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☆ The Michigan lawyer pushing Trump’s voter-fraud fictions in U.S. court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Lambert started in her home state of Michigan, joining four lawsuits on behalf of Trump supporters. As Trump zeroed in on vote-rigging allegations in Michigan, Lambert emailed the White House, according to her July 2021 video interview with two right-wing websites. Cotton and Penrose also were involved in examining breached voting machines in Michigan for DePerno and Lambert, according to the Michigan attorney general investigation. In the process, the commissioners were accused of flouting a court order by allowing a forensics company to inspect county voting equipment. In August 2021, a federal judge reprimanded Lambert, Powell and seven other lawyers who joined the failed lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan’s vote after Trump’s 2020 defeat.

Known in the legal world as the “death penalty” of child welfare, it can happen in a matter of months. One in 100 U.S. children — disproportionately Black and Native American — experience termination through the child welfare system before they turn 18, the study found. Still, longer timelines can also reflect a stronger focus on family reunification and a willingness to devote greater resources to meet that goal, child welfare experts say. And some child welfare advocates have criticized the law’s focus on narrow initiatives like parenting classes, which they say fail to address poverty and the other root causes of neglect that prompt most child welfare cases. Snodgrass said she never imagined when her child welfare case started that she could lose her rights to her children.

☆ House Jan. 6 committee refers Trump to Justice Department. That's a mistake.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( David Orentlicher | David Orentlicher Is The Judge Jack | Lulu Lehman Professor At The William S. Boyd School Of Law At The The University Of Nevada | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

As a result, the committee voted Monday to recommend criminal charges to the Department of Justice against Trump and several of his associates. However, making the case for a federal criminal prosecution is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Justice rather than Congress. Ironically, in trying to hold Trump accountable under the law, the committee seems to be flouting the rule of law. The Jan. 6 committee’s referrals have no legal weight; the Justice Department alone will decide whether to charge Trump. Rather than duplicate the efforts of Justice, Congress needs to complement those efforts by broadly addressing the other factors that contributed to the events on Jan. 6.

☆ Prosecutors in Georgia are fast approaching a decision on whether to charge Trump. Here's how it would go down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Over the past year, she empaneled a grand jury and fought court battles to ensure testimony from Gov. Two other high-profile witnesses who fought grand jury subpoenas, Mark Meadows and Newt Gingrich, have their cases before appeals courts. A regular grand jury, which sits for two months, would probably move swiftly, Carlson said, since it would have all the evidence painstakingly compiled by the special grand jury. "The reason it'll go very fast is the regular grand jury will have a transcript from the testimony of a laundry list of witnesses that have already testified to the special grand jury," Carlson said. The case in Georgia, Carlson pointed out, is especially potent because of how uniquely strong the evidence is and how reliable the witnesses would be.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is in jail, but legal watchers are wondering: Where's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison isn't named in prosecutors' charges against Sam Bankman-FriedBut the SEC's civil suit references her statements on the relationship between FTX and Alameda. Conspiracy charges and civil claims against SBF show others in the crosshairs, legal experts said. But her rise as CEO at Alameda, Bankman-Fried's other crypto company separate from FTX, may certainly put her in investigators' sights. The SEC's complaint on Tuesday claimed that Bankman-Fried "remained the ultimate decision-maker" at Alameda, even after Ellison took over the reins. Since Bankman-Fried's crypto empire began unraveling in November however, Ellison has stayed away from the public eye.

Now, with the fraud charges filed earlier this week against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt FTX exchange, Williams has further solidified his office's growing role in prosecuting financial crimes involving cryptocurrency, according to interviews with a half-dozen former prosecutors. Bankman-Fried, 30, has acknowledged risk management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability. In the wake of Bankman-Fried's arrest, Williams has made clear he would plow on with cryptocurrency enforcement. On Wednesday, he announced wire fraud conspiracy charges against the founders of two separate cryptocurrency mining and trading companies he called Ponzi schemes. On Tuesday, Williams told reporters more charges in the FTX probe were possible.

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Survivors of mass shootings targeting U.S. LGBT nightclubs detailed the violence they endured and criticized inflammatory political rhetoric in a congressional hearing on Wednesday. "We are being slaughtered and dehumanized across this country, in communities you took oaths to protect," said Matthew Haynes, owner of the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where five people were killed and 22 wounded in a mass shooting last month. Michael Anderson told lawmakers he was bartending at Club Q, when the gunman entered the nightclub and began shooting. There have been 628 mass shootings across the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Brandon Wolf, an activist and survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed and 69 wounded, told the hearing.

☆ What to know about a judicial privacy bill Congress is passing with a major defense package
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But the legislation is also rankling court watchdogs who contend the bill could complicate efforts to scrutinize the judicial branch for ethics issues. The bill does not displace the ethical disclosure requirements judges already face, the congressional aide noted to CNN. And it extends the threat-monitoring programs that are being offered to Article III judges to administrative judges as well. Now that the bill has been added to the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive defense package that Congress passes annually, Paul’s options for scuttling it are limited. “Because, if I am sued, someone is going to be bringing it to a federal judge.

