Government

FBI Ordered to Do DNA Search to Help Suspect in Rape-Murder Case

In what the U.S. Department of Justice describes as an unprecedented ruling, a federal judge in Chicago yesterday ordered the FBI to search its massive national DNA database to see whether it can identify a new suspect in the rape-murder of an 11-year-old Illinois girl. Twice convicted of the 1992…

Feb 3, 2009 8:06 PM CST

‘Broad Doctrinal Shift’ Expected at DOJ as Eric Holder is OK’d as AG

In an expected confirmation, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s first African-American attorney general. “Though debate quickly turned partisan when his chief supporter denounced Republicans who sought a pledge not to prosecute intelligence agents who participated in harsh interrogations, the Senate still confirmed Holder…

Feb 2, 2009 11:57 PM CST

Harvard 3L to Police: ‘Do You Know Who I ... Was?’

A third-year law student at Harvard University allegedly had a few too many one day late last month before leaving a Boston bar and seating himself in a city police cruiser. Authorities say Charles Simpkins, 24, then told officers “Give me a (expletive) ride, I work for the district attorney’s…

Feb 2, 2009 8:15 PM CST

FDA Opens Criminal Probe of Peanut Co.; Obama Calls for Agency Overhaul

The federal Food and Drug Administration has opened a criminal investigation into a closely held Virginia-based company that has been blamed for a salmonella outbreak that allegedly sickened more than 500 people and killed eight. Although Peanut Corp. of America’s own tests in 2007 and 2008 showed that salmonella was…

Feb 2, 2009 5:55 PM CST

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