Government

More Key Senators Seek to Delay AG’s Planned Investigative Guidelines

Four senior Democratic senators joined today with leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee in calling for further public review before new investigative guidelines planned by Attorney General Michael Mukasey become effective. The guidelines, which Mukasey says are needed to fight terrorism effectively, are now set to be finalized by the…

Aug 20, 2008 11:08 PM CDT

Judge Sides With Nudists in Calif. Swimsuit Case

Nudists who for three decades have reportedly been frequenting a beach in San Diego County without any significant public objection can continue to let it all hang out a while longer. An Orange County judge says administrative law is on the nudists’ side, so state parks officials can’t require them…

Aug 20, 2008 6:36 PM CDT

Judge Tosses False Claims Suit Because of Leaked Discovery Documents

A federal judge has dismissed a false claims suit after a confidential discovery document ended up on Wikileaks. U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Jorge Sanchez, was apparently to blame for the Wikileaks document and dismissed the suit with prejudice as a sanction, the Chicago Daily Law…

Aug 20, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

Judge Sides With MIT Students, Lifts Gag Order in Transit Case

A federal anti-hacking law wasn’t intended to prohibit the disclosure of public information about computer security flaws and hence doesn’t prohibit three MIT students from discussing with fellow academics how they learned to circumvent the Boston transit fare system, as part of a class project. That’s what a federal judge…

Aug 19, 2008 8:31 PM CDT

As Musharraf Exits, Pakistan Lawyers Seek Trial and Restoration of Judges

As Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, resigned from office today, lawyers whose protests for over a year helped achieve this situation celebrated. They also called for the restoration to office of dozens of appellate court judges he removed last November. “Hundreds of lawyers gathered in the courtyard of the Lahore High…

Aug 18, 2008 10:29 PM CDT

Latest Twist in Detroit Mayor Saga: Judge Says City Can’t Remove Him

The city council doesn’t have the power to remove Detroit’s embattled mayor from office, a Michigan judge has ruled. However, today’s decision by Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski doesn’t derail a planned Sept. 3 hearing on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by the state’s governor, reports the Associated Press. Kilpatrick has…

Aug 18, 2008 7:08 PM CDT

Payments to Edwards’ Mistress Raise Campaign Law Issues

Payments made on behalf of former presidential candidate John Edwards to his admitted mistress may not have complied with campaign laws, experts say. At least one says money paid by Fred Baron, a wealthy Dallas trial attorney who served as Edwards’ national finance chairman, to Rielle Hunter could potentially present…

Aug 15, 2008 8:59 PM CDT

Once Cleveland’s Top Municipal Lawyer, Cornell Carter May Lose Law License

Convicted in a felony case concerning the misuse of a former employer’s credit card, the onetime director of the municipal law department in Cleveland agreed to a deal that would save his law license. Cornell Carter, 41, entered a one-year diversion program that could have resulted in the case being…

Aug 15, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

Landmark Mass. Brain Injury Settlement Could Put 2,000 in Community Care

An unprecedented settlement between Massachusetts and an advocacy group could eventually help 2,000 brain-injured patients from nursing homes to community care. Among them is 29-year-old Kaya Alexander, who has lived in a nursing home since a 2006 auto accident left her partially paralyzed, and desperately wants to be back among…

Aug 14, 2008 11:09 PM CDT

Lawyer-Led Protests Prevail in Pakistan: Musharraf is Expected to Step Down

After more than a year of lawyer-led protests over the breakdown of the rule of law helped force parliamentary elections that brought opposing parties to power, the president of Pakistan reportedly has agreed, or will soon agree, to step down. Sources say President Pervez Musharraf probably will announce his decision…

Aug 14, 2008 9:34 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor is Untethered, Then Re-Restricted

Reversing another judge’s earlier order that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had to wear an electronic tether due to his violation of bond restrictions on traveling, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge today not only untethered the mayor but lifted the travel ban. “He is not a flight risk. I see…

Aug 14, 2008 7:25 PM CDT

Ex-Prisoner Puts Tenn. Federal Judge Appointment on Hold

More than a year ago, President George W. Bush nominated Gustavus Puryear IV to be a federal district judge in Nashville, Tenn. His nomination is supported by Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, which ordinarily would put him on a fast track to confirmation. But a former…

Aug 14, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

Judge Slashes Fee Request for WilmerHale and Wiley Rein

Updated: A federal judge has slashed an attorney fee request in a false claims suit from $20 million to a little more than $7.5 million. His opinion explaining his action takes aim at fees charged by the two plaintiffs’ firms, WilmerHale and Wiley Rein. Chief U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth…

Aug 14, 2008 2:42 PM CDT

Overseer Moves to Seize $8B in California Funds for Prison Health Care

A court-appointed overseer for health care in California prisons has asked a federal judge to turn over $8 billion in state funds. J. Clark Kelso said the money is needed to meet minimum constitutional standards for prison health care, the Los Angeles Times reports. He said U.S. District Judge Thelton…

Aug 14, 2008 2:02 PM CDT

Secret GPS Tracking of Suspects, Without Warrants, OK’d By Courts

In what one critic describes as a signpost of our “always-on, surveillance society,” police departments increasingly have been secretly using GPS, without seeking search warrants, to track the movements of uncharged suspects. The satellite technology can be highly effective for this purpose: Although authorities are reluctant to discuss their investigative…

Aug 13, 2008 6:58 PM CDT