Blagojevich Found Guilty of 17 Corruption Counts

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was tried on 20 criminal counts ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy to soliciting a bribe, was convicted on 17 of those counts this afternoon. A status hearing for Blagojevich’s sentencing is set for Aug. 1, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge James…

Jun 27, 2011 7:35 PM CDT

Supreme Court Strikes Down Arizona Campaign Finance Law

Developing: The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Arizona’s system of public financing for political campaigns on First Amendment grounds. The law gave publicly financed candidates more public dollars when their privately funded opponents spent more. The court struck down the law in a 5-4 decision holding that the matching…

Jun 27, 2011 2:41 PM CDT

John Edwards Is Indicted; Charges Based on FEC Advisory Opinion

Updated: Former presidential candidate John Edwards was indicted today on charges related to payments made to his former campaign aide and mistress. Edwards was charged with four counts of illegal campaign contributions, one count of conspiracy and one count of false statements, the Washington Post reports. The prosecution contends that…

Jun 3, 2011 1:11 PM CDT

As Other States Watch, Florida’s Redistricting Fracas May Set the Lines for the Future

The polls had closed only hours earlier when the electronic complaint sailed across the virtual transom over the federal courthouse door in downtown Miami just shy of 2 a.m. on Nov. 3, hitting the docket with a resounding thud. Nearly two-thirds of the Florida voters who went to the polls…

Jun 1, 2011 8:50 AM CDT

Spotlight On the Three States That Maintain All-Male High Courts

Jun 1, 2011 7:30 AM CDT

Feds, John Edwards Reportedly at Impasse in Talks re Possible Plea

Did longtime friends of trial attorney John Edwards give him money to help cover up an extramarital affair so he could keep it secret from his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth? Or to help the former senator from North Carolina with his campaign for election as the nation’s president? The answer to…

May 31, 2011 11:32 PM CDT

DOJ Reportedly OKs Possible Prosecution of John Edwards re Affair Cover-Up Payments

Updated: Relying on unidentified sources, major news organizations are reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the pursuit of a possible criminal indictment against former presidential candidate John Edwards related to money spent to cover up an extramarital affair. The affair cover-up expenditures could have violated campaign-finance law…

May 25, 2011 8:46 PM CDT

IRS is Looking at Big Donors Who Didn’t Pay Tax on Gifts to Nonprofit Advocacy Groups

Five large donors could be asked to pay gift tax on millions of dollars in contributions to nonprofit advocacy groups. The donors, who aren’t identified, can support campaigns and causes in this manner without being publicly identified. Although the Internal Revenue Service has long had a rule requiring that tax…

May 12, 2011 9:33 PM CDT

Talking Heads Frontman ‘Feeling Very Manly’ After Winning Song-Use Suit Settlement from Ex-Fla. Gov

A lawsuit brought by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne against former Fla. Governor Charlie Crist over use of his “Road to Nowhere” song in campaign material has been settled. Although all of the terms weren’t disclosed, they include a public apology by Crist that is posted on YouTube, reports the…

Apr 12, 2011 3:23 PM CDT

Conservative Justice Takes Wisconsin Election Lead After County Clerk Finds Uncounted Ballots

A conservative incumbent justice took the lead in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Thursday after the county clerk in Waukesha said workers found more than 14,000 uncounted votes. Nearly 11,000 of those votes were for Justice David Prosser Jr., giving him a lead of more than 7,000 votes, according…

Apr 8, 2011 12:06 PM CDT

DRI Report Recommends New Recusal Procedures to Deal with Flood of Judicial Campaign Cash

A new report by the defense bar warns that judicial independence and integrity are threatened by court funding cuts and the increasing flow of money into judicial elections. Almost half of state courts are operating under hiring freezes, while others have cut staff pay, implemented judicial furloughs and cut courthouse…

Apr 6, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Acquitted Prosecutor Can Identify with Defendants’ Frequent Complaint

A prosecutor in suburban Chicago can identify with a frequent complaint of the defendants he prosecutes after his own acquittal on charges that he asked public employees do campaign work on county time. McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi tells the Chicago Tribune that he and his secretary were placed…

Mar 30, 2011 5:48 PM CDT

Chief Justice Checks Out a Website for Constitutional Ammunition in Campaign Finance Case

A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appears ready to strike down an Arizona campaign finance law that doles out additional matching funds to publicly financed candidates as privately financed candidates spend more. The five justices who appeared ready to strike down the law were all in the majority last…

Mar 29, 2011 1:39 PM CDT

Swift, Stunning Win for Prosecutor on Trial in Political Corruption Case: Judge Axes All Charges

A closely watched trial of an Illinois prosecutor that is believed to be the first in state history to put a sitting district attorney in the defendant’s seat in a felony case has ended with a swift and stunning victory for McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi. At the close…

Mar 23, 2011 9:11 PM CDT

Wis. Justice Admits He Lobbed the B-Word at the Chief Justice—and Says It Was Warranted

Wisconsin Justice David Prosser isn’t denying it. He called the state’s chief justice, Shirley Abrahamson, a “bitch” during a heated debate over whether to remove another justice from a criminal case. Prosser says he used the B-word after Abrahamson tried to undermine him politically and to embarrass him and other…

Mar 22, 2011 10:30 AM CDT