Government

Archaic Law Being Used to Roust NYC Food Trucks

One branch of New York City government—the parks department—is wooing gourmet food trucks to set up shop in the city’s parks in an effort to provide the working masses an array of quick and convenient lunchtime options. But another branch of city government—the police department—has begun shooing food trucks away…

Jun 29, 2011 4:47 PM CDT

State Budget Crisis Kills Conn. Child-Welfare Law Firm

A small Connecticut law firm considered a model at providing services to children who are victims of abuse and neglect is closing its doors after losing the $1.1 million state contract that was its only source of funding. Founded three years ago by attorneys Tammie Gildea, Priscilla Hammond and Michael…

Jun 24, 2011 1:05 PM CDT

Class Action Says Too-High Public Defender Caseload in Muni Court Denies Right to Counsel

Three inmates have filed a class action suit against two cities in Washington state, contending that excessive public defender caseloads in municipal court have deprived them and other defendants of their constitutional right to counsel. The Skagit County Superior Court suit, which was filed by Toby Marshall of Terrell Marshall…

Jun 21, 2011 10:30 PM CDT

Agoraphobic Beats Rap Because He Can’t Leave His Home for Trial

The prosecution wasn’t happy about it. But, because no practical way could be found to try an agoraphobic who reportedly hasn’t left his home for four years, the British government has dropped money-lending charges against Colin Watson, 62. The Middlesborough resident got into trouble because, again due to his inability…

Jun 21, 2011 7:53 PM CDT

City Settles Suit, Ex-City Attorney’s Law License Is Suspended re Court Sex During Plea Negotiations

The city of Holland, Mich., and a former deputy city attorney have settled on undisclosed terms a federal lawsuit filed by a defendant in a drunken-driving case who said she was raped by the lawyer, Carl Gabrielse, in a jury room bathroom during plea negotiations in a Holland District Court…

Jun 21, 2011 5:23 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Decide Right to Damages for HIV-Positive Pilot Who Sued for Privacy Violation

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a person who suffers no financial losses can recover damages under a Watergate-era privacy law. The case could determine the scope of the 1974 Privacy Act, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. James Wood, the lawyer for plaintiff Stanmore Cooper, told the…

Jun 21, 2011 2:55 PM CDT

Hike Social Security to 50% of Average Worker’s Preretirement Earnings, Labor Lawyer Says

Labor lawyer Thomas Geoghegan has a problem with Social Security. Some people worry that the program is too expensive, but Geoghegan worries that it’s too cheap. Some elderly people survive on Social Security with earnings of less than $10,000 a year, he writes in an op-ed for the New York…

Jun 20, 2011 12:04 PM CDT

Detroit Seeks $10M from Ex-Partner of Venable, Says She Didn’t Do Job Due to Relationship with Mayor

An ongoing dispute over $10 million paid by the city of Detroit to a former partner of Venable and Saul Ewing who served as independent police monitor for more than five years has now moved to federal court. The city has also upped the ante against attorney Sheryl Robinson Wood…

Jun 15, 2011 10:40 PM CDT

Bar Owner Admittedly Feeds Feral Cats, Says Higher Authority Trumps City Ordinance: Jesus

In an effort to deal with an estimated population of 80,000 feral cats, Houston has enacted an ordinance making it illegal to feed them. Although a “registered colony manager” program offers a safe harbor for doing so, some don’t see the need to comply with the city’s rules, reports the…

Jun 10, 2011 12:24 PM CDT

Facing Ethics Case re $50M ‘Taj Mahal’ Court Building Project, Judge Points Finger at 14 Colleagues

Corrected: An appeals court judge in Tallahassee, Fla., who is facing a legal ethics case over his role in a controversial $50 million courthouse construction project, among other claimed misconduct, says he’s not the only one who approved it. The other judges in the 1st District Court of Appeal also…

Jun 9, 2011 10:51 PM CDT

PI Firm Sponsors Naked Bike Ride, Tells Participants ‘When You’re Naked, We’ve Got You Covered’

Apparently seeing a business opportunity as well as an opportunity to do good concerning a hugely popular annual naked bike ride in Portland, Ore., a personal injury firm with a partner who’s an avid cyclist is serving as a title sponsor of the event. Expected to attract perhaps as many…

Jun 8, 2011 8:31 PM CDT

Senate OKs Verrilli as New Solicitor General

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Donald Verrilli Jr. as the country’s new solicitor general, by a 72-16 vote, reports the Associated Press. He fills the job left vacant by Justice Elena Kagan when she joined the U.S. Supreme Court. Verrilli most recently served as deputy counsel to President Barack Obama.…

Jun 6, 2011 11:12 PM CDT

DOJ Settles Suit Against Joe Arpaio’s Office, Says Maricopa, Ariz., Sheriff Has Provided Docs

The Department of Justice has settled an unusual suit seeking to force the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff’s office to provide documents for a civil rights probe. The office is now cooperating, ending the documents dispute, although the investigation continues, reports the Associated Press. The sheriff’s office did not have any…

Jun 2, 2011 11:45 PM CDT

White House Counsel Bob Bauer Resigns; Top Deputy Will Replace Him

White House counsel Bob Bauer is resigning, but he will still be advising President Obama. Bauer will return to private practice in June at Perkins Coie, where he will serve as general counsel for Obama’s re-election campaign and as the president’s personal lawyer, report the Associated Press and CNN. Bauer…

Jun 2, 2011 3:48 PM CDT

Overpaid? 4,300 Government Lawyers Make More Money than Governors, Report Says

A senator who wants to cut the pay of federal employees to reduce the deficit has gathered some ammunition with a new report on the pay of lawyers and others who work for the government. According to statistics requested by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., about 77,000 federal employees made more…

Jun 2, 2011 11:50 AM CDT