A raging drug war in Mexico isn’t just hurting people there—including police officers, judges and lawyers affected by the ongoing violence. It’s also spilling over into the United States, as the same drug gangs responsible for killings, kidnappings and other related crime there travel across the border to ply their…
What a difference more than six months of financial crisis can create. After the fall of the once-fabled Enron energy company and the federal conviction of 22 of its former employees, officials crowed a few years ago that its failure had helped strengthen regulatory protections. Maybe so, as evidenced by…
Regardless of who is elected president of the United States next month, George W. Bush could continue to have a significant impact on the nation for years through his selection of federal appeals court judges. “While a two-term president typically leaves his stamp on the appeals courts—Bill Clinton appointed 65…
Spying on behalf of a major drug trafficking cartel is still ongoing at the Mexican attorney general’s office, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer suspects, even after five officials there have been arrested. Meanwhile, an unidentified former U.S. Embassy employee is telling Mexican officials in Washington, D.C., that he leaked…
The nation’s top champion of whistle-blowers will resign at the end of his term in January, as federal agents investigate allegations of retaliation against his own employees, the Washington Post reports. U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch said in a letter to President Bush on Monday that he will step down…
It’s the guessing game that has Washington, D.C., buzzing: Which lawyers will be appointed to senior government positions by the next president? According to dozens of interviews with people who know the candidates well, the following attorneys are favorites to join the next administration. We’ve matched each to the job…
A Justice Department court filing describing 17 Guantanamo detainees as “a danger to the public” has reportedly stalled State Department efforts to find a country willing to accept the men. The State Department contends the legal brief harmed its efforts on behalf of the men, members of the Uighur Muslim…
The Bush administration issued secret memos in 2003 and 2004 telling CIA officials that it approved waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques for al-Qaida suspects. The memos remain classified, but four anonymous administration and intelligence officials told the Washington Post they existed. The documents were issued in response to concerns…
Two law professors are wondering why the University of Tennessee student charged with hacking into Sarah Palin’s e-mail account was charged with a felony. Law professors Orin Kerr of George Washington University and Paul Ohm of the University of Colorado questioned the felony charge against David Kernell, the son of…
After meeting in closed session for much of the day, an Alaska legislative committee released an investigative report concluding that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power by trying to get her former brother-in-law fired from his job as a state trooper. The report states that “Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a…
Two former linguists with the National Security Agency say their one-time employer improperly listened to intimate telephone conversations of members of the U.S. military, aid workers and journalists stationed overseas. The two linguists, who worked as military intercept officers, told ABC News that some of the NSA employees monitoring the…
The Alaska Supreme Court refused today to call a halt to the “Troopergate” ethics investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president. That sets the stage for the state legislature to release tomorrow, as planned, its investigative report about whether Palin abused her power as governor by…
A Georgetown law professor says environmental plaintiffs have not fared well in the U.S. Supreme Court when citing the National Environmental Policy Act, and plaintiffs who claim Navy sonar harms whales may be no different. The professor, Lisa Heinzerling, told the New York Times that plaintiffs have lost all 15…
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a case that pits the preservation of whales against the president’s powers in wartime. The administration contends the president has the power to override environmental laws cited by a federal appeals court in a ruling requiring the Navy to limit its…
