible time” and her…

Feb 8, 2016 9:11 AM CST

Proposed consent decree would reform Ferguson policing and municipal courts

The U.S. Justice Department has reached a proposed agreement with the city of Ferguson, Missouri, to reform its police department and its municipal courts. The consent decree still must be approved by the city council, report USA Today and the New York Times. The agreement follows a Justice Department report…

Jan 28, 2016 11:54 AM CST

Fast and Furious documents are not protected by executive privilege, judge rules

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the U.S. Justice Department must release internal documents regarding the Fast and Furious gun-running probe. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the administration’s claims of executive privilege because much of the information was already made public in an Inspector General’s…

Jan 21, 2016 9:12 AM CST

Former federal prosecutor settles with Justice Department for an estimated $1.8M

A former federal prosecutor who claimed retaliation led to his firing in January 2009 has settled with the U.S. Justice Department for an estimated $1.8 million. The former prosecutor is Thomas Gruscinski, who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Cleveland before his firing in 2009, Cleveland.com reports. The National…

Jan 20, 2016 5:45 AM CST

DOJ files multibillion-dollar suit against Volkswagen over environmental violations

Volkswagen admitted that it had cheated on its emissions tests. Now the automotive giants will have to face the wrath of the federal government. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit (PDF) in Eastern Michigan federal district court accusing VW of violating the Clean Air Act. The…

Jan 4, 2016 2:03 PM CST

Massachusetts law firm is accused of suing debtors without ‘meaningful attorney involvement’

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is seeking civil penalties against a debt-collection law firm accused of pursuing cases based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Healey filed a civil complaint last week against the firm, Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, according to a press release and the Boston Globe. The press release…

Dec 28, 2015 8:44 AM CST

Obama commutes sentences of 95 federal prisoners, grants 2 pardons

Updated: More than doubling the number of federal prison sentences he has commuted during his entire time in office, President Barack Obama on Friday granted clemency to 95 inmates and pardoned two. Most were nonviolent drug offenders. A total of 184 prisoners have now been granted clemency by Obama while…

Dec 18, 2015 1:40 PM CST

Aide to Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane is convicted for email snooping in violation of court order

An aide to Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane was convicted of criminal contempt on Tuesday for violating a protective order by reading office emails to learn about a grand jury investigation of Kane. The aide, Patrick Reese, was convicted by a Montgomery County judge, report the Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.),…

Dec 9, 2015 10:29 AM CST

Justice Department will investigate use of deadly force by Chicago police

The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division will launch an investigation of the Chicago Police Department that will focus on its use of force, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced on Monday. Lynch said in prepared remarks that the Justice Department will investigate whether the Chicago Police Department engaged in…

Dec 7, 2015 10:20 AM CST

Should movement to ease criminal laws extend to white-collar offenders? Coalition splits on answer

A bill that would make it more difficult to prosecute alleged white-collar offenders has exposed a rift in a coalition pushing for less punitive criminal laws. The conservative Koch brothers had joined with the U.S. Justice Department to support criminal justice reform, but they are parting ways over the House…

Nov 30, 2015 6:45 AM CST

2nd Circuit rules Justice Department doesn’t have to disclose additional drone-strike memos

The U.S. Justice Department doesn’t have to disclose about 10 documents regarding the legal basis for targeted drone killings of noncitizens overseas, a federal appeals court has ruled. The October decision by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was unsealed on Monday, report the New York Times…

Nov 24, 2015 10:25 AM CST

For-profit education company will pay $95.5M to settle illegal recruiting claim

The nation’s second largest for-profit education company has agreed to pay $95.5 million to settle civil claims it ran a high-pressure boiler sales business in which admissions personnel were paid based on the number of students they recruited. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the settlement with Education Management Corp. on…

Nov 16, 2015 1:20 PM CST