☆ Heat pumps are an energy upgrade for homeowners that's becoming a climate and financial winner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Heat pumps are becoming more popular for residential housing with energy prices increasing and the need to reduce use of fossil fuel heating systems. Thinking about a home heat pump? The use of heat pumps will become more common as governments legislate their adoption. Here are four important things to know about upgrading your home to a heat pump system. "While there's an upfront cost, millions of homeowners would save money with a heat pump over the life of the device," he said.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the Republicans argued that North Carolina's top court usurped their authority by throwing out the map. In that context - a fight over counting ballots in Florida - Rehnquist said the U.S. Constitution limits the authority of state courts. "This court has never second-guessed state court interpretations of their own constitution," said Katyal. Thomas Wolf, an attorney at New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, said if the Supreme Court gives itself too much leeway to intervene in state court disputes, it risks appearing politically motivated and lawless. The Supreme Court's ruling is due by the end of June.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision, due by the end of June, could apply to 2024 elections including the U.S. presidential race. The Republican lawmakers have argued that the state court unconstitutionally usurped the North Carolina General Assembly's authority to regulate federal elections. Kagan noted that in a series of cases over the years the Supreme Court expressed that state courts had a role to play in this area. A lower state court subsequently rejected the legislature's redrawn map and adopted a new map drawn by a bipartisan group of experts. The Supreme Court in March declined a Republican request to put those lower court actions on hold.

The records, a series of state tax lien notices from the last two years, show the state of California claiming that Yeezy Apparel, a company managed and reportedly owned by Ye, owes over $600,000 in unpaid tax debt. Four tax law experts said the amount owed by Yeezy Apparel is significant and could be a sign of deeper issues at the company. “Multiple California tax liens, adding up to $600,000, that’s certainly a sign of either extreme incompetence or extreme cash problems,” said USC Gould School of Law Professor Edward McCaffery, who specializes in tax law. Yeezy Apparel has been operating in California since 2017, according to public California business records, and was recorded as being active and in “good” standing in an annual filing in January. “Tax lien indicates that the state maintains that a debt is owing to the state,” LoPucki said.

The Republicans are asking the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to embrace a once-marginal legal theory that has gained favor among some conservatives called the "independent state legislature" doctrine. The Supreme Court's eventual decision, due by the end of June, could apply to 2024 elections including the U.S. presidential race. The Republican lawmakers have argued that the state court unconstitutionally usurped the North Carolina General Assembly's authority to regulate federal elections. A lower state court subsequently rejected the legislature's redrawn map and adopted a new map drawn by a bipartisan group of experts. The Supreme Court in March declined a Republican request to put those lower court actions on hold.

Under this doctrine, they contend that the U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures, and not other entities such as state courts, power over election rules and electoral district maps. The Republican lawmakers have argued that the state court unconstitutionally usurped the North Carolina General Assembly's authority to regulate federal elections. 'CONFUSION AND CHAOS'Jason Snead, a conservative elections expert who embraces the doctrine, said the North Carolina case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to "shut down a lot of the confusion and chaos" occurring around elections. The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the map on Feb. 4, finding the districts were crafted to dilute the "fundamental right to equal voting power" of Democrats. A lower state court then rejected a redrawn map by Republican lawmakers and adopted one devised by a bipartisan group of experts.

☆ Supreme Court case on same-sex marriage could allow LGBTQ discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Caroline Mala Corbin | Caroline Mala Corbin Is A Professor Of Law | Dean S Distinguished Scholar At The University Of Miami School Of Law. She Is A First Amendment Expert Who Has | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Does a website design company have a First Amendment right to discriminate against same-sex couples? But the Supreme Court reached no conclusion on the free speech claim and instead ruled in favor of the bakery on narrow religious grounds. The challenge here is how to classify 303 Creative’s making or refusing to make a website for same-sex couples. If so, it does not trigger, never mind violate, the free speech clause. It would extend to companies that oppose it for nonreligious reasons but can argue that providing their speech-based services to same-sex couples compelled them to express a message of support for that marriage.

☆ Indonesia set to pass new criminal code that will ban sex outside marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Ananda Teresia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The government and House of Representatives have agreed on the draft code, clearing a hurdle to its passage. Parliament had planned to ratify a draft new code in September 2019, but nationwide demonstrations over perceived threats to civil liberties halted its passage. Legislators in the world's third-largest democracy have since watered down some of the articles deemed most contentious. "This criminal code is a huge setback for Indonesia," said Bivitri Susanti, a law expert from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law. Once ratified, the new code will come into effect after three years as the government and related institutions draft related implementing regulations.

