federal judges

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Republicans Stonewall Obama's Judges
Republicans Stonewall Obama's Judges
Doug Kendall
Oct 26, 2009 2:13 PM CDT

Republicans Stonewall Obama's Judges

Procedural maneuvers help Senate GOP stall confirmation process

(Newser) - Despite the 95 yawning vacancies on the federal bench, Senate Republicans are blocking virtually all of President Obama’s nominees. Only three of Obama’s 22 nominees have been confirmed, as Republicans take the “partisan war over the courts into uncharted territory,” writes Doug Kendall for Slate. Both...

Justice Stevens Hints He'll Retire This Term
Justice Stevens Hints He'll Retire This Term
INTERVIEW
Oct 19, 2009 6:01 AM CDT

Justice Stevens Hints He'll Retire This Term

Liberal stalwart, at age 89, admits, 'I'm not exactly a kid'

(Newser) - John Paul Stevens, the senior justice on the Supreme Court and the bench's liberal lion, says he gave serious thought to retiring—in the late 1980s, when he was 65 years old. Instead, while younger colleagues have packed their bags, Stevens has become the court's master tactician, cobbling together narrow...

Obama Blasted for Letting GOP Hold Up Judges

Nominees locked in committee as vacancies build up

(Newser) - At this point in their first terms, Bill Clinton had had nine federal judges confirmed and George W Bush eight—but Barack Obama has got only three judges through, despite sending 23 names to the Democratic-controlled Senate. Part of the problem is Republican obstructionists who've threatened filibusters and used parliamentary...

Judge Fines Orly Taitz $20K
 Judge Fines Orly Taitz $20K 
Oct 13, 2009 12:12 PM CDT

Judge Fines Orly Taitz $20K

Birther queen's misuse of court is 'breathtaking'

(Newser) - US District Judge Clay Land has had it with Orly Taitz. He slapped the birther leader with a $20,000 fine today for her constant stream of frivolous lawsuits and motions. In a scathing 43-page order, Land writes that Taitz willfully misused the court, and “as an attorney, she...

Judge Balks at BofA Bonus Settlement

$33M deal with SEC raises questions of fairness; hearing set

(Newser) - Bank of America won't be able to quietly settle the flap over bonuses for Merrill Lynch execs with a simple $33 million payout to the SEC, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Judge Jed Rakoff refused to sign off on the settlement, saying that doing so would leave the public in...

Federal Judge Ends Oversight of LAPD

(Newser) - A judge has ended eight years of federal oversight imposed on the LAPD after a massive corruption scandal, the Los Angeles Times reports. The judge said the police force had reformed substantially under a “consent decree” that saw tough independent audits and more thorough investigations into abuse allegations. "...

Judge Revokes Stanford Bond
 Judge Revokes Stanford Bond 
Jun 30, 2009 3:10 PM CDT

Judge Revokes Stanford Bond

(Newser) - A US district judge today revoked bond for Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, who's charged with swindling investors out of $7 billion. David Hittner approved a request by prosecutors to overturn a magistrate judge's decision to allow Stanford freed on $500,000 bond pending his trial. Prosecutors argued that Stanford's...

NJ Blogger Busted Over Judge Threats

Jurists 'deserve to be killed' for gun ban, said white supremacist

(Newser) - A white supremacist blogger and Internet radio host has been charged with threatening three federal judges who ruled in favor of Chicago's handgun ban, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed,” Hal Turner wrote, providing the...

US Judge Boots Warrantless Wiretap Cases Vs. Telecoms

(Newser) - A federal judge has tossed out more than three dozen lawsuits filed against the nation's telecommunications companies for allegedly taking part in the government's email and telephone eavesdropping program that was done without court approval. The dismissals were widely expected after Congress in July agreed on new surveillance rules that...

Rodman Fined $225K for Inappropriate Touching

2006 butt slap incident did not stay in Vegas

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman must fork over a six-figure fine to a Las Vegas waitress he touched inappropriately in a 2006 incident, TMZ reports. The 28-year-old “beverage manager” said the former basketball star was incredibly intoxicated when he slapped her rear and tried to force her to dance with him. The...

