Guidance on Live, Text-Based Communications from Court: “This Practice Guidance (the Guidance) applies to court proceedings which are open to the public and to those parts of the proceedings which are not subject to reporting restrictions. It is issued (as Guidance and not a Practice Direction) following a consultation relating to the use of live,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Courts
Chief Justice's Year-End Reports on the Federal Judiciary
Chief Justice’s Year-End Reports on the Federal Judiciary, 2011: “Some observers have recently questioned whether the Judicial Conferences Code of Conduct for United States Judges should apply to the Supreme Court. I would like to use my annual report this year to address that issue, as well as some other related issues that have recently… Continue Reading
iPhone Application Support for FedCtRecords (Federal Court Records)
“This application allows public access to court electronic records for Federal District Courts across the United States. Users MUST be registered, have a valid PACER account, to use this application. New users may register here PACER. This application is ‘CASE SEARCH’ only, therefore documents CANNOT be filed using this applciation, users can only view documents… Continue Reading
DOJ Reaches $335 Million Settlement to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination by Countrywide
News release, December 21, 2011: “The Department of Justice today filed its largest residential fair lending settlement in history to resolve allegations that Countrywide Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries engaged in a widespread pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in their mortgage lending from 2004 through 2008. The settlement provides… Continue Reading
Governmental Tracking of Cell Phones and Vehicles: The Confluence of Privacy, Technology, and Law
CRS Governmental Tracking of Cell Phones and Vehicles: The Confluence of Privacy, Technology, and Law. Richard M. Thompson, Law Clerk. December 1, 2011 “Technology has advanced considerably since the framers established the constitutional parameters for searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment. What were ink quills and parchment are now cell phones and the… Continue Reading
Record Number of Federal Criminal Health Care Fraud Prosecutions Filed in FY 2011
Jeff Lamicela: “The latest available data from the Justice Department show that federal health care fraud prosecutions reached an historic high last year. During the twelve months of fiscal year 2011, the government reported 1,235 new health care fraud prosecutions – the largest number reported since separate tracking of this offense began twenty years ago.… Continue Reading
Changes to Federal Court Rules Take Effect
“Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence took effect December 1, 2011. Congress took no action after the changes were approved by Supreme Court more than seven months earlier. That means new amendments to these rules are now in effect: Appellate Rules 4 and 40 Bankruptcy Rules 2003, 2019, 3001,… Continue Reading
Whats So Hard About Regulating Supreme Court Justices Ethics? A Lot
Whats So Hard About Regulating Supreme Court Justices Ethics? – A Lot, Russell Wheeler, Visiting Fellow, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution “The Supreme Courts decision to hear a challenge to the health care law is renewing calls for recusal, described here and here and here. Some, mainly Democrats, charge that Justice Thomas (and his wife)… Continue Reading
Federal Judge Rejects SEC Settlement With Citi, Sets Trial Date
NYT DealBook: “Jed S. Rakoff, a judge for the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Manhattan, has rejected the proposed $285 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup related to the sale of mortgage securities. Here is the judges 15-page opinion, which concluded that the pact was neither reasonable, nor… Continue Reading
TRAC: Criminal Prosecutions for Financial Institution Fraud Continue to Fall
“Federal criminal prosecutions for financial institution fraud have continued their downward slide despite the financial troubles reported in this sector. TRAC’s analysis of timely Justice Department data show that during the first eleven months of FY 2011 the government reported 1,251 new prosecutions were filed. If this activity continues at the same pace, the annual… Continue Reading
Commentary – Scholars' Briefs and the Vocation of a Law Professor
Scholars Briefs and the Vocation of a Law Professor, by Richard H. Fallon, Jr. “At least within the loosely defined domain of public law, any law professor who does not get asked to sign a “scholars’ briefs” is not much of a scholar. Scholars= briefs, in which collections of professors appear as amici curiae to… Continue Reading
President Richard Nixon's Watergate grand jury testimony released
“The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has publicly released the transcripts of President Richard Nixon’s Watergate grand jury testimony. In collaboration with the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), the collection has been released on FDsys. This collection has been made public as a result of the July 29, 2011 order by Chief Judge of… Continue Reading
