Government

Del. AG Alleges Deceptive Practices in Latest MERS Suit, Seeks Temporary Court-Ordered Shutdown

In an apparent new wrinkle among a growing wave of government litigation over a national electronic registry that circumvented the traditional system of recording mortgage assignments in county offices, the Delaware attorney general has filed suit against Merscorp Inc. alleging deceptive practices by its Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, according to…

Oct 27, 2011 8:29 PM CDT

Lawyer Says Train Started Moving Before She Could Get Off, Throwing Her Underneath

A Pennsylvania lawyer says a conductor’s mistake caused her to fall under a moving train, but she’s not planning a lawsuit—unless her injuries turn out to be more significant than they appear. Pat Biswanger, a 55-year-old assistant solicitor in Delaware County, Pa., says the accident occurred on Monday when a…

Oct 27, 2011 3:28 PM CDT

DC Psych Hospital Tells Court It’s Not a Hotel, Seeks Order Requiring County or Mom to Pick Up Boy

A 10-year-old boy known as L.F. who stabbed his cousin in the eye with a pencil has overstayed his welcome at Children’s National Medical Center. According to court papers filed by lawyers for the psychiatric hospital, L.F. has been a patient since Sept. 15 and no one is willing to…

Oct 27, 2011 2:13 PM CDT

Cutting-Edge Code Enforcement Program Uses Secret Citizen Volunteers to Issue Notices to Neighbors

Once upon a time, at least in theory, neighbors talked to each other about any issues they perceived with property upkeep. And, in a really egregious situation that posed a safety hazard or had been a long-standing nuisance, they might call the city to complain. But some cash-strapped cities are…

Oct 26, 2011 4:53 PM CDT

Top Okla. Court Says Ex-Judge Forfeited Most of $7,800 Monthly Pension by Misconduct on Bench

A former Oklahoma judge who served felony time for indecent exposure after being convicted of using a sexual device while on the bench has forfeited most of his $7,800-a-month pension, including all of that amount attributable to his 22 years as a judge, the state’s top court ruled yesterday. Former…

Oct 26, 2011 10:43 AM CDT

Set to Move Ahead on Possible MERS Suit, Texas County Instead Looks to State AG to Take Lead Role

Seemingly on the verge of retaining counsel to follow the lead of another Texas county and file suit against a national electronic mortgage recording entity, officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, instead decided to look to the state attorney general to take a potential leading role. “If this is…

Oct 26, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

Feds Probe: Did DA in Texas County on Drug-Trafficking Route Go Easy on Suspects Who Forfeited Cash?

Federal authorities are reportedly looking into plea deals in a Texas county that happens to be located on a known drug-trafficking route along U.S. Highway 59, which leads from Mexico to Canada. In exchange for suspects’ agreement to forfeit cash to help run Shelby County, the district attorney and other…

Oct 25, 2011 10:17 PM CDT

Power Outage Puts Broward Courts, Sheriff’s Deputies and Lawyers Back in Pre-Computer ‘Stone Age’

A power outage in South Florida’s busy Broward County forced court clerks, sheriff’s deputies and lawyers, among others, to work in practically prehistoric conditions without computers or email for at least much of the afternoon. Court dockets weren’t accessible, sheriff’s deputies had to use their radios to call in license…

Oct 24, 2011 8:26 PM CDT

More Underwater Borrowers Will Get Refinancing Help Through Changes in FHFA Program

More homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages will be eligible for a refinancing program as a result of changes announced today by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Borrowers with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before June 2009 will be eligible for the refinancing program, no matter…

Oct 24, 2011 3:19 PM CDT

Outside Lawyer Censured for ‘Intimate Contact’ with Detroit Mayor While Monitoring City Police

A Washington, D.C., lawyer has been censured for having “intimate contact” one night with Detroit’s then-mayor while she was serving as independent police monitor for the city. Sheryl Robinson Wood said during a disciplinary hearing that she considered the incident a moral and personal lapse and later realized it also…

Oct 22, 2011 1:11 AM CDT

Houston Grand Jurors Boot Prosecutors; Judge and Appeals Court Nix Gov’t Re-Entry Plea

Grand juries are often thought of as rubber stamps for prosecutors. But a Houston grand jury has proven an exception to that perception, banning prosecutors from the courtroom while it hears testimony concerning issues with the city’s mobile alcohol-testing vehicles, the Houston Chronicle reports. After the government’s lawyers got the…

Oct 21, 2011 11:26 PM CDT

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

Justice Department and IRS Hiring Fewer New Lawyers in Honors Program

Job-hunting law graduates will face more difficult odds next year if they want a position through a government honors program. Budget constraints are forcing the U.S. Justice Department to trim its hiring, the National Law Journal reports. The department hired 211 honors attorneys in 2010, but only 165 honors lawyers…

Oct 21, 2011 11:54 AM CDT

Nudists Seeking a Say re Proposed San Francisco Towel-on-Seat Law Must Wear Clothes at City Hall

In the latest twist on a proposed law that would require those who stroll around naked in San Francisco to put a towel down before taking a public seat, a hearing is taking place at city hall. But the city, while tolerant about public nudity generally, requires nudists to want…

Oct 20, 2011 8:15 PM CDT

City Attorney Apologizes After Live Microphone Picks Up His Snarky Remarks

The city attorney for Brea, Calif., apologized Tuesday for muttered remarks picked up by a microphone broadcasting a city council meeting live on cable TV. James Markman could be heard calling Roy Moore “a bad mayor,” labeling residents’ remarks “craziness,” and expressing impatience when Moore invited teen volunteers honored with…

Oct 20, 2011 12:48 PM CDT