| A $50 million puzzle | Top |
| A six-year round of musical chairs over liability for a fatal explosion in Washington is set to wind down this summer. With $50 million in damages at stake, the government and contractors are maneuvering to make sure they aren't the last ones standing. |
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| Building a wall for Kagan | Top |
| A recent release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act has provided a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the U.S. solicitor general's office in 2010 before and after then-SG Elena Kagan's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
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| Redefining 'prevailing party' | Top |
| Chicago's quick action to amend its firearm laws has called into question whether Gura, the lead attorney in the McDonald case, was the "prevailing party" and entitled to recover attorney fees from the city. The dispute is more than about whether Gura gets paid. |
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| Companies play the RICO card vs. unions | Top |
| Sodexo Inc., the giant food services company, is in the middle of an unappetizing battle with one of the nation's largest unions. And to gain the upper hand, it's trying a legal tactic that's had a mixed record in the courts |
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| INADMISSIBLE | Top |
| Conference with Tokyo judges postponed; March Madness picks as fundraising opportunity; battle over Cobell fees continues; just another band out of D.C.; Marlowe for lobbyists; staying connected to the high court; and strange bedfellows for cutting prison spending in this week's column. |
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| Federal Circuit sanctions lawyer for improper confidentiality markings in briefs | Top |
| The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sanctioned Katten Muchin Rosenman partner Daniel Shapiro with a $1,000 fine for the "extensive use of improper confidentiality markings." |
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| Another campaign finance law appears ready to fall | Top |
| The justices heard spirited arguments in two consolidated cases challenging the matching funds trigger in the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Act. By the end of the hour-long session, the same justices who prevailed in last year's blockbuster Citizens United v. FEC, striking down a major federal restriction on corporate spending, had voiced strong skepticism about the Arizona provision. |
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| Don't Ask foes cite implicit reversal by Obama administration | Top |
| The Justice Department has made an implicit "about face" regarding the constitutionality of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in court — even though government lawyers are seeking to overturn a ruling that struck down the military's ban on open homosexuals, argue the Log Cabin Republicans. |
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| In wake of Maple case, Court stays two other executions | Top |
| Even before the case of Alabama death row inmate Cory Maples is heard or decided by the Supreme Court, it appears to be having an impact on other capital punishment cases before the high court. The Court this week granted stays of execution in two cases that the Court may be considering in light of the Maples case, which will be heard next fall — possibly as a precursor to a broader look at the right to effective assistance of counsel in state post-conviction review proceedings. |
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| Courtside: Justice Scalia — a legendary lead foot? | Top |
| At the Court, few were surprised to hear about Justice Scalia's car accident Tuesday. Scalia has a reputation for having a lead foot that activates when he is running late getting to Court from his home in suburban Virginia. A skit by Court clerks once mocked his driving habits. And colleague Justice David Souter even joked during an oral argument about Scalia's fast driving. |
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| Tough sale for plaintiffs in Wal-Mart case | Top |
| The massive gender discrimination class action against retail giant Wal-Mart ran into strong resistance at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, after surviving lower court challenges ever since it was launched 10 years ago. |
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| Fee fight headed for courtroom | Top |
| A $4 million jury award for a man savagely beaten outside a Washington nightclub is at the center of a rare court fight over fees between attorneys who represented the plaintiff. |
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| Firm seeking payback from Abramoff pal | Top |
| Lawyers for Greenberg Traurig are demanding that Abramoff business partner Michael Scanlon make restitution to the firm to cover its losses. |
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| Cobell attorneys seek $223 million | Top |
| They say the judge isn't bound by their pledge to accept $99.9 million or less. |
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