The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Judge Unseals Watergate Records, Keeps Others Under Wraps

A Washington federal judge today ordered the disclosure of certain previously sealed information related to the Watergate scandal, but denied a request to unseal all of the records at issue—including the substance of an illegally obtained wiretap.

A historian of Richard Nixon's presidency petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to release documents sealed in the criminal case against G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy was convicted in 1973 of charges related to the Watergate Hotel break-in. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Royce Lamberth last year unsealed court records the government didn't object to unsealing, saying he would then weigh a request to unseal the contested information.

The historian, Luke Nichter of Texas A&M University, argued the sealed information could be key to a better understanding of the Watergate break-in. The Justice Department argued the remaining information should remain sealed because the documents "disclose private, personal information, would constitute a breach of grand jury secrecy, or would reveal information obtained by an illegal wiretap," according to the opinion.

New Leadership for Federal Courts' Administrative Office

U.S. District Judge John Bates will take over next month as director of the federal judiciary's administrative office, the U.S. Supreme Court announced today.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., appointed Bates to replace U.S. District Senior Judge Thomas Hogan Jr., who has served as director since late 2011. Bates, according to the announcement, will continue to serve as a U.S. district judge when he assumes his new role July 1. As executive director, he'll manage the office's approximately 1,000 employees and oversee the administration of federal courts nationwide. He couldn't be reached this morning for comment.

Hogan wasn't immediately available today for comment, but a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, David Sellers, said the judge "just thought the time was right" to step down, noting Hogan planned to only serve one year as director. In addition to his caseload as a senior judge, Hogan serves on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

D.C. Lawyers Honor Civil Rights Advocacy

Senior Judge John Ferren receives the Wiley A. Branton Award as Judge David Tatel (left) and Washington Lawyers' Committee executive director Roderic Boggs join him on stage.

Washington lawyers came together on Monday to honor some of their own for civil rights work.

Before a packed ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Washington, Senior Judge John Ferren of the District Columbia Court of Appeals and retired Judge Ricardo Urbina of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia received the Wiley A. Branton Award, the top honor of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. The 24-year-old award is named after the longtime civil rights lawyer and former Howard University School of Law dean, and recognizes a career of civil rights advocacy.

Prior to becoming the first Latino appointed to the federal trial court, in 1994, Urbina was a judge in the District of Columbia Superior Court, a public defender in D.C. and a professor at Howard (when Branton was dean). Urbina also has advised the Washington Lawyers’ Committee on outreach to the Latino community and assisted the Meyer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income D.C. residents.

U.S. Attorney's Office Files Suit Against Lobbying Firm

After allegedly failing to turn in 124 federal lobbying reports on time, a West Hempstead, N.Y.-based consulting firm with only one lobbying client is facing a fine up to $33 million.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia on Friday filed a civil suit against Biassi Business Services Inc. (BBSI) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claiming the firm knowingly violated requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The law governs the reporting of federal lobbyists' activities.

"The Government alleges that BBSI knowingly failed to comply with the periodic reporting requirements of the LDA and to remedy delinquent filings after being notified by the Secretary of the U.S. Senate (the “Senate”) and the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (the “House”)," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hudak wrote in the compliant. "As such, and because BBSI has failed to remedy its unlawful actions despite a plethora of notices from the House, Senate, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, the United States brings this action."

D.C. Courts Honor 4,000 Lawyers for D.C. Pro Bono Work

More than 4,000 lawyers in the D.C. legal community reported serving at least 50 pro bono hours in 2012, according to an announcement from the D.C. court system.

The courts' second annual Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll recognized D.C. bar members and other lawyers approved to do pro bono work in the city who met the goal of completing at least 50 hours of pro bono work. According to court officials, more than 2,400 of those lawyers reported completing more than 100 pro bono hours.

In a joint letter, D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield and D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Eric Washington said they were "delighted" by the results of this year's honor roll, which featured self-reported tallies from area law firms and attorneys. The number of lawyers on this year's list grew by nearly 20 percent from the inaugural honor roll last year.

