Government

New Consumer Agency Announces First Enforcement Action, Accuses Capital One of Deceptive Marketing

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken its first public enforcement action days before its one-year anniversary. The CFPB accused Capital One Bank of using deceptive tactics in its marketing of credit cards, report the New York Times DealBook blog, the Huffington Post and the Hill’s On the Money Blog.…

Jul 18, 2012 3:10 PM CDT

It Isn’t Necessarily Big Brother, But Somebody Is Potentially Watching, Virtually All the Time

Think your posts on Facebook are private? Think again. It’s only a computer scanning them, under ordinary circumstances, but certain content could flag a post for human review if criminal conduct is suspected, according to Reuters and Slate. Tempted to say you’re hard at work when you’re not or for…

Jul 17, 2012 9:59 PM CDT

LA Files Big-Bucks Suit Against ‘Slumlord’ US Bank, Blames Lender for Condition of Foreclosed Homes

In a big-bucks lawsuit that blames U.S. Bank NA for the condition of some of the approximately 1,500 foreclosed homes to which it holds title as trustee, the city of Los Angeles seeks to hold the lender responsible for what it alleges are substandard conditions in many of the bank’s…

Jul 17, 2012 6:20 PM CDT

Government Workers’ Pension Contributions May Violate Their Free Speech Rights, Law Prof Says

The Citizens United decision finding that corporations have a First Amendment right to support political candidates has had a “perverse” effect, according to a law professor. That’s because corporations are financing political spending partly with funds acquired from stock purchases by public employee pension funds, violating the government workers’ free…

Jul 16, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

After Settling Plaintiff Lawyer’s Civil Rights Suit, Phila. Tries to Make Stop-and-Frisks Courteous

With violent crimes on the increase this year in Philadelphia and other major cities, the so-called stop-and-frisk is seen by many as a standard tool to use to crack down on possible perpetrators and illegal guns they may have in their possession. However, police in Philadelphia are trying to question…

Jul 11, 2012 9:45 PM CDT

Federal Cameras Are Snapping Time-Stamped Pix of License Plates in 4 Border States

Special surveillance cameras have been installed in four border states that routinely snap time-stamped photos of license plates. Backed by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the cameras take photos that also establish a vehicle’s geographic location. The information collected by the devices will be kept for up to two years…

Jul 11, 2012 6:54 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer, Backed by ACLU, Sues Los Angeles DA, Says Exculpatory Evidence Is Often Withheld

A California defense lawyer has sued Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley contending that prosecutors in his office are routinely instructed to suppress exculpatory evidence that they are required by law to disclose to their opposing counsel. Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and two…

Jul 11, 2012 4:28 PM CDT

Baltimore Leads Federal Court Battle over Borrowing Benchmark Known as Libor

The city of Baltimore is at the forefront of a federal court battle alleging banks artificially depressed a benchmark rate for borrowing, leading to large losses for cities that entered into interest rate swaps. The banks are accused of improperly lowering the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, the…

Jul 11, 2012 2:20 PM CDT

Ogletree Deakins Made 299 Billing Errors, Maricopa County Alleges; Firm Disputes Error Claims

Updated: Arizona’s Maricopa County says it has identified 299 billing errors by its former law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart—and they may be “only the tip of the iceberg.” In a proposed second amended complaint filed on Monday, the county detailed the alleged 299 billing errors by the…

Jul 11, 2012 10:29 AM CDT

‘Jane Doe’ Sues Feds Over FDA Regs That Require Health Exams for Unpaid Sperm Donors

If “Jane Doe” simply wanted to have sex with a man and get pregnant, the government would have little or no say in the situation until a child was actually conceived and born. But because she is in a same-sex relationship with another woman, she can’t be artificially inseminated with…

Jul 9, 2012 7:06 PM CDT

Local California Officials Consider Using Eminent Domain to Restructure Underwater Mortgages

Three jurisdictions in California are considering a plan to use eminent domain to acquire underwater mortgages and keep people in their homes. The unusual idea is being considered by California’s San Bernardino County and two of its largest cities, Ontario and Fontana, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. A…

Jul 5, 2012 12:10 PM CDT

2nd Circuit OKs Extortion Case Based On Lost Value of GC’s Legal Advice, Due to Blackmail Threat

In what the defendant’s lawyer called a novel and mistaken application of criminal law to an investment adviser who tried to blackmail the former general counsel for the New York comptroller, a federal appeals court has ruled that the potential lost value in compromised legal advice is sufficient “property” to…

Jul 3, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

New York AG Sues Ex-NARAL Prez, Accuses Her of Using $250K in Charity Money to Fund Lavish Lifestyle

A former president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York is being sued by the state attorney general for allegedly misappropriating some $250,000 in charitable contributions to fund her own lavish lifestyle. Kelli Conlin pleaded guilty to criminal charges a year ago, and her lawyer in that case, Robert Anello, said it…

Jul 2, 2012 10:04 PM CDT

Insider Threats: Experts Try to Balance the Constitution with Law Enforcement to Find Terrorists

A few minutes into a lecture on Islamic extremism, counterterrorism instructor William Gawthrop lifts a sheet of paper and asks the class to imagine iron filings on top and a powerful magnet underneath. “As you move the magnet … you see the iron filings move back and forth,” Gawthrop told…

Jul 1, 2012 10:10 AM CDT

The Threat from Within: What Is the Scope of Homegrown Terrorism?

Gordon Lederman, chief counsel for national security and investigations of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Kate Martin, director of the nonprofit Center for National Security Studies, ponder how we should weigh security against liberty. Their essays are part of a forthcoming book, Patriots Debate: Contemporary…

Jul 1, 2012 10:00 AM CDT