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April 11th, 2009UncategorizedTired of lifting heavy projectors into the overhead bin? With a microprojector, you'll significantly lighten your carry-on luggage and still be able to display images at your next presentation. Consultant Donna Payne surveys the most recent models on the market and picks her favorite. -
April 10th, 2009UncategorizedGeneral Motors is fighting to prove its viability to the federal government or risk losing a $13.4 billion loan. That predicament has GM executives pushing union leaders for concessions on retiree health care benefits. The union is bracing for the worst, fearing for their already negotiated lifetime health benefits. WolfBlock partner Jim Redeker discusses the crisis facing GM and its union workers, and the legal pitfalls of modifying a union contract and trimming health care for retirees.
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April 9th, 2009UncategorizedAccording to a recent client satisfaction report, in-house counsel felt neglected by their law firms in favor of more lucrative bank deals. And now that such work has dried up, many companies may be less than receptive to firms' renewed advances. One consultant says that after firms have "gone off with the bigger and bustier blonde, you've got to expect the redhead to be a bit iffy when you come back with your tail between your legs." In-house counsel also complain of too much arrogance and too little trust.
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April 8th, 2009Uncategorized
Los Angeles: The decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to deny the Los Angeles Police Protective League’s motions to prevent the implementation of Financial Disclosure was not unexpected.
The Los Angeles Police Department will fulfill its obligation, under the Consent Decree, to fully implement Financial Disclosure within the next 30-days. During that time, personnel who will be affected by Financial Disclosure will be fully briefed on the new policy and procedures that will need to be followed to ensure full compliance with the Consent Decree.
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April 7th, 2009Uncategorized
May the U.S. government hold an enemy combatant on U.S. soil indefinitely? The Bush administration has said yes. The Fourth Circuit has said yes. The Supreme Court has granted cert on the issue but agreed to delay taking up the case until it heard from the Obama administration. Well, yesterday the Obama administration weighed in. Sort of. It basically sidestepped the issue by filing criminal charges against an alleged Al Qaeda operative who has been detained in South Carolina for more than five years. Click here for the NYT story; here for the WSJ story; here for the WaPo story; and here for a piece on the news from the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.
The charges would move the case of the only enemy combatant to be held on American soil, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, into a civilian criminal court, which would effectively allow the Obama administration to avoid taking a position for the time being on whether a president may detain legal residents indefinitely without trial. The DOJ faced a March 23 deadline to file a brief with the Supreme Court declaring whether it was continuing to hold to the Bush administrationÂ’s position that the government had the authority to detain legal residents without charges. The DOJ might then ask the Supreme Court to drop the case from its docket, saying that the issue was moot.
Marri was arrested in Peoria, Ill., in December 2001. The Bush administration described him as a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda. He is expected to be charged in Illinois as early as Friday with providing material support to terrorist groups.
If the Supreme Court does not consider the case, it would leave in place a Fourth Circuit ruling that upheld the Bush administration’s authority to hold Marri indefinitely without first filing charges.
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April 2nd, 2009UncategorizedWith his wife at his side, a high-spirited Robert M. Morgenthau, Manhattan's storied district attorney, announced Friday that he will not seek a 10th term in November. "I lived up to all the promises I made and decided I better not push my luck," said Morgenthau, who turns 90 in July. A self-described "slow learner," Morgenthau said he had "figured out that I have served 25 years beyond the normal retirement age." He added that his 93-year-old brother warned "this is not a good time to be looking for a job."
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April 1st, 2009UncategorizedSupreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens rarely makes public appearances in Washington, D.C., outside the Court, but he made an exception last week, moderating a discussion on the 1803 landmark decision at the Newseum. He even made a bit of news, revealing that if he had his druthers, new Supreme Court justices from now on would be sworn in at the Court, not at the White House, to symbolize the Court's independence. President Obama, take note.