The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Fourteen Men Graduate from 2011 Fathering Court Program in D.C.

Updated at 3:42 p.m.

Darnell Morris said that when he started the District of Columbia Superior Court's Fathering Court program, his relationship with his 15-year-old daughter "wasn’t too perfect." Morris, 42, had been in trouble with the law before for selling drugs, but said he had heard about the Fathering Court program on television and wanted a shot "to better myself."

On Friday morning, Morris and thirteen other men graduated from the 2011 class of Fathering Court, which aims to not only help fathers comply with child support orders, but also become better parents.

"I’m a better person, I’m a better father," said Morris, who was joined during the ceremony by his three-year-old son, Darnell Caesar Jr.

The Fathering Court program began in 2008, and has graduated more than 50 men re-entering the community from prison who have child support responsibilities. Participants are connected with employment services, counseling and other support over the course of a year.

Only two graduates have re-offended since the program began, according to a court spokesman.

Superior Court Judge Milton Lee, who presides over the program, said during the ceremony that while times may be tough in terms of finding a steady job or a home, “our gentlemen have not let that stop them.”

“You are better men than people will ever know,” Lee said, acknowledging that many of the men overcame health, relationship and a host of other problems to complete the program. Lee credited program manager Ron Scott, presiding Family Court Judge Zoe Bush and other staff for their role in making the program a success.

Lobbyists Predict Federal Tax Code Overhaul Unlikely This Year

Congressional Democrats may have a difficult time convincing their Republican counterparts to look at an overhaul of the U.S. tax code this year as GOP lawmakers eye the elections in November, an SNR Denton lobbyist said Thursday.

Speaking as part of a firm teleconference on the outlook for tax reform, SNR Denton senior managing director Matthew Lapinski said he sees "very little motivation" from Republicans to work on an overhaul this year when the legislative and executive branches could be in GOP hands in 2013. The last major overhaul of the tax code occurred in 1986.

“Obviously there is a lot of question politically about what the world is going to look like,” he said. “But I would still imagine there’s going to be the desire to wait until a lame-duck [session of Congress] to see what the playing field looks like to handle a lot of these big issues.”

SNR Denton partner John Harrington, who also spoke on the teleconference, said he expects Congress to devote much of its time this year on work related to expiring tax provisions. The measures include the payroll tax reduction, which expires Feb. 29, and the George W. Bush-era tax cuts, which run out at the end of this year.

“They’re going to take up a lot of focus,” he said.

Despite the obstacles to overhauling the tax code in the coming months, lawmakers this year still may put out legislation that has a tax reform label, Harrington said.

The SNR Denton partner said lawmakers want to call anything they do reform “because from a salesmanship standpoint, it sounds better, and if nothing else, no one thinks they are making the tax code worse.”

“Tax reform is always in the eye of the beholder,” Harrington said.

AG Holder 'Bound and Determined' For Justice In Residential Mortgage Securities Market

The financial fraud group that is investigating the market for residential mortgage-backed securities has already issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said today in formally announcing the team of lawyers and federal agents.

Holder and top Obama administration officials, speaking today with reporters at the Justice Department, declined to discuss the details of the pending investigations. The focus of the group is on the organization and securitization of home loans, not loan servicing.

Holder said the working group, which President Barack Obama noted in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, will include 55 U.S. Justice Department attorneys, in addition to resources from several state attorneys general and law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.

The group, Holder said, will identify, investigate and prosecute instances of wrongdoing in the packaging and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. The first full meeting was scheduled to begin this afternoon.

“I am confident that this new effort will improve our ability to ensure justice for victims, help restore faith in our financial markets and institutions and allow us to answer the call that President Obama issued earlier this week, in his State of the Union address,” Holder said in a statement today.

Holder and Robert Khuzami, the enforcement director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said that not every failure was a violation of the law. “We also have learned that behavior that is reckless or unethical is not criminal,” Holder said.

The officials fended off skepticism that the working group is getting off the ground too late in the Obama administration and that its work is not new at all. The Obama administration put together a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force in November 2009.

“The notion that there has been inactivity over the course of the last three years is belied by a troublesome little something called facts,” Holder said. “We have been doing a great deal. I am confident that with this new structure that we are putting in place today our efforts will be enhanced.”

Holder said the “the reality is that we’ve done a substantial amount.” The attorney general said the working group is targeting a specific financial fraud crime that has caused “great harm” to the economy.

“We are bound and determined and will hold people accountable in this sector,” Holder said.

The Morning Wrap

Spared: Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that was the centerpiece of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, will not have to pay compensatory damages stemming from the spill, The Wall Street Journal reports. A federal trial judge has upheld portions of the company's indemnity agreement with oil giant BP PLC.