Pepper Spray Isn’t a "Dangerous Weapon," D.C. Court Says

Updated at 1:53 p.m.

Getting hit with pepper spray can be a painful experience, but the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled today the spray shouldn't automatically be considered a "dangerous weapon" under the law.

The D.C. Council made it legal in the early 1990s to carry pepper spray for self-defense. In the underlying case, the defendant challenged her conviction of attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, arguing pepper spray shouldn't fall into the category of "other" unspecified dangerous weapons covered by the statute.

A three-judge appeals panel agreed. Judge John Fisher, writing for the court, said that although the spray was a "destructive device," it didn't meet the high standard for "dangerous," which means a weapon could cause "great bodily injury" or death. He said the government also failed to prove that the injury in the case rose to the level of pain that might qualify the spray as dangerous under the law.

D.C. Appeals Court Chief Judge Lays Out Third Term Plans

Addressing an audience of mostly his peers from the bench, District of Columbia Court of Appeals Chief Judge Eric Washington pledged yesterday to continue efforts to reduce the time it takes the city's highest court to resolve cases.

Washington appeared yesterday afternoon at a public forum to answer questions about his plans for a third term as chief of the court. The judge is unopposed in his bid for another four-year term. Washington, speaking in the main courtroom of the appeals court, cited statistics showing the court had made strides in speeding up the disposition of cases. Still, he acknowledged, "there's more we can do."

According to court data, the appeals court took a median time of 352 days to resolve cases, marking the first time in a decade that number dropped below the one-year line. Washington warned there would always be cases that will take longer to resolve, however, noting the court didn't want to take a "cookie-cutter" approach.

DOJ Asks D.C. Circuit to Uphold Lobbyist Ban

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday fired back at six lobbyists who are in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the Obama administration ban on federal lobbyists serving on agency boards and commissions.

The D.C. Circuit should uphold the ban that a Washington federal trial judge, Amy Berman Jackson, found constitutional last year, Michael Raab, an assistant director of the DOJ Civil Division appellate staff, wrote yesterday in the government's  opening brief in the appellate court.

Mayer Brown special counsel Charles Rothfeld and associate Joseph Minta, who represent the lobbyists, wrote in their brief in May that the Obama administration prohibition has "punished" their clients and discouraged lobbying, an activity the Constitution protects. Rothfeld, a veteran Supreme Court advocate, practices in appellate litigation.

Audit Finds Problems with U.S. Marshals Service in D.C.

Updated at 3:32 p.m.

A recent audit of the U.S. Marshals Service office that serves the District of Columbia Superior Court identified a series of problems with management of salaries and overtime, procurement and property control, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General said in a new report.

The investigation found the marshals office was too reliant on overtime to staff the courthouse cellblock. Other problems included criminal investigators not working as many hours as they were required to by the Justice Department; a lack of reporting on how employees were using government credit cards; and inadequate policies for tracking weapons stolen from the service.

Investigators found $275,000 in "unsupported costs," which included salaries and credit cards that were supposed to be used for gas and services on government vehicles and other job-related expenses. From 2008 to 2011, about 10 percent of the 1.5 million hours worked by service employees was overtime, resulting in $6 million in overtime pay. The audit found several employees who reported at least 1,000 hours in annual overtime.

Lawyers Protest Guantanamo Bay Detainee Search Policy

Lawyers for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center argued today in court that a new policy requiring genital searches of their clients before meetings and phone calls was degrading and part of an attempt to discourage communication with counsel.

U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth heard argument today on emergency motions filed by the detainees' lawyers to block the new search policy, which also applied to detainees' phone calls with family. Covington & Burling senior counsel S. William Livingston called the policy a situation "where something that isn't broken is being fixed." Much of the 90-minute hearing was sealed.

Lamberth did not rule from the bench and did not give any indication on how he might rule during the public portion of the hearing. The judge previously has struck down attempts by the federal government to change policies governing access to counsel at the detention facility.