NC Bar to Revisit Suspension Order for Former AG and Governor Mike Easley

A lawyer convicted of a felony often loses his or her law license. But a former governor and attorney general of North Carolina had his suspended for two years after a federal campaign-finance reporting violation. That will make Mike Easley eligible to practice again at the end of this year,…

Jan 10, 2012 12:07 AM CST

Critic Calls Montana Ruling on Corporate Campaign Contributions an ‘Act of Defiance’

The Montana Supreme Court has ruled the controversial Supreme Court decision Citizens United doesn’t require it to overturn a state law that bars corporations from making independent campaign expenditures for or against candidates. The Montana high court cited several reasons why the law survived a First Amendment challenge, report the…

Jan 4, 2012 7:53 PM CST

Lawsuits Challenge Three Key Campaign Finance Bans

Although many challenges have arisen in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 landmark decision regarding campaign finance bans, three key cases have captured the national attention of campaign-finance reformers and their opponents. U.S. v. Danielczyk—considered the most significant challenge to regulating big money in federal elections—is now being…

Jan 3, 2012 9:29 PM CST

Chemerinsky on 3 Texas Election Cases with Potential for ‘Enormous’ Consequences

Three election cases from Texas, with potentially enormous legal and political consequences, will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 9. The immediate issue in Perry v. Perez, Perry v. Davis and Perry v. Perez is: which plan should be used to delineate voting districts in races for the…

Jan 3, 2012 2:40 PM CST

Co-Equal Opportunity: Legislators Are Out to Take Over Their State Judiciary Systems

Jan 1, 2012 11:00 AM CST

January 30, 1976: Buckley v. Valeo Decided

Jan 1, 2012 6:30 AM CST

LA City Attorney Sues to Block Ballot Measure Requiring Condom Use in Porn

Los Angeles city officials have filed suit to block a proposed ballot initiative requiring porn actors to wear condoms during film shoots. City officials contend that the proposed measure is unnecessary and will waste taxpayer money, the Associated Press reports. The suit, filed Thursday, says state laws mandating workplace safety…

Dec 12, 2011 6:57 PM CST

Supreme Court to Hear Texas Redistricting Case; Outcome Could Affect US House Control

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide a redistricting case that could affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The court agreed to hear the case on Friday and scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 9, report the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post.…

Dec 12, 2011 3:09 PM CST

Former NC Gov Mike Easley Faces State Bar Complaint After Taking Plea in Campaign Finance Case

Last year, former North Carolina governor Mike Easley disappeared from the attorney roster of McGuireWoods and took an Alford plea after being accused of violating campaign-finance reporting law. His law license was temporarily suspended in December 2010 after his criminal conviction on a single felony count, and now the state…

Dec 7, 2011 7:01 PM CST

Lawyer Files Ethics Complaint Against Miss. AG Claiming Campaign Ad Prejudged His Client

A defense lawyer alleges in an ethics complaint that Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood “unjustly condemned” his client in a campaign ad. Lawyer Brian Alexander filed the complaint based on a campaign ad that pictured his client, Jeremy Manieri, report the Biloxi Sun Herald, WLOX and the Associated Press. The…

Nov 30, 2011 2:17 PM CST

Jury Convicts Texas Judge in Bribery Case; Campaign Donors Allegedly Expected Favorable Rulings

A Texas judge was convicted yesterday of multiple counts of bribery and other crimes, in a case focused on 2008 campaign donations from individuals who allegedly expected favorable rulings in a family court matter, in exchange for the money. District Judge Suzanne Wooten, 43, testified that she knew nothing about…

Nov 23, 2011 9:02 PM CST

Lawyer Says AG Campaign Ad Calling His Client a Priest-Murderer Has Tainted Jury Pool

Defense lawyer Brian Alexander claims the Mississippi attorney general managed to taint the jury pool throughout the entire state because of a campaign ad that prejudged the guilt of Alexander’s client. According to WLOX, Alexander is taking issue with this line in the ad by Attorney General Jim Hood: “Then,…

Nov 10, 2011 5:22 PM CST

Herman Cain Denies All Claims of Sexual Harassment, Retains ‘Pit Bull’ Celebrity Libel Lawyer

Following reported claims by four women that he sexually harassed them years ago when he headed the National Restaurant Association, Herman Cain continues to say all of the allegations are false. And the Republican presidential candidate has hired celebrity libel lawyer Lin Wood, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’ve been brought…

Nov 9, 2011 2:02 AM CST

Justice O’Connor Defends Her Post-Retirement Work

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor hasn’t slowed down in retirement, and some of her work is provoking controversy. O’Connor has participated in more than 140 cases before federal appeals courts since she retired from the Supreme Court in 2005, even as she backs changes in states that…

Nov 7, 2011 3:45 PM CST

Investigators Seize Pa. Lawmaker and Ex-Prosecutor’s Computers in Evidence-Tampering Probe

Three Pennsylvania state senate computer hard drives were seized in Harrisburg today concerning a probe of what a judge called doctored evidence when he declared a mistrial earlier this year for a lawmaker accused in a political corruption case. Defense exhibits in the trial of Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, who…

Oct 21, 2011 8:14 PM CDT