☆ An often overlooked Swedish fighter may be the jet Ukraine needs to take on Russia now, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet has earned high marks for its capabilities and affordability. But buyers have often passed on the Gripen in favor of other jets, including the US-made F-35. A Saab JAS 39C Gripen jet during an air show in June 2011. US Air Force F-16s with Swedish air force JAS 39 Gripens over the Baltic Sea during an exercise in June 2018. A new Brazilian Air Force F-39E Gripen at an air base in Brasilia in October 2020.

☆ Kroger and Albertsons want to create a grocery empire. The last supermarket mega-merger backfired
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

With the FTC’s blessing, Haggen, a small supermarket chain in the Northwest with just 18 locations, bought 146 of the former Albertsons and Safeway stores, including the one where Martinez worked. In an weird twist, Albertsons bought back dozens of the same stores it previously sold to Haggen in bankruptcy court — at a lower price. Now she worries Kroger will divest Ralphs as part of its merger with Albertsons in a repeat of the Haggen 2015 deal. To address antitrust concerns that the merger will stifle competition in local markets where they overlap, Kroger and Albertsons plan to divest stores. In 2015, Haggen bought a Vons grocery store (owned by Safeway at the time) in Carpinteria as part of the Albertsons and Safeway divestitures.

☆ Meet a first-generation attorney with $347,000 in student debt who can't land a job and says 'there are a substantial number of people like me that are being forgotten'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Steve Pederzani was told that going to law school would set him up for a comfortable future. But he hasn't been able to land a steady job and is buried in $347,000 worth of student debt. "And with law school, everyone said that I'll never have to worry about those things." But after graduating from law school in 2017, Pederzani today has $347,000 in student debt that keeps growing. Those loans are included in President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year.

Here are several of the ways the new law could affect voters in the runoff. Plus, due to an ongoing lawsuit against the state, it remains uncertain whether one Saturday early voting day, on Nov. 26, will be allowed. This year, that would mean there would be no early in-person voting on Nov. 26, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. But under Georgia law, runoff voting may not begin until after officials have certified the general election vote, which will be on Monday, Nov. 21, per the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. "But now because of SB 202, you can only do that during the hours of early voting, which can often be a regular 9-to-5."

☆ Georgetown Law Joins Roster of Schools Withdrawing From U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Georgetown University said that its law school’s students, faculty, alumni and staff favor exiting the rankings. Georgetown University Law Center said Friday that it will no longer participate in the U.S. News & World Report law-school ranking, the latest in a string of prestigious programs abandoning the influential list over concerns that it promotes poor practices and penalizes schools for supporting students pursuing public-interest jobs. Yale Law School was the first to pull out Wednesday morning, with its dean calling the rankings “profoundly flawed.” Harvard Law School announced a similar move later that day, and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law followed on Thursday.

☆ Georgetown, Columbia Join Schools Withdrawing From U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School said Friday that they will no longer participate in the U.S. News & World Report law-school ranking, the latest in a string of prestigious programs abandoning the influential list over concerns that it promotes poor practices and penalizes schools for supporting students pursuing public-interest jobs. Yale Law School was the first to pull out, on Wednesday morning, with its dean calling the rankings “profoundly flawed.” Harvard Law School announced a similar move later that day, and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law followed on Thursday.

☆ Elon Musk’s $50 billion trial comes to an end today
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Matt Mcfarland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington, DC CNN —The trial for the Tesla shareholder lawsuit examining CEO Elon Musk’s unprecedented compensation package will wrap up this afternoon. The net value of the compensation package is $50.9 billion today, after Tesla’s valuation soared more than 1,000% at its peak since shareholders approved the package. Several corporate governance experts told CNN Business that it’s clear Tesla’s board of directors lacks independence from Musk. At the time of the 2018 compensation package, Kimbal said it was “very unlikely” that Elon would walk away from his role of CEO at Tesla. That’s just not how Elon operates,” Kimbal Musk said.

☆ UC Berkeley Joins Yale, Harvard in Withdrawing From U.S. News Law-School Ranking
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The University of California, Berkeley’s law school came in at No. 9 in the latest U.S. News ranking. The University of California, Berkeley School of Law is withdrawing from the U.S. News & World Report law-school ranking, its dean said Thursday, a day after Yale Law School and Harvard Law School pulled out of the high-profile publication. Berkeley’s law school came in at No. 9 in the latest U.S. News ranking.

Nov 17 (Reuters) - The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law on Thursday joined the law schools at Yale and Harvard in withdrawing from U.S. News & World Report's influential law school rankings. 9 in the law school rankings, made the announcement a day after Yale and Harvard, ranked No. The rankings measure law schools based on reputational surveys, student grades and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores, and bar pass and employment rates, among other factors. Stanford Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School - currently ranked No. "I think every school is at minimum looking at it," law school admission consultant Mike Spivey said of the growing boycott.

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