Government

10-Year Court Battle Continues Over Historic CA Home

After a decade of litigation, a historic California home was about to be demolished. But a last-minute stay of the demolition order means an epic legal battle over the future of the Juana Briones house in Palo Alto isn’t yet over. Preservationists hope that there may still be a way…

Jun 8, 2007 12:07 AM CDT

More American Officials in Laos Plot?

It isn’t just the California National Guard that may have had at least a peripheral involvement in an alleged California-based plot to overthrow the communist government of Laos.” “Officials said their probe may extend to a former Wisconsin state senator, an unnamed congressman and the California Highway Patrol,” an AP…

Jun 7, 2007 5:37 PM CDT

Potential Libby Pardon is Talk of Town

A day after former top vice presidential aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a $250,000 fine for his role in obstructing a federal investigation into how a CIA agent’s identity was leaked, one topic is being discussed all over Washington, D.C.. That is…

Jun 7, 2007 12:18 AM CDT

Libby Letters Mainly Sought Leniency

From former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to a neighbor helped by I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby with her septic tank, some 200 people wrote letters to the federal court judge about to sentence him for perjury and obstruction of justice. Most sought leniency for the former top aide to Vice…

Jun 6, 2007 10:21 PM CDT

Giuliani ‘Stepping Back’ as Practitioner

Rudolph Giuliani’s decision two years ago to become a partner in the Manhattan office of a Houston, Texas, law firm at a point in life when many practitioners are retiring was about more than just a lust to practice law. It was, in all likelihood, at least partially a political…

Jun 4, 2007 7:54 PM CDT

Lawsuits for Quarantined TB Lawyer?

An Atlanta personal injury lawyer stricken with an unusually severe case of tuberculosis and quarantined in a Denver hospital could soon be involved in cutting-edge litigation. Experts say Andrew Speaker, 31, could be either the plaintiff or the defendant in various potential claims. They include a suit by him against…

Jun 1, 2007 7:19 PM CDT

Quarantined TB Patient is Atlanta Lawyer

A 31-year-old lawyer from Atlanta is the “extensively drug-resistant” tuberculosis patient whose flight to Europe on commercial airlines, against medical advice, prompted the first federal quarantine order since 1963 last week. Despite being the subject of a no-fly order, due to his potentially fatal disease, Andrew Speaker went to Europe…

May 31, 2007 10:40 PM CDT

Judge to ID Supporters of Light Sentence for Scooter Libby

Some 150 supporters of a light sentence for former White House top aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby should soon be identified, including a number of current and former government officials. That’s because U.S. Dist. Judge Reggie B. Walton said today he will make public all of the letters he received…

May 31, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Justice Dept Expands Atty Hiring Probe

An ongoing investigation of the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys, allegedly as part of a political purge, has been expanded. In a letter today to the Senate Judiciary Committee, two Justice Department officials said the investigation has now been widened to include essentially any attorney hiring improperly influenced by political…

May 30, 2007 10:08 PM CDT

ACLU Sues Boeing Subsidiary re U.S. Rendition Aid

A subsidiary of airline giant Boeing Co. has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for allegedly aiding “extraordinary rendition” efforts by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The suit, which the ACLU says it is filing today in federal court in California, claims Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. provided transportation for…

May 30, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

Post: Libby Sentence Salvo Suggests Successful Cover-up

Remember I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby? Convicted in February of perjury and obstruction of justice, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court next week for impeding the investigation of the White House’ role in publicizing the identity of Valerie Plame,…

May 29, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Pakistan Crisis: Lawyers Strike; Court Aide Shot

A worsening crisis in Pakistan over the country’s judicial independence reportedly included a nationwide strike by the legal community and general strikes that shut down major cities on Monday. Following violence over the weekend that each side blamed on the other, 2,500 lawyers rallied in Lahore against the government of…

May 14, 2007 4:19 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: Ellsberg Acquitted in Pentagon Case, Barbie Nazi War Crimes Trial Begins

On this day in 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed, due to government misconduct. (The administration of President Richard M. Nixon was implicated in a burglary of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, in an effort to discredit him.) Ellsberg, a Pentagon employee, had released 7,000 pages…

May 11, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Attorney Tickets Police, N.J. Judge Tosses Case

An effort by a New Jersey attorney to hold state police accountable for speeding that apparently caused a traffic accident in which the state governor was seriously injured ended today when a municipal court judge dismissed the case. Judge Christopher A. Brown said the state is still investigating the April…

May 10, 2007 11:31 PM CDT

Politically Connected Chicago Lawyer Indicted

A politically connected Chicago lawyer has been indicted on bribery and fraud charges for allegedly seeking a kickback in a multi-million-dollar real estate deal, federal prosecutors announced today. The U.S. Attorney’s office says Edward R. Vrydolyak, 69, who formerly served as a city alderman and Cook County Democratic chairman and…

May 10, 2007 8:28 PM CDT