Government

32 Ex-US Attorneys Ask Senate to Bolster Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege

Adding, for the first time, insider Justice Department protests to a growing weight of concern about the McNulty memo, a bipartisan group of 32 former U.S. attorneys has sent a letter asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote for a bill that would shore up attorney-client protections for corporations. At…

Jun 23, 2008 8:40 PM CDT

High Court to Hear ‘Price Squeeze’ Antitrust Case that Split FTC and SG

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that tests the antitrust “price squeeze” doctrine in a case against a unit of AT&T. The issue has divided the government, with the Federal Trade Commission supporting the theory and the Justice Department opposing it. Several Internet providers had sued…

Jun 23, 2008 5:46 PM CDT

Lawsuit Seeks to Bar South Carolina’s ‘I Believe’ License Plates

A legal group is seeking an injunction to bar production of license plates in South Carolina that feature a cross and the phrase “I believe.” Americans United for Separation of Church and State contends the license plates are unconstitutional, the New York Times reports. The group’s executive director, Barry Lynn,…

Jun 20, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Judge Blocks Ouster of Seven Lawyers from D.C. AG’s Office

A judge in Washington, D.C., has issued a temporary restraining order to block the ouster of seven lawyers from the District of Columbia Attorney General’s office. Judge Melvin Wright said a collective bargaining agreement requires fired employees to be given notice of poor performance and an opportunity to improve, the…

Jun 20, 2008 2:29 PM CDT

Gonzales Axed Anti-Torture DOJ Lawyer, But Promised US Attorney Job, ABC Says

In Congressional testimony that helps connect two controversial legal issues in the Bush administration, a former high-level Justice Department lawyer says he was asked to leave after he wrote a memo opposing harsh interrogation techniques he considered torture but was promised a job as a U.S. Attorney by former Attorney…

Jun 19, 2008 11:16 PM CDT

Meet Michael Smyth, ‘Social Conscience of the City Law Firms’

Michael Smyth’s practice focus isn’t what most lawyers would expect of a partner at a London-based mega-firm. But the 51-year-old Clifford Chance litigator is described by the London Times as “the social conscience of the city law firms” in a lengthy profile of Smyth and his entrepreneurial views about melding…

Jun 19, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

9th Circuit to Employers: Don’t Look at Workers’ Text Messages

Venturing into what a federal appeals court panel described as a new frontier of electronic communications law, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided today that employers have no right to read their employees’ text messages without their consent. Plus, even if employers pay for the service,…

Jun 18, 2008 10:03 PM CDT

DOJ Opinion OKs Social Security Benefits for Gay Couple’s Child

A Justice Department legal opinion says federal law does not bar the Social Security Administration from paying benefits to the nonbiological child of a woman who entered into a civil union in Vermont. The October opinion (PDF), released on June 9, says the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal…

Jun 18, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

Judge Approves $11M Va. Tech Settlement

An $11 million settlement that was reportedly agreed to several months ago by victims and survivors of last year’s shooting massacre at Virginia Tech has now been approved today by a Virginia judge. “Families of 24 victims—out of 32 killed by Seung-Hui Cho—will be compensated under the settlement approved by…

Jun 17, 2008 11:21 PM CDT

Imperial US Extraterritorialism is Abusive, UK Lawyer Says

Extraterritorialism, or the practice of seeking to enforce a country’s laws beyond that country’s geographic borders, isn’t necessarily bad. But it is being abused by U.S. authorities seeking to prosecute foreign citizens for, among other conduct, gambling activities that might not be illegal if they were conducted by American citizens…

Jun 17, 2008 8:20 PM CDT

Suit Filed over ‘Gated Community’ Created by Police Barricades

The owners of an apartment complex in suburban Chicago have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against local government officials. At issue is the “gated community” created by concrete police barricades installed at 12 of the 13 entrance points to the complex earlier this month. Police for Rolling Meadows, Ill.,…

Jun 17, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

Suit Challenges Public Intoxication Statutes in N.J.

A federal lawsuit contends at least 74 towns in New Jersey are enforcing statutes against public intoxication even though they were repealed by a state law adopted in 1975. The suit filed in federal court in Camden is seeking class action status, an order banning prosecutions and the return of…

Jun 17, 2008 12:51 PM CDT

3rd Circuit Panel to Hear Complaint Against 9th Circuit Chief Judge

With noteworthy speed, the chair of the judicial council of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed a special committee to look into a judicial misconduct complaint against Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A request to initiate proceedings was made by…

Jun 16, 2008 11:01 PM CDT

White House Admin Office E-Mails Not Covered By FOIA, Federal Judge Says

Although the White House Office of Administration has for decades considered itself subject to the Freedom of Information Act, in fact FOIA doesn’t apply to White House e-mails held there because the office isn’t an agency under the statute, a federal judge said today. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly reached…

Jun 16, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

Air Conditioner Ban Makes Residents Hot in One Illinois Town

Right now, violators will only be warned by Addison authorities. But starting next year residents of this suburban Chicago town face a fine of up to $500 for putting a window air conditioning unit in their homes, if it is facing the street or within 12 feet of the street…

Jun 13, 2008 5:58 PM CDT