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Democrats criticize hiring of firm for House remap
Law Firm News |
2011/04/18 07:56
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Democratic lawmakers are raising complaints about Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker's decision to hire a law firm with national GOP ties to submit the state House remap to federal officials.
The head of the House redistricting committee, Democratic Rep. Rick Gallot, said Friday the choice creates the appearance of impropriety because the firm had given the Republican delegation advice about redistricting.
The Senate is using its staff to do its redistricting submission.
Tucker has hired Washington, D.C.-based Holtzman Vogel PLLC to guide the redesign of the 105 House districts to the U.S. Justice Department for review under the Voting Rights Act.
Tucker says he chose a firm with the expertise needed for the complex legal work.
The managing partner of Holtzman Vogel is chief counsel to the Republican National Committee. |
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Patrick to nominate justice to Mass. high court
Law Firm News |
2011/04/04 23:37
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| pGov. Deval Patrick is set to make his latest pick to the state’s highest court./ppThe governor has scheduled a Monday afternoon news conference at the Statehouse to nominate an associate justice to the Supreme Judicial Court. If confirmed, the person chosen would succeed Judith Cowin, who in January announced plans to retire after 11 years on the high court./ppThis will be the fourth associate justice that Patrick has selected to the SJC, meaning that he will now have personally selected a majority of the justices on the seven-member court, the oldest continuously serving court in the Western Hemisphere./ppPatrick also elevated Roderick Ireland to chief justice of the SJC following the retirement last year of Margaret Marshall./p |
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Disgraced Pa. judge wants convictions tossed
Law Firm News |
2011/03/04 08:47
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| pA former Pennsylvania juvenile court judge convicted in a $1 million kickback scheme involving privately-owned juvenile detention centers wants his conviction on racketeering charges overturned./ppFormer Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella (shiv-uh-REL'-uh) filed motions Friday asking a federal judge to toss his convictions on charges including racketeering and money laundering conspiracy./ppCiavarella was convicted last month of taking payments from the owner of two detention centers in a scheme involving another judge. The scandal prompted the state Supreme Court to toss thousands of juvenile convictions issued by Ciavarella, saying they were tainted./p |
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Judge affirms $7.3M verdict against law firm
Law Firm News |
2011/02/11 09:54
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| pA Maine judge has upheld a jury verdict that awarded $7.3 million in damages for emotional distress to a businessman who contended he was double-crossed by a law firm he hired./ppA Cumberland County jury last summer said the Portland law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson worked against Peter Redman's interests in a dispute with his brother over control of the now-defunct Northern Mattress and Furniture Co. In a 37-page ruling, Superior Court Justice Thomas Humphrey denied the law firm's motion seeking a new trial./ppRedman, of Old Orchard Beach, was banned from the family business' headquarters over a sexual harassment claim he contended was orchestrated by his brother to wrest control of the business. Redman said the firm failed to defend him against the accusations./p |
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Lawsuit seeks to keep 3 Iowa justices on bench
Law Firm News |
2010/12/15 23:20
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| pThe retention vote in which three Iowa Supreme Court justices were ousted was illegal, according to a lawsuit seeking to keep the three justices from being tossed from the bench. /ppThe lawsuit claims the vote violated the Iowa Constitution, which requires judicial retention votes to be held on a separate ballot. /ppChief Justice Marsha Ternus and justices Michael Streit and David Baker were voted off following a campaign by groups opposed to the court's unanimous decision to legalize same-sex marriage in Iowa. /ppThe Des Moines Register reported that the lawsuit, filed by attorneys Thomas W. George, John P. Roehrick and Carlton Salmons, asks for a temporary judicial order that would prohibit the judges from leaving the court when their terms expire at the end of December. /p |
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Transit expert lawyers to help NJ fight tunnel tab
Law Firm News |
2010/12/03 09:53
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pGov. Chris Christie approved a law firm with expertise in federal transit issues to help challenge a $271 million tab the federal government says the state owes for a canceled rail tunnel./ppChristie's office said the governor had signed off Thursday on the selection of the Washington, D.C., firm of Patton Boggs. Rodney Slater, who served as U.S. transportation secretary under President Bill Clinton, and former Republican U.S. Sen. Trent Lott are among the partners./ppWe're delighted to have been engaged by the state, said Stuart Pape, the firm's managing partner. The firm, which has an office in Newark, is assessing its strategy, Pape said./ppChristie killed the $8.7 billion tunnel from New Jersey to New York City on Oct. 27, citing potential cost overruns that he said could add $2 billion to $5 billion or more to the price./ppThe federal government and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey each contributed $3 billion to the project, while New Jersey's share was $2.7 billion. The state and Port Authority were responsible for overruns./ppChristie is fighting a bill for the return of federal money already spent on engineering and construction of the tunnel. The Nov. 24 bill from the Federal Transit Authority seeks payment within 30 days./ppIt's not surprising that the same federal transit agency that had no clear way to pay for cost overruns of a project already hurt by poor planning and inequitable cost sharing is relying on bureaucratic power plays to wring even more money out of New Jerseyans, Christie said in a statement Thursday./pp
/p |
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