Government

Detroit Mayor May Plead at Hearing Tomorrow

As another action-packed day over the controversial leadership of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick draws to an end, there have been conflicting reports about whether he will soon plead in a perjury case. The Michigan governor began a hearing today over his possible ouster from office, at the request of the…

Sep 3, 2008 11:21 PM CDT

L.A. City Council Offers $500K Bounty for Unknown Serial Killer

Seeking to put a stop to a serial killer that authorities say has been operating in the Los Angeles area for some 23 years, the L.A. City Council today approved a $500,000 reward fund. It will pay up to $200,000 to any individual who provides information leading to the conviction…

Sep 3, 2008 9:46 PM CDT

Feds Can Review N.J. Lawyer’s Client Files, Judge Rules

A federal judge has OK’d a plan for the FBI to review computer records that a New Jersey lawyer says concern all of his clients for the past 15 years, finding that the procedure established for doing so is adequate to protect the rights of all concerned. The ruling by…

Sep 3, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

Appeals Court Bars Planting of Genetically-Altered Alfalfa

A federal appeals court has ruled Monsanto Co. may not sell genetically altered alfalfa until a government environmental study determines whether the crop would contaminate farmers’ nearby fields. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s ban on further planting and sales in a 2-1…

Sep 3, 2008 12:53 PM CDT

Ouster Hearing Begins for Detroit Mayor Despite Legal Maneuvering

Updated: Lawyers for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick only had a half-hour this morning to stop a hearing by the state’s governor that could result in their client’s ouster from office. Lawyer James Thomas said yesterday that the removal hearing was set to begin at 9 a.m., and the Michigan Supreme…

Sep 3, 2008 10:49 AM CDT

Top Court Asked to Decide If Mich. Gov. Can Remove Detroit Mayor

Updated: Just minutes after a state court refused today to block the Michigan governor’s planned hearing tomorrow over the possible ouster of Detroit’s embattled mayor, counsel for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick filed an emergency appeal. But then the governor’s office went a step further and asked the state’s highest court to…

Sep 2, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Meet Shelley Smith, a City Solicitor With 200 Pairs of Shoes

It’s not easy being in the shoes of Shelley Smith, who has served as Philadelphia’s city solicitor for the past eight months. For one thing, they’re size 11, and she’s got 200 pairs—50 of them ready for action in a closet in her municipal office. For another, she’s got a…

Sep 2, 2008 7:22 PM CDT

Sudden Deaths in Police Custody May Be Biological, Study Says

A study by Spanish researchers of sudden deaths of young men who died soon after being arrested says a biological fear factor may be at least part of the answer to the unsolved mystery. Just like wild animals, which can die suddenly when captured, humans taken into custody are stressed.…

Sep 2, 2008 6:18 PM CDT

Beer Brewer is Victorious in Battle over ‘Legal Weed’ Bottle Caps

A small California brewer who stood his ground in the face of threatened federal regulatory enforcement over his tongue-in-cheek bottle caps has won the regulatory battle. Adverse publicity has helped persuade the feds that the phrase “Legal Weed” on the Mt. Shasta Brewing Co.’s beer bottle caps is neither confusing…

Sep 2, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

As Students Head Back to School, Lawyers Head Back to Court

As students start another school year, litigation over their education is on a number of minds. In Chicago, as many as 2,000 predominantly minority students are boycotting the first day of school today and taking special buses to public schools in the upscale suburb of Winnetka, in support of efforts…

Sep 2, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Lawyers for Detroit Mayor Propose Plea Deal

Updated: Lawyers for embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick are proposing a plea deal in which he would resign and plead guilty to two felonies. Kilpatrick would also perform 300 hours of community service, agree not to run for office for two years, give up pension benefits and pay a six-figure…

Sep 2, 2008 12:50 PM CDT

Palin Represented by Private Lawyer in Firing Probe

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is being represented by an Anchorage lawyer in a probe into the firing of Alaska’s public safety commissioner. Employment and professional liability lawyer Thomas Van Flein told KTUU.com that he was hired because the attorney general has a potential conflict of interest because he…

Sep 2, 2008 10:59 AM CDT

Former Conn. Ethics Counsel Faces Ethics Complaint Over Fake Letter

A Connecticut lawyer who posed as a parking lot attendant when she wrote an anonymous letter complaining about her boss at a state agency is now facing a disciplinary complaint. Maureen Duggan faces a hearing in November or December, after a judicial branch disciplinary panel on Aug. 19 determined that…

Aug 29, 2008 3:54 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor Sues to Stop Ouster Hearing, Claims Gov. is Biased

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has filed suit in an effort to stop Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm from holding a hearing into whether he should be removed from office. The Detroit City Council has requested the hearing under a state constitutional provision that allows the governor to remove government officials who…

Aug 29, 2008 11:10 AM CDT

Federal Judge in Texas is Indicted in Employee Sex Abuse Case

A federal district judge in Texas was indicted today on charges of abusive sexual contact and aggravated sexual abuse, based on complaints made by his former case manager. The federal case against U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent is unique, and also represents the first time in recent years that a…

Aug 28, 2008 11:40 PM CDT