Attorney General

Ex-White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler asks Obama not to nominate her for AG job

Kathryn Ruemmler, who served as White House counsel to President Obama for three years, has taken her name out of the running to replace Attorney General Eric Holder. The Associated Press and The Blog of Legal Times reported late Friday that Ruemmler has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace…

Oct 27, 2014 12:02 PM CDT

DOJ denounces ‘irresponsible’ leaks in Ferguson police-shooting case

The Department of Justice has denied any involvement in multiple significant leaks concerning a state grand jury investigation of a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager. An official at the DOJ says Attorney General Eric Holder told Justice Department lawyers that he is “exasperated” by the…

Oct 23, 2014 12:23 PM CDT

Wendy Davis defends controversial wheelchair campaign ad, saying it attacks lawsuit-stance hypocrisy

Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is attacking her Republican opponent in a so-called wheelchair ad that is raising some eyebrows. The ad begins with an image of a wheelchair and then criticizes Davis’ gubernatorial opponent, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, for opposing tort victims despite winning a multimillion-dollar settlement after…

Oct 15, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

New DOJ policy bans waiver of potential ineffective-assistance claims against defense counsel

In a new policy announced Tuesday that is effective immediately, the U.S. Department of Justice says an individual who takes a plea cannot waive a potential ineffective assistance claim against his or her legal counsel by doing so. That means federal prosecutors can no longer include such waiver language in…

Oct 14, 2014 3:37 PM CDT

TRO bans incinerated Ebola waste from being transported to Louisiana

Louisiana’s attorney general has obtained a temporary restraining order that keeps incinerated Ebola waste from being transported to the state. Judge Bob Downing issued the TRO on Monday, report the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Washington Post. The order blocks transport of incinerated waste…

Oct 14, 2014 8:33 AM CDT

DEA agent created imposter Facebook page with real woman’s info to lure suspects, suit says

A woman arrested in a drug investigation contends in a lawsuit that the federal government set up a Facebook account using her name, photos and personal information in an effort to find suspects in a drug ring. The suit by Sondra Arquiett of Watertown, New York, has spurred an investigation…

Oct 8, 2014 10:59 AM CDT

Eric Holder won’t be held in contempt over ‘Fast and Furious’ documents, rules judge

Eric Holder got some good news and some bad news as he wraps up his six-year tenure as U.S. Attorney General. On Monday, a federal judge refused to hold him in contempt of court for failing to turn over documents to House Republicans investigating Operation Fast and Furious, reports the…

Oct 7, 2014 12:22 PM CDT

Pennsylvania official named in pornographic email scandal refuses to resign

Embattled Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has requested the resignation of a third state official accused of exchanging pornographic emails over state computers. However, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Corbett’s request to state parole board member Randy Feathers has fallen on deaf ears. Feathers has sent a letter to Corbett and…

Oct 6, 2014 12:19 PM CDT

Divided appellate court strikes part of North Carolina’s controversial voting law

An appellate court has thrown out part of North Carolina’s controversial voting law. According to the Charlotte Observer, a divided three judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit kept most of the provisions in the state’s electoral law intact, but issued a temporary order allowing…

Oct 2, 2014 11:56 AM CDT

Big Tobacco appeals court-mandated anti-smoking advertisements

Tobacco companies have appealed a court order requiring them to admit in advertisements that they lied about the health risks of cigarettes. On Monday, the Associated Press reported that several tobacco companies have filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In the appeal, the…

Sep 30, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

US will pay Navajo Nation $554M to settle suit claiming mismanagement of resources

The United States has agreed to pay the Navajo Nation $554 million in a record settlement with an American tribe in litigation over mismanagement of tribal resources. The payment settles a 2006 lawsuit claiming that the U.S. government failed to maximize profits when it leased Navajo land for purposes such…

Sep 26, 2014 10:00 AM CDT

Attorney General Eric Holder resigns but ‘will never leave the work’

Updated: With “very mixed emotions,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation at a press conference Thursday afternoon. Holder said that while he will leave the Department of Justice, he will “never leave the work. I will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation…

Sep 25, 2014 3:51 PM CDT

Prison population drops along with the crime rate, Holder says

The federal prison population has dropped by about 4,800 inmates in the past year, and the downward trend is expected to continue, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech on Tuesday. The federal prison population is expected to drop by an additional 2,200 inmates in fiscal year 2015 and…

Sep 24, 2014 8:57 AM CDT

Fired John Doe prosecutor can remain anonymous in suit against Justice Department, judge rules

A federal prosecutor who claims he was wrongly fired because of an anxiety disorder can keep his name a secret in his lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said the John Doe plaintiff could have trouble doing his job…

Sep 11, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Justice Department to launch broad civil rights probe of Ferguson police

The U.S. Justice Department is set to announce a broad civil rights probe of the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, that is in addition to its investigation of the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson officer. According to anonymous sources who spoke with the Washington Post,…

Sep 4, 2014 9:08 AM CDT