Federal Government

New Regulations Threaten Parts of Endangered Species Act

For years, Congress has resisted efforts to curtail the scope of the Endangered Species Act. But now, in an end run around the legislative process, the Bush administration has introduced planned new regulations that would have much the same effect. The regs, which are now subject to a 30-day comment…

Aug 12, 2008 6:04 PM CDT

Plame Can’t Sue Gov’t. Officials Who Allegedly Outed Her as US Spy

Because high-level government figures were acting within their official capacity when they allegedly revealed to reporters that Valerie Plame had spied for the U.S., she and her husband can’t sue them for damages, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has ruled. “The conduct … was in the defendants’ scope…

Aug 12, 2008 4:29 PM CDT

ABA Proposes Bipartisan Judicial Selection Process

Updated: Senators from each state should jointly appoint bipartisan commissions of lawyers and others to recommend the names of attorneys to fill federal trial court vacancies that the senators might recommend to the president, the ABA’s 555-member policy-making House of Delegates recommended today. Bipartisan commissions should also be used by…

Aug 11, 2008 8:46 PM CDT

ABA Supports International Criminal Court

The United States should be more involved with the International Criminal Court, even though the United States doesn’t recognize the ICC’s authority over members of the U.S. government, according to a resolution passed this afternoon by the ABA’s 555-member policy-making House of Delegates. The House urged the government to cooperate…

Aug 11, 2008 6:45 PM CDT

What the President Should Look for in a Judicial Nominee

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama says he wants judicial nominees to have empathy. Presumptive Repubican presidential Nominee John McCain says he does not want activist judges. But what that all means and what the presidential candidates should really be saying about judicial selection was the subject of a lively…

Aug 8, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

John Edwards Admits Affair

Updated: Former senator and 2004 vice-presidential candidate John Edwards has reportedly admitted an extramarital affair about which he had previously lied. The personal injury lawyer admitted that he had an affair with novice filmmaker Rielle Hunter, 44, who worked on Edwards’ campaign before he announced his candidacy for president of…

Aug 8, 2008 7:46 PM CDT

SEC Eases Disclosure Rules Under Reg FD

Corporations may now sometimes fulfill their public disclosure requirements under Regulation FD by posting information on their websites and blogs rather than having news releases distributed by third-party companies, according to new guidance issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move is expected to cut compliance costs. However,…

Aug 1, 2008 9:19 PM CDT

No Suspicion? No Problem: Feds Can Still Take Laptops at Borders, Read Contents

Confirming what some had previously feared, federal agencies say they can confiscate travelers’ laptops at U.S. borders for virtually any reason, and read and share with others the contents of documents the personal computers contain. These policies of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S.…

Aug 1, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Judge Rejects Absolute Immunity Claim by Bush Aides in Prosecutor Firing Probe

Updated: A federal judge has rejected claims of absolute immunity asserted on behalf of former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former chief of staff Josh Bolten in an investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. U.S. District Judge John Bates “strongly rejected the administration’s legal arguments,” the Associated…

Jul 31, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

Panel Cites Rove for Contempt for Refusing to Testify in DOJ Hearings

Former White House political adviser Karl Rove has been cited for contempt by the House Judiciary Committee for refusing to testify about political influence in the Justice Department. The committee cited Rove for refusing to testify at a July 10 hearing, the Associated Press reports. The committee wanted to know…

Jul 31, 2008 12:47 PM CDT

Forbidden Political Hiring System Won’t Cost Immigration Judges Their Jobs

When Garry Malphrus decided he wanted to be a federal immigration judge, no application or interview was required. Having worked in the White House and with D. Kyle Sampson, who was then a counselor to John Ashcroft, the U.S. attorney general, Malphrus was reportedly routed into the job via an…

Jul 30, 2008 10:55 PM CDT

Kozinski Cancels and Yoo Misses Speaking Gigs at 9th Circuit Conference

The annual judicial conference held by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is getting lots of attention in the legal press because of high-profile figures who canceled or missed speaking engagements there. One of them is the conference’s chief judge, Alex Kozinski, who ordered an ethics investigation…

Jul 30, 2008 1:13 PM CDT

New Theory Why US Attorneys Were Axed: Perceived Sexual Orientation?

It wasn’t just political affiliation that some top officials at the Department of Justice may have considered when making decisions about hiring and firing. According to the Los Angeles Times, a perceived same-sex relationship based on false rumors of a nonexistent affair between two female prosecutors may also have led…

Jul 29, 2008 11:29 PM CDT

President OKs 1st Military Execution Since 1961

President George W. Bush has approved an Army request to put a private to death, giving the go-ahead to what would be the first execution by the U.S. military in nearly 50 years. However, further appeals are expected. The defendant, Ronald Gray, was convicted by a military court in 1988…

Jul 29, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

Sprinter Marion Jones Seeks Pardon; US Track Program Head Objects

A disgraced Olympic champion sprinter who lost her five gold medals due to her eventually admitted use of performance-enhancing steroids is seeking a pardon or a commutation of her six-month federal conviction for obstruction of justice from President George W. Bush. However, the head of USA Track & Field has…

Jul 22, 2008 8:58 PM CDT