Government

Bill to Ban DOJ Privilege Attack on Corps. Will Pass, Backers Predict

A growing weight of support for federal legislation that seeks to curtail a controversial Justice Department practice of requiring corporations to waive attorney-client privilege has reportedly persuaded backers that it is likely to pass, sooner or later. The bill, which has already been passed by the House of Representatives, is…

Jun 25, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Sex Offender Computer Search Law is Unconstitutional, Judge Says

A federal judge yesterday struck down a major portion of a revised Indiana sex offender registry law, saying that the state went too far in requiring that convicted sex offenders, after they serve their sentences and any parole or probation, agree to have their computers and Internet use monitored. Siding…

Jun 25, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Judge a Reluctant Ref in Landmark Battle Over White House Subpoenas

Asked by Congressional lawyers yesterday to require the White House to comply with House Judiciary Committee subpoenas of two high-level aides, Federal District Court Judge John Bates was a reluctant referee in the landmark court battle. “Whether I rule for the executive branch or I rule for the legislative branch,…

Jun 24, 2008 8:08 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor: DOJ Destroyed My Career

Ryan Rainey admittedly broke a rule when he was a star federal prosecutor, and paid a high price for doing so. In 2005, he resigned, later pleading guilty to criminal charges. They related to failing to inform his bosses at the Department of Justice about applying for work as a…

Jun 24, 2008 6:37 PM CDT

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