Government

Tenn. Law Firm and 3 Partners Ordered to Pay Consumers $670K in Claimed Health Insurance Scam

A Tennessee law firm has been held in contempt of court and ordered, along with three of its current or former partners and another individual, to repay $670,000 that two client companies are accused of taking from consumers in a health insurance scam that allegedly left policyholders with unpaid medical…

Apr 6, 2012 8:57 PM CDT

Detroit City Attorney Loses Law License for 90 Days for Lying re Then-Mayor’s Text-Message Scandal

Saying that Detroit City Attorney Valerie Colbert-Osamuede had no prior record of ethics violations, was unlikely to err again and gained no personal benefit from her misconduct, a state lawyer discipline board has suspended her law license for 90 days, reports the Detroit Free Press. The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission…

Apr 6, 2012 6:51 PM CDT

Inmates Will Get $153K, Lawyers Have Earned Nearly $1.6M as 9-Year-Old Chicago Jail Suit Settles

After nine years of legal battle, the Cook County Board has agreed to settle for $1 million a lawsuit over a since-amended weekend lockdown policy at its Chicago jail. The bulk of the money, $850,000, will go to the lawyer who represented four female inmates in the suit, which they…

Apr 4, 2012 5:56 PM CDT

After Seeing Dashcam Video of Deputy Shooting Family Dog, Jury Awards $620K in Civil Rights Case

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins says his deputy “has felt bad … since day one” about shooting a family pet of Roger and Sandi Jenkins (no relation) on Jan. 9, 2010 at their Taneytown, Md., home. But that doesn’t mean Timothy Brooks did anything wrong by defending himself against their…

Apr 4, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

Car Dealership Retains Counsel to Fight $143 Ticket for Flying 11 American Flags

The owner of a Chevrolet dealership in St. Petersburg, Fla., says he has been proudly flying 11 American flags over his business on Route 19 for the past 20 years or so. But for the first time Michael Maher was made aware recently, by a $143 ticket, that the display…

Apr 4, 2012 3:04 PM CDT

Government Witnesses Who Lie to Grand Juries Are Protected from Civil Suits, Supreme Court Says

An investigator accused of lying to a grand jury has the same immunity from civil suit as a witness at trial, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the unanimous opinion (PDF). He said factors justifying absolute immunity for trial witnesses also apply to grand…

Apr 2, 2012 4:09 PM CDT

The Prosecutor on Trial: Ex-Maricopa County Attorney Faces Disbarment for Political Acts

Updated: On April 10, 2012, an Arizona Supreme Court disciplinary panel disbarred Andrew Thomas and his former deputy Lisa Aubuchon. Nothing was usual when Colorado bar discipline prosecutors John Gleason and James Sudler flew into Maricopa County, Ariz., in March 2010. For security reasons, they used assumed names and stayed…

Apr 1, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Immigration’s Next Chapter: Arizona to Tell Its Tale of How to Stop Illegal Immigrants

Arizona and its colorful governor, Jan Brewer, have a story to tell about the problem of illegal immigration. And the target audience is the U.S. Supreme Court, which this month will consider the constitutionality of the state’s legislative response to the problem. Before launching into complex arguments about statutory pre-emption…

Apr 1, 2012 8:40 AM CDT

In John Joe Gray’s 12th Year of Armed Standoff, Such ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Behavior May Be Increasing

Corrected: Wanted in a Christmas Eve 1999 assault on a Texas state trooper in which he allegedly bit a chunk of flesh out of the officer’s arm after a routine traffic stop escalated, John Joe Gray found an effective way to avoid answering the charge. Released on bail over a…

Mar 30, 2012 8:39 PM CDT

Liberals Appear ‘Taken Aback, Angry’ in Medicaid Arguments; Will Court Redefine Federal Power?

Justice Clarence Thomas continued his six-year streak of silence as arguments on the health care law wrapped up Wednesday afternoon. Others were not so reluctant. “Lawyers call a lively group of judges a ‘hot bench,’ ” the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. “This one was scorching.” On Wednesday afternoon,…

Mar 29, 2012 11:59 AM CDT

ABA President Opposes Congressional Committee Plan to ‘Eliminate’ Legal Services Corp. Budget

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican Study Committee’s plan to “eliminate the Legal Services Corporation” in the nation’s fiscal year 2013 budget is “remarkably shortsighted,” says ABA President William T. (Bill) Robinson III in a written statement on Wednesday, citing help that the LSC provides annually in nearly 1 million…

Mar 28, 2012 10:10 PM CDT

Ex-Chief of Staff for Blago Says Sorry, Gets 10-Day Jail Term; Former Ill. Gov Is Serving 14 Years

A former chief of staff to Rod Blagojevich who served as a star witness at the political corruption trial of the impeached former Illinois governor was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 days in federal prison after apologizing to a federal judge in Chicago. Blagojevich is serving a 14-year sentence. Attorney…

Mar 28, 2012 9:29 PM CDT

Ark. AG Can’t Sue Law Firm Under Deceptive Trade Practices Statute, State’s Top Court Rules

Reversing a lower court ruling that imposed penalties on an out-of-state law firm for collecting fees on dishonored checks in excess of what is allowed under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the state’s top court has ruled that its attorney general has no jurisdiction to pursue such a case…

Mar 28, 2012 5:31 PM CDT

Insurer’s Tape of Roadside Phone Call Gets Charges Against Policyholder Dismissed

Stopped by the side of the road in Coral Springs, Fla. last October, a 59-year-old woman initially had only two flat tires to deal with, caused, she admits, by bumping the median of the road with her vehicle. But after an off-duty city police officer in a marked car stopped…

Mar 28, 2012 4:25 PM CDT

2nd Lawyer Takes Plea in NJ Tax-Lien Bid-Rigging Case; Federal Probe Is Ongoing

A second lawyer has taken a plea in a federal case over alleged collusive bidding in sales of tax liens in New Jersey. Robert E. Rothman, 59, a lawyer and owner of Rothman Realty Corp. in Englewood, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Newark to bid-rigging at auctions between…

Mar 27, 2012 10:02 PM CDT