Legislation & Lobbying

3353 ABA Journal Legislation & Lobbying articles.

Spouse’s Death Ends US Residency Quest

Jacqueline Coats’ husband died a hero, and was posthumously awarded a Coast Guard medal for his attempts to save two boys from drowning in the Pacific Ocean. He also died without filing an application for her to become a legal resident of the United States, although the paperwork was completed…

Aug 31, 2007 3:40 PM CDT

Panel Allots Blame for Va. Tech Massacre

A lack of communication, misunderstood medical privacy laws and inadequate mental health treatment options share the blame along with gunman Seung Hui Cho for a shooting spree in which he killed 32 fellow students and faculty at Virginia Tech earlier this year before killing himself Those were the conclusions of…

Aug 31, 2007 3:04 PM CDT

Three-Time Loser Law Struck Down

Another federal judge has struck down New York’s persistent felony offender statute on Sixth Amendment grounds. Two judges have held the state law improperly requires judges rather than juries to determine facts that lead to an enhanced sentence, the New York Law Journal reports. A third judge has upheld the…

Aug 29, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Senator Recants Restroom Plea

A U.S. senator who recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge that arose from a Minneapolis airport restroom sting operation is now recanting. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) says he acted in haste, fearful that news of the incident would tarnish his reputation and hoping simply to put it…

Aug 29, 2007 12:42 AM CDT

Thompson’s Dual Role as Gov’t Counsel

During decades as a government lawyer serving a prominent advisory role in scandalous situations, Fred D. Thompson has forged a reputation as a hard-driving prosecutor. (In between, he has also had a well-known acting career, which was jump-started when he played himself in Marie, a movie about his client, the…

Aug 28, 2007 8:55 PM CDT

Legality of Anti-Immigrant Laws Unclear

Anti-immigrant laws passed by states and municipalities are likely to face court challenges and an uncertain future. It’s unclear whether local and state laws that attempt to regulate illegal immigration will pass legal muster, the Washington Post reports. There are few court rulings because few lawmakers acted before now. This…

Aug 28, 2007 5:23 PM CDT

Saggy Pants Ban Fails in CT Town

Saggy pants are getting the attention of town councils that want to stop the epidemic of exposed underwear and buttocks. The Connecticut town of Stratford yesterday rejected a proposed ordinance that would have fined people whose “pants which fall below the buttocks” the New York Times reports. The proposal would…

Aug 28, 2007 3:49 PM CDT

Subprime Crisis Spotlights #1 Lender

Borrowers with bank accounts obviously are better mortgage risks than those with no assets. Yet, until last year, the nation’s biggest lender reportedly set up its computers to exclude applicants’ cash reserves. This was intended to encourage Countrywide Financial Corp. representatives to pitch applicants on pricier mortgages that reaped a…

Aug 27, 2007 6:26 PM CDT

NC Law Protects Home Buyers

A new law designed to fight abusive home loans signed by the governor of North Carolina last week is one of a handful of new state measures designed to curb predatory lending. Gov. Michael F. Easley told the New York Times (reg. req.) he wished he had acted sooner, but…

Aug 24, 2007 1:40 PM CDT

Sarbanes Misused, Expert Says

Whistle-blower complaints brought under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are failing because claimants are “misusing the law as a club in garden-variety workplace disputes,” according to an expert in the field. Michael Delikat, a lawyer with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, writes in a Wall Street Journal commentary (sub. req.) that 1,000 whistleblower…

Aug 23, 2007 5:39 PM CDT

New Legal Strategy for Star Student in Deportation Case

With a lot of help from his friends and well-wishers, a star Miami student facing deportation with his family for overstaying their visitor visa has developed a new legal strategy. Juan Gomez, 18, his 19-year-old brother and their parents may have a good chance of successfully reopening their asylum petition,…

Aug 23, 2007 5:12 PM CDT

Bill Targets Stairway Peepers

It’s perfectly legal for someone to stand under a stairway and look up women’s skirts, according to a Queens, N.Y., city council member who intends to do something about it. Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced an ordinance barring nonconsensual voyeurism, the New York Times reports. Penalties for violations can include…

Aug 23, 2007 1:14 PM CDT

State AGs Seek Web Protections

State attorneys general from across the nation are pushing for new laws and greater controls to make social networking Web sites safer for children. Leading the 50-member group are Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Roy Cooper of North Carolina, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). They say sites such…

Aug 22, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

NY Truth in Music Law Signed

New York’s governor has signed a Truth in Music law that imposes fine of up to $15,000 on music groups that misrepresent themselves as popular artists. The law was prompted by groups passing themselves off as artists like the Platters, Drifters and Coasters, Newsday reports. At least 18 other states…

Aug 22, 2007 2:20 PM CDT

Why Wiretap Warrants?

A law professor argues that search warrants are “utterly beside the point” when the object is to detect terrorism schemes rather than to gather evidence against a suspect. Law professor Philip Bobbitt of Columbia University concludes in a New York Times op-ed that critics are misguided in their assessment of…

Aug 22, 2007 2:02 PM CDT

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