Leading: A California state judge has picked the first bellwether suit in consolidated litigation against Toyota over allegations of unintended acceleration, The National Law Journal reports. An attorney for the plaintiff said the trial could start as early as this September. A February trial is set for federal multidistrict litigation against Toyota.

Strained: Cash-strapped local governments are grappling with the increasing costs associated with an aging inmate population. The Wall Street Journal said 55 and older prisoners comprise the fastest growing population group in state and federal prisons.

Dismissed: A New York state judge has thrown out a murder indictment, saying that 19 years was too long to prosecute the charge, The New York Law Journal reports. The judge said the delay denied the defendant due process rights to prompt prosecution.

Shrinking: The Washington Post reports on the shrinking Pentagon budget. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta outlined a proposal that would reduce the size of the Army and Marine Corps. The $523 billion request represents 1 percent decrease from the current year.

Bind: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. finds himself in a tough spot amid the investigation of rape allegations against Greg Kelly, son of New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The New York Times reports that Vance has an opportunity with the case to demonstrate competency in the political aspect of his position.

Censored: Twitter Inc. announced it now has the ability to make content selectively available to users based on geography. The Wall Street Journal said Twitter has not yet put the ability to withhold content to use. "As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," Twitter's announcement said.

More Bloodletting at Legal Services

Civil legal aid groups that receive money from the Legal Services Corp. estimated that they will cut 163 lawyers and 230 other employees this year after Congress trimmed the agency’s budget by 14% for fiscal 2012, according to an LSC survey released Thursday.

The projected reductions among 132 of the 135 LSC-funded organizations follow a loss in 2011 of 833 positions. The groups in 2010 had 9,059 employees, including 4,351 lawyers. In 2012, the organizations expect to have 7,833 workers, including 3,769 attorneys.

“I was not surprised to see this,” LSC President James Sandman said, adding that the staff losses will harm the ability of civil legal aid groups to help the poor.

Congress in November passed legislation that gave $348 million to LSC for fiscal 2012. LSC last had a $348 million budget in 2007.

The agency asked Congress to provide it with $517 million for fiscal 2012. For fiscal 2013, LSC is requesting $470 million.

The agency hands out more money for civil legal aid than any other U.S. organization. Many of the clients are individuals facing eviction or victims of domestic abuse.

Former Senator and Son No Longer Lobby for New Orleans Suburb

Updated at 5:10 p.m.

Steptoe & Johnson on Wednesday notified Congress that former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.) and his son, N. Hunter Johnston, have stopped advocating for Jefferson Parish, La., after the duo lobbied for the municipality for at least a dozen years.

The firm ended its government advocacy relationship with Jefferson Parish on Dec. 31, according to a lobbying termination report filed with Congress. Steptoe received $120,000 last year for lobbying related to funding for flood control projects and reimbursement for Federal Emergency Management Agency community disaster loans, which the parish received after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

According to N. Hunter Johnston’s biography, the lobbyist “was extensively involved in the Congressional response to Hurricane Katrina, representing the City of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish during this critical time and is closely identified with the flood control programs that have been implemented to protect this key area of the country.”

The former senator, who lobbies for Steptoe as part of an alliance with his firm, Johnston & Associates, referred a request for comment to his son. N. Hunter Johnston, a Steptoe partner, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A parish spokeswoman didn't have an immediate comment.

Steptoe was one of three firms that lobbied for the parish last year, according to congressional records. But only Adams and Reese, which received $120,000 for its government advocacy work for the parish in 2011, is still registered to lobby for the municipality. Bell Heroux, which took in $30,000 for its lobbying efforts on behalf of the parish last year, ended its government advocacy relationship with the municipality on Sept. 21.

D.C. Superior Court Judges Earned Fourth Highest Salary Nationwide

Updated at 5:08 p.m.

District of Columbia Superior Court associate judges earned the fourth highest salary nationwide in 2011, according to a newly-released compilation of judicial salaries in state courts.

Superior Court associate judges have earned $174,000 annually since 2008, making them consistently among the highest paid general trial court judges in the country. From 2002 to 2005, they were the highest paid general trial court judges, and have stayed in the top four since then.

The District’s rank changes dramatically, however, when the data are adjusted to reflect cost of living. Superior Court associate judges earned an adjusted salary of $122,301, knocking them down to number 36, a reflection of the high cost of living in the Washington area.

The data were compiled by the National Center for State Courts, which surveys judicial salaries nationwide twice a year. The 2011 numbers released were for the first six months of the year.