Bybee Rues Signature on Torture Memos

Friends say he regrets way the legal opinions were used

(Newser) - Jay Bybee has told friends and colleagues that he regrets his role as one of the authors of the so-called torture memos, the Washington Post reports. Most notably, Bybee, who's now a federal judge, signed off on the 2002 memo that authorized waterboarding. "I've heard him express regret at...

Blago Can't Hit Costa Rica for Reality Show

NBC wanted ex-guv in Costa Rica for celeb program

(Newser) - A federal judge has barred Rod Blagojevich’s bid to leave the country to join a reality-show cast, the Chicago Tribune reports. The ex-governor’s lawyers hoped he’d get permission in court today to travel to Costa Rica for NBC’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of ...

Judge Holds Madoff Assets for Feds
Judge Holds Madoff Assets for Feds
Apr 20, 2009 6:19 PM CDT

Judge Holds Madoff Assets for Feds

Holdings may go to government through criminal forfeiture

(Newser) - A federal judge stopped Bernard Madoff's assets from moving into bankruptcy today, saying the government may claim them through criminal forfeiture because of Madoff's Ponzi scheme, Bloomberg reports. US District Judge Denny Chin blocked more than $100 million from being moved, a setback to investors who had won the right...

Holder Changes Ethics Boss at Justice Dept.

Move comes one day after judge's criticism over Stevens case

(Newser) - Attorney General Eric Holder says he's shifting some office heads at the Justice Department and putting a career Washington prosecutor in charge of the internal ethics unit. Mary Patrice Brown will lead the Office of Professional Responsibility, which drew criticism from a federal judge this week for the handling of...

US Used Mentally Ill Witness at Gitmo

Detainee with antisocial personality disorder testified against others

(Newser) - Justice Department lawyers withheld records detailing the mental illness of a witness used against numerous fellow Guantanamo detainees, McClatchy Newspapers report. "How can this court have any confidence whatsoever in the United States government to comply with its obligations and to be truthful?" asked a federal judge, who ruled...

FDA Ordered to Relax Age Rules on Morning-After Pill

(Newser) - A federal judge today ordered the Food and Drug Administration to immediately relax age restrictions on the morning-after contraception pill, and reconsider whether there should be any restrictions at all, the Washington Post reports. Since 2005, the pill has been available without a prescription only to women over 18; within...

Moderate Is Obama's First Court Nominee

President to pick judge with bipartisan backing for Seventh Circuit

(Newser) - President Obama will make his first judicial appointment this week, choosing a moderate judge for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, sources tell the New York Times. The selection of David Hamilton, an Indiana judge with bipartisan support, is meant to signal the administration's effort to reduce the...

Stanford Accounts to Remain Frozen

(Newser) - A federal judge ruled today that thousands of investor accounts with R. Allen Stanford's financial companies will remain frozen for another 10 days, while a court-appointed receiver said he's developing a plan to return some of the money to its owners. Stanford's companies have been in receivership since the Securities...

Judge Pleads Guilty, Avoids Sex Crime Trial

Kent headed to jail, but won't lose job without impeachment

(Newser) - US District Judge Sam Kent pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice today, as part of a deal that will allow him to duck a messy trial on sex crime charges, the Houston Chronicle reports. He then retired from the bench. “A trial would have been long, embarrassing, and difficult...

Supreme Court May Have Too Many Judges
Supreme Court May Have
Too Many Judges
ANALYSIS
Feb 16, 2009 4:30 PM CST

Supreme Court May Have Too Many Judges

Is the High Court Too 'Judgey'?

(Newser) - Chief Justice John Roberts recently praised the present makeup of the Supreme Court, which, for the first time in history, consists only of former federal appeals judges. The move towards a Court dominated by those with judicial experience has been afoot since the 1950s, writes Adam Liptak in the New ...

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