After Guantánamo: The Washington Post continues its series this morning on Abdallah Saleh al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti man who killed 13 Iraqi soldiers after his release from the Guantánamo Bay military prison. Today’s piece focuses in part on Ajmi’s Kuwaiti lawyer, who suggested to that nation’s attorney general a couple years before the bombing that his client should perhaps be put in a mental institution. Sunday’s installment highlighted the work of Ajmi’s Washington lawyer, Shearman & Sterling’s Thomas Wilner.
Ginsburg Set to Return: The Supreme Court resumes oral arguments this morning after its mid-winter recess, and The Associated Press notes that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is expected to be on the bench less than a month after surgery for pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who is not a doctor, ventured a pessimistic diagnosis of Ginsburg’s condition at a Lincoln Day Dinner this weekend, according to The Courier-Journal.
Bench Trial: U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Houston is set to go on trial this week on five felony counts of sexually abusing two federal-court employees, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kent, who has local representation, has also been charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly failing to tell a judicial committee about the full extent of his contact with one of the purported victims. As the Journal notes, “It is highly unusual to criminally prosecute federal judges.”
Legal Muscle: The New York Times reports that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has bolstered his legal team. In addition to Washington’s James Sharp of Sharp & Associates, Rodriguez has hired Pittsburgh-based Jay Reisinger. The two also represented pitcher Andy Pettitte and outfielder Sammy Sosa. They are expected to accompany Rodriguez, who has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, when he meets with league investigators as early as this week.
Non-Cabinet Tax Problems: A Princeton, N.J., tax lawyer is accusing the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service of failing to investigate his complaint that an IRS agent was telling taxpayers to forgo representation — and of retaliating against him for filing the complaint. The New Jersey Law Journal has the details via Law.com. The case is heading to appeal after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit this month.
A Younger Court?: The Washington Post catches up on the group of law professors and jurists who have proposed changes to how the Supreme Court works. Their ideas include term limits for justices and the removal of justices who are in poor health. An earlier report from The National Law Journal also outlined the proposal, as did a Legal Times story from a few years ago.
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