Government

DOJ to Propose New Limits on State Secrets Privilege

Updated: Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce new limits on the state secrets privilege, invoked to block lawsuits because of national security concerns. Holder plans to require government agencies to get his approval before citing the privilege to withhold evidence or seek dismissal of a lawsuit, according to the…

Sep 23, 2009 1:23 PM CDT

Lawyer Can Sue Over Criticism of His Probe of City Attorney’s Rumored Affair

A California lawyer was within his rights as a citizen when he hired a private investigator to look into rumors of a possible affair between Morgan Hill’s then-city attorney and the municipality’s city manager, a state appeals court held yesterday. The decision by the California Court of Appeal’s Sixth District…

Sep 22, 2009 10:25 PM CDT

1,200 Officers Arrest 44 in ‘Avenues’ Gang Raid in Los Angeles

In the latest chapter of a law enforcement saga that has been ongoing for years, some 1,200 Los Angeles police officers and federal agents raided a city neighborhood this morning in pursuit of 54 alleged members and associates of the Avenues gang. They arrested 44, reports the Los Angeles Times.…

Sep 22, 2009 7:03 PM CDT

2 Lawyers Charged in Alleged Government Property Valuation Scheme

For almost a decade, attorneys at Armstrong, Mitchell, Damiani and Zaccagnini in Ohio’s Cuyahoga County helped government and commercial clients persuade the county’s Board of Revision that the assessed valuations on which their property tax is based were too high. The law firm was particularly expert at doing so, officials…

Sep 22, 2009 5:05 PM CDT

Chinese Officials Steal & Sell Babies for Adoption for $3K Each, L.A. Times Says

There are strict laws in China about how many children married couples can have. Officials have the power to order abortions and sterilizations and, once a baby is born, heavy fines can be levied if a family’s quota of one to two children is exceeded. However, government officials don’t have…

Sep 21, 2009 7:42 PM CDT

US EPA Must Address Discriminatory Use of Funds, 9th Circuit Says

Reversing a trial judge’s dismissal of a community group’s civil rights lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on mootness grounds, a federal appeals court panel has ruled that the agency needs to address what the plaintiff describes as an unfair practice of spending money in well-to-do areas. Additionally, the…

Sep 19, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

Despite ‘Double Delete,’ Official’s E-Mail Probably Can Still Be Retrieved

Although public employees in Massachusetts aren’t supposed to delete their e-mails, a top aide to Boston’s mayor apparently did. But, in response to a ruckus raised when the city wasn’t able to provide his e-mail in response to a public records request, forensic experts say most or all of the…

Sep 16, 2009 7:46 PM CDT

Fact-Finder or Legal Shield? Internal Probe a Tough Gig for In-House Counsel

In-house counsel are in a tough position when they oversee an internal corporate investigation. On the one hand, the company needs to understand the facts to make appropriate determinations. But, on the other hand, the facts may establish liability to third parties for any corporate wrongdoing. That essentially was the…

Sep 15, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

As More Laws Restrict Windmills, Some Homeowners Fight Back

Wendie Howland drives a Prius and uses solar panels to heat water, but she won’t be able to install a windmill to generate electricity for her home. The Bourne, Mass., resident took her case to court after the local planning board refused to allow her to install the 132-foot windmill.…

Sep 15, 2009 6:46 PM CDT

NYC Officials Seek Smoking Ban for Public Parks and Beaches

When a deal to ban smoking indoors was struck in 2002 between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council, some were furious. But now, less than a decade later, officials are poised to go further, and even a number of smokers appear resigned, according to the City Room…

Sep 14, 2009 11:54 PM CDT

County Attorney Gets House Arrest in Redo of ‘Unreasonable’ Probation

A former government attorney at the helm of Monroe County, Fla., legal matters has been resentenced after a federal appeals court said his original five-year probation term in a public corruption case was “unreasonable.” But James Hendrick, 61, once again escaped prison time, reports the Miami Herald. Instead, he was…

Sep 11, 2009 8:45 PM CDT

Group Sues for Info About Reporters Paid By US to Cover Criminal Trial

At the same time that the United States was prosecuting five Cuban intelligence agents in Miami nearly a decade ago, the government’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting was also paying local journalists, on a freelance basis, to prepare critical media reports on the trial for a Cuban audience. That may have…

Sep 9, 2009 11:26 PM CDT

Feds to Ramp Up Enforcement of ‘Rampant’ Wage-and-Hour Violations

After the release last week of a 72-page report documenting what the National Law Journal sums up as alleged “rampant” violations of wage-and-hour laws by employers, the U.S. Department of Labor is already gearing up for more stringent enforcement. It is hiring 250 additional investigators to pursue claimed widespread practices…

Sep 9, 2009 8:48 PM CDT

15 Madoff Investors in Mass. to Share $8M Fairfield Settlement

Fairfield Greenwich Group has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts Secretary of State over serving as a feeder fund to Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme. Under today’s settlement, all 15 of the identified investors in Massachusetts who put money into Madoff’s $65 billion…

Sep 8, 2009 10:39 PM CDT

N.Y. AG Calls Bank’s Privilege Claims ‘Indiscriminate,’ Seeks Waiver

Stymied in his efforts to determine whether the Bank of America and executives complied with disclosure requirements concerning its merger with Merrill Lynch by what he terms an “indiscriminate” use of attorney-client privilege, the New York attorney general is calling for the bank to make its inside and outside counsel…

Sep 8, 2009 9:45 PM CDT