Government

German Town to Test Dog DNA to Enforce Pooper-Scooper Law

A small town in Germany is planning to perform a DNA test on every licensed dog to make it easier to enforce a pooper-scooper law. Owners who don’t pick up after pets can then be matched to the evidence that scofflaws leave behind, which a dog warden will collect, reports…

Feb 2, 2009 5:32 PM CST

Suspended Pa. Judge Now at Issue in $3.4M Legal Malpractice Judgment

Accusations that two now-suspended Pennsylvania judges accepted $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for incarcerating juveniles at specific detention facilities have spilled over into another multimillion-dollar case. A law firm seeking to overturn a $3.4 million legal malpractice award says in a motion for a new trial yesterday that it…

Jan 30, 2009 8:20 PM CST

Horrified By $20B Bonus Bonanza, Sen. Dodd Calls for Wall Street to Repay

Did U.S. taxpayers help fund nearly $20 billion in Wall Street bonuses at the end of last year while Congress raced to the rescue of embattled companies in the midst of a financial crisis that some consider the worst since the 1930s? If taxpayer money was used, directly or indirectly,…

Jan 30, 2009 12:21 AM CST

Oops. Mass. Inmate Jailed Too Long, Despite State’s Vow to Reform

When Mark Taylor asked about the reduction in his prison sentence that he was supposed to get for good behavior, an official told him, in writing, that he wasn’t eligible as a habitual offender. But last month, the prison realized that it had made a mistake. More than seven months…

Jan 29, 2009 10:24 PM CST

Ill. Senate Ousts. Gov. Blagojevich; Lt. Gov, a Lawyer, Now Takes His Place

A historic impeachment trial of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich ended today and, within a few hours, the state senate voted to remove him from office. They convicted Blagojevich of abusing his power as governor after accusations that he tried to barter the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack…

Jan 29, 2009 9:51 PM CST

Illinois Gov’s Unique Impeachment Trial Takes a New Turn

After taking a pass on the testimony phase of his own impeachment trial before the Illinois state senate this week—and instead discussing his case on national television shows—Gov. Rod Blagojevich is now planning to deliver a closing argument in the senate trial. According to the state senate president, John Cullerton,…

Jan 28, 2009 9:54 PM CST

2 Judges to Plead in Jailing Juveniles for Profit Case, But What About the Kids?

Public outrage and potential litigation are being sparked by news that two longtime Pennsylvania judges have accepted a plea that includes prison time in a case alleging that they incarcerated juvenile defendants for their own personal profit. After news of the plea by Luzerne County’s president judge, Mark Ciavarella Jr.,…

Jan 28, 2009 6:40 PM CST

Transsexuals Sue Ill. Over Refusal to Change Birth Certificates

Two transsexuals who underwent sex-change surgeries in Thailand have sued the state of Illinois over officials’ refusal to change the gender on their birth certificates. Kari Rothkopf and Victoria Kirk filed the suit with the help of lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and pro bono lawyers from Jenner…

Jan 28, 2009 6:27 PM CST

Calif. Town’s In-Home Smoking Ban Lights Up Opposition

Fellow residents in Edith Frederickson’s own government-sponsored retirement complex in Belmont, Calif., helped spark an anti-smoking law that may be the nation’s strictest. As of about two weeks ago, it effectively outlaws smoking in all apartment buildings and even some outdoor areas, reports the New York Times in a front-page…

Jan 27, 2009 11:16 PM CST

Ill. Gov. Takes Case to TV, is a No-Show at His Own Impeachment Trial

As he had promised, Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn’t at hand as his own historic impeachment trial began today in the state senate in Springfield. “As state senators began gathering in this downstate capital city of 116,000 to hear accusations of wrongdoing, overstepping and deal-making in Illinois’ first impeachment trial…

Jan 27, 2009 1:21 AM CST

Ill. Gov. to Boycott His Own Impeachment Trial, Frustrated Attorney Quits

Updated: An impeachment trial of the Illinois governor is set to begin on Monday in the state senate. But the defendant, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, announced at a press conference today that he isn’t going to attend, because the trial rules set for the proceeding, he says, are unfair and unconstitutional,…

Jan 23, 2009 10:26 PM CST

Former NY Senate Leader Joseph Bruno Charged With Profiteering in Office

When he decided not to seek reelection in June, longtime New York Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno said the decision had nothing to do with the FBI’s seizure of 30 boxes of records at his office at the state Capitol. But today the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Bruno,…

Jan 23, 2009 9:20 PM CST

From Xbox to Atari: Obama Aides Adjust to White House Technology

Already equipped with a super-encrypted BlackBerry, President Barack Obama apparently is light years ahead of many of his White House staff on the technological front. His administration, much-admired during his campaign for its avant-garde use of the Internet, is now struggling to update a presidential website on White House computer…

Jan 22, 2009 9:48 PM CST

Obama Retakes Oath of Office Out of ‘Abundance of Caution’

Because he got one word out of sequence when taking the oath of office during his inauguration yesterday, President Barack Obama took it again tonight out of an “abundance of caution,” his legal counsel says. Putting to rest a potential issue that has ignited intense interest among readers of ABAJournal.com…

Jan 22, 2009 1:48 AM CST

Detroit’s Top Lawyer Resigns Over ‘Ghetto Court’ Remark

The chief of Detroit’s law department has resigned in a flap stemming from her reference to one of the city’s courts as “a ghetto court.” Kathleen Leavey, who is white, made the comment in a meeting last week with court staffers, according to the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit…

Jan 20, 2009 12:42 PM CST