General trial court judges in Alaska, California and Illinois earned more than Superior Court judges in 2011, according to the survey, receiving $177,888, $178,789 and $180,802, respectively. The national average pay for general trial court judges in 2011 was $120,629, up by about $600 from 2010.

In the District, like the majority of states, judicial salaries have not changed in recent years as courts have grappled with tight budgets. Only nine states – Illinois, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, Rhode Island, Indiana, West Virginia and Montana – increased pay for general trial court judges in 2011.

Associates judges in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, who earned $184,500 in 2011, ranked seventh among judges in state supreme courts. That salary also hasn’t changed since 2008.

A court representative could not immediately be reached.

Steptoe Adds Two Partners to Antitrust and Competition Practice in Washington

Steptoe & Johnson has added two attorneys to its antitrust and competition practice in Washington, the firm announced Thursday.

Edward Schwartz and Andrew Lee join Steptoe as partners from Shearman & Sterling and White & Case, respectively. Lee was previously an associate at White & Case.

Schwartz focuses on antitrust, complex litigation, mergers and non-merger antitrust investigations by regulators. He has defended clients in cases of antitrust, conspiratorial conduct, unilateral conduct and price discrimination.

Lee, who is fluent in Korean, advises domestic and international clients on antitrust compliance and counseling, criminal antitrust defense, civil class actions and litigation. He previously worked at the Federal Trade Commission where he investigated mergers in the retail, energy, e-commerce and telecommunications industries.

“Ed and Andrew bring significant experience representing clients in a range of industries in antitrust litigation, investigations and counseling,” Roger Warin, chair of the firm, said in a written statement.

DOJ Defends Keeping Bin Laden Death Photos Secret

The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to keep secret photos showing the death of Osama bin Laden, saying the images are classified because of their potential to incite violence against the United States.

The department filed court papers (PDF) Wednesday in a public records suit in Washington asking U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to keep the photos out of the public domain.

DOJ attorney Marcia Berman of the Civil Division’s federal programs branch said the photos “reveal specific intelligence activities and methods and specific military methods, tools, equipment, and techniques employed during or after the operation” that killed bin Laden in May.

“For over two decades, bin Laden was the leader and symbol of al-Qaida, a terrorist organization at war with the United States,” Berman said. “The mere release of the images could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt by the United States to humiliate bin Laden, which could trigger violence, attacks, or acts of revenge against the United States.”

Judicial Watch, the conservative nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency in government, sued the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency in May in Washington federal district court.

Judicial Watch attorneys James Peterson and Michael Bekesha complained that the agencies did not conduct an adequate search and that the CIA violated classification procedures. The Justice Department said the intelligence agency has complied with its obligations.

Bekesha said in court papers (PDF) that Judicial Watch isn’t seeking any government records “that have been properly classified or would actually cause harm to the national security by revealing intelligence methods or the identity of U.S. personnel or classified technology.”

D.C. Appeals Court Finds Fraud Exception to 'Government Contacts' Rule

Washington's local courts traditionally have turned away cases when the only ties to the city involved contact with a federal agency. A ruling (PDF) this morning by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals offers a new exception to that rule when fraud is a central allegation.

The rule, known as the government contacts exception, was designed to keep Washington's courts from becoming national judicial forums, overloaded with cases that have no real connection to the city. But the three-judge panel ruled this morning that local courts do have jurisdiction to hear cases when a defendant is accused of committing fraud against a Washington-based federal agency that injured the plaintiff.

The underlying case involves a lawsuit filed by Brazilian producers of materials used to make steel against their American counterparts. The Brazilian companies accused the U.S. producers of giving fraudulent information to the U.S. International Trade Commission and manipulating the commission into imposing import duties on foreign producers in the 1990s.

The court didn’t decide the merits of the case, which is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Under the D.C. Code, the D.C. Circuit can "certify" questions to the D.C. Court of Appeals if the federal appellate judges can't find precedent controlling an issue relating to an interpretation of D.C. law.

The Brazilian producers sued the U.S. producers in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In March 2010, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer dismissed the case, finding that, under the government contacts rule, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The Brazilian producers appealed, at which point the D.C. Circuit asked the local appellate court to weigh in on whether there existed a fraud exception to the government contacts rule.

The local appeals court heard oral arguments on Oct. 27. In today’s decision, Associate Judge John Fisher wrote that “nothing in our previous decisions holds or was intended to imply that individuals who enter the District of Columbia to fraudulently induce unwarranted government action against others, and succeed in doing so, should be able to avoid defending their actions in this jurisdiction.

“Such fraud does not warrant our protection,” he wrote.