Government

Should States Hire Private Trial Lawyers?

A growing controversy about whether it is appropriate for states to retain high-priced contingency lawyers to pursue mass tort litigation on citizens’ behalf is being argued in courts—and newspapers—throughout the country. Siding with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Wall Street Journal’s (sub. req.) editorial board says today that it’s…

Jul 5, 2007 10:50 PM CDT

Chicago Lawyer Prowls Trash Dumpsters

By day, Todd Kooperman practices law with the Cook County public guardian’s office. But by night he can often be found prowling back alleys in affluent neighborhoods in and around Chicago, looking for treasure tossed in local trash dumpsters. The 28-year-old Chicago attorney is seeking bicycles and other salvageable items…

Jul 3, 2007 1:17 AM CDT

Pakistan’s Top Court to be Swept for Bugs

In a setback to efforts by Pakistan’s president to remove permanently from office the country’s top judge, the Pakistan Supreme Court has barred intelligence officers from ongoing hearings and ordered courtrooms and the homes of senior judges swept for secret listening devices. Giving credence to claims by Aitzaz Ahsan, lead…

Jul 2, 2007 5:47 PM CDT

Is Libyan Innocent in Lockerbie Case?

A “miscarriage of justice” may have resulted in the conviction of a Libyan intelligence agent in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, requiring that he be granted a new appeal by Scotland’s High Court, an independent review board reported today. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was found guilty in 2001 of the bombing,…

Jun 28, 2007 7:14 PM CDT

CIA Documents Show U.S. Dirty Deeds

From an unsuccessful government plot to have a Chicago mobster assassinate Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to a failed effort to bug the Las Vegas hotel room of comedian Dan Rowan and a sidelines role in the Watergate scandal, recently released CIA documents show a plethora of dirty deeds committed by…

Jun 27, 2007 8:18 PM CDT

Court Shields Government Employees

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government employees carrying out their official duties without benefiting themselves are not personally liable for claims they violated racketeering laws or private property rights, SCOTUSblog reports. The ruling is Wilkie v. Robbins, No. 06–219 (PDF).

Jun 25, 2007 4:47 PM CDT

Bush Aides Plan to Close Gitmo Prison

Public, legislative and judicial pressure to end the extraordinary detention of so-called enemy combatants and others suspected of links to al-Qaeda terrorists at a U.S. Navy prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, apparently may be having an effect on the White House. Top aides to President George W. Bush are making…

Jun 22, 2007 12:40 AM CDT

More Missing White House E-mail; Official Cites ‘Extensive’ Violations

Far more e-mail than originally thought was sent and received by White House officials on Republican National Committee accounts, and records of many of those e-mails are missing. And that suggests there may have been “extensive” violations of federal open records law by the Bush administration, says the Democratic chair…

Jun 19, 2007 3:00 AM CDT

Ex-Justice Fails to Resolve Land Dispute

A mediation overseen by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has failed to produce an agreement by the U.S. government to compensate former Kentucky landowners and their heirs. Now the claimants are asking a judge to issue a final ruling in a case seeking more than $30 million from…

Jun 18, 2007 2:04 PM CDT

Judge to FBI: Release Spying Records

According to a party, a federal judge in a FOIA case today ordered the FBI to release on an expedited basis records of the agency’s domestic spying on Americans under a controversial National Security Letters program that allows warrantless surveillance. “The reports we’ve seen so far about NSL abuse are…

Jun 16, 2007 1:55 AM CDT

One Federal Judge in Western Michigan

With three of four federal judge seats vacant for well over a year in the Western District of Michigan, the one sitting jurist has more than a full plate. “For the last year or so, I think my car’s been the first one in the court garage in the morning…

Jun 15, 2007 10:50 PM CDT

Tax Ruling Rejects Administration View

The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed with the Bush administration’s views on sovereign immunity when it ruled yesterday that that the courts may hear a suit against the nations of India and Mongolia for unpaid property taxes. The Bush administration had urged the U.S. Supreme Court to support immunity, saying such…

Jun 15, 2007 2:07 PM CDT

Diplomatic Property-Tax Case Allowed

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that foreign governments are not immune to suits for payment of local property taxes. “Property ownership is not an inherently sovereign function,” said the majority opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas. The court ruled 7-2 for New York City, which is seeking back property taxes…

Jun 14, 2007 4:06 PM CDT

Toxic Tap Water for Years at Marine Base

At least twenty-five years after toxins were found to have seeped into the water supply at a North Carolina marine base, the situation is still being studied. A report released Tuesday, as emotional testimony began at a hearing by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee by individuals who say they…

Jun 13, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Officials Must Specify Subject of Public Meetings

Government officials must specify the subject of public meetings, particularly when they know the subject is likely to be controversial, the Wisconsin Supreme Court says. Ruling today on a parent’s protest that the state’s 30-year-old open meetings law had not been followed when the Tomah Area School District noticed an…

Jun 13, 2007 8:56 PM CDT