Federal Government

Hundreds Held in Another Big ICE Raid

In another signpost of stepped-up immigration enforcement, federal agents raided a Mississippi factory yesterday, detaining at least 350 workers who allegedly are in the country illegally. “The raid follows a similar large-scale immigration operation at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in May when nearly 400 workers were detained,” reports…

Aug 26, 2008 5:34 PM CDT

Worker Who Lost Supreme Court Pay Bias Case is Convention Speaker

Lilly Ledbetter, a worker who lost a pay bias case before the U.S. Supreme Court, will address the Democratic National Convention this evening. Ledbetter’s appearance signals that the Supreme Court will be a Democratic campaign issue, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. The Supreme Court ruled in a…

Aug 26, 2008 1:51 PM CDT

Three Arrested in Possible Plot to Kill Obama, But ‘No Credible Threat’

Three people arrested in Colorado on drug and firearm charges may have been involved in a plot to kill Barack Obama during his acceptance speech on Thursday. It is not known if the plot was well-developed or if the suspects had found a way to overcome heavy security at the…

Aug 26, 2008 10:34 AM CDT

Discussions Taking Place in White House Subpoena Case

The parties in the subpoena standoff between Congress and two former White House officials have held two meetings in an effort to resolve their differences. A status report filed in the case on Friday said the parties have met twice since a federal judge rejected a claim that the officials…

Aug 25, 2008 12:29 PM CDT

Not a Peep from Obama re Veep, But Has He Chosen Joe Biden?

Despite rampant media speculation about Barack Obama’s chosen running mate, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has managed to keep the name of the candidate he has selected secret. He is expected to make an official announcement of his vice presidential choice tomorrow, in the capital of his home state of…

Aug 23, 2008 1:06 AM CDT

Attorney and Ex-Diplomat Gets 20 Years in Child Porn Case

A University of Pennsylvania law graduate who videotaped sexual encounters with teenage girls while working as a U.S. diplomat in Africa and South America has been sentenced to a maximum 20 years in prison. The stiff sentence was imposed today on Gons Nachman, 42, by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce…

Aug 22, 2008 11:32 PM CDT

Biden Donates Campaign Contributions by Scruggs and Associates

Former Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has donated charity campaign contributions to charity from trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and other associates involved in a plot to bribe a judge. Biden gave $4,600 to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition from Scruggs and his son Zach, the Delaware News Journal reports.…

Aug 22, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

More Key Senators Seek to Delay AG’s Planned Investigative Guidelines

Four senior Democratic senators joined today with leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee in calling for further public review before new investigative guidelines planned by Attorney General Michael Mukasey become effective. The guidelines, which Mukasey says are needed to fight terrorism effectively, are now set to be finalized by the…

Aug 20, 2008 11:08 PM CDT

FDIC Details Rescue Plan for Homeowners With IndyMac Mortgages

In a move that could serve as a model for other troubled banks and homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments, the FDIC announced a plan today to allow delinquent IndyMac Federal Bank borrowers to switch to fixed-rate loans. Seriously delinquent homeowners who can document financial hardship and, apparently, the…

Aug 20, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

A Look at the Legal Résumés of Potential VPs

One potential vice presidential candidate failed the bar exam twice. Two others—one a Republican and the other a Democrat—are Harvard law grads like Barack Obama. The American Lawyer takes a look at the legal résumés of some potential vice presidential candidates that are often mentioned as leading contenders for the…

Aug 20, 2008 11:52 AM CDT

Judge Gives CIA 10 Days to Persuade Him Not to Issue Contempt Citation

A federal judge says he will give government lawyers 10 days to explain why he should not hold the CIA in contempt of court for destroying interrogation videotapes of al-Qaida detainees. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of New York is considering whether the destruction of the tapes violated a court…

Aug 19, 2008 5:59 PM CDT

Kennedy, Alito Fail to Make Candidates’ Lists of Least-Favorite Justices

Asked to name their least favorite U.S. Supreme Court justices, Barack Obama first picked Justice Clarence Thomas while John McCain picked the court’s four liberals. The candidates gave their answers in response to a question Saturday by evangelical Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church. Obama gave this reason for his…

Aug 18, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

Pakistan’s Musharraf Says He Will Resign Today

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has announced he will step down today, following more than a year of lawyer-led protests. Musharraf said he is putting national interest above “personal bravado,” the New York Times reports. “I am leaving with the satisfaction that whatever I could do for this country I did…

Aug 18, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

Rielle Hunter’s Father Was a Lawyer Implicated in Horse-Killing Scam

The father of Rielle Hunter, John Edwards’ mistress, was an Ocala, Fla., lawyer implicated in a scam to kill horses for insurance money. The first horse killed belonged to Hunter, who was then a teenager known as Lisa Jo Druck, the Ocala Star Banner reports. Her father, James Druck, represented…

Aug 15, 2008 11:06 AM CDT

Lawyers for Edwards’ Mistress and Campaign Aide Tied to Fred Baron

Lawyers for John Edwards’ mistress and the man who says he is the father of her child both have ties to the Dallas trial lawyer who was chairman of the presidential candidate’s campaign finance committee. The committee chairman, Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron, has said he paid to relocate Rielle…

Aug 15, 2008 10:48 AM CDT