The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Chief Justice Boasts of Budget Cuts, Urges Filling Lower Court Vacancies

In his annual report on the state of the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. today said the third branch of government is doing more than its share to reduce expenditures at a time of fiscal crisis. He also called on both the executive and legislative branches to "act diligently in nominating and confirming highly qualified candidates" to fill long-lingering judicial vacancies in the lower courts.

As he boasted about the judiciary's thriftiness, Roberts took note of the fiscal cliff negotiations consuming the nation's capital, and the "longer term problem of a truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt. No one seriously doubts that the country's fiscal ledger has gone awry." Roberts hastened to add that "the public properly looks to its elected officials to craft a solution. We in the judiciary stand outside the political arena, but we can continue to do our part to address the financial challenges within our sphere."

The Supreme Court itself continues to trim its budget, requesting ever-lower levels of appropriation. For fiscal year 2014, Roberts said, the court will submit a $74.89 million budget request -- a 3.7 percent decrease from the fiscal 2011 level, with cuts coming "primarily in the areas of financial and human resources management."

Wilmer Renews 'Sustained Partnership' with D.C. Nonprofit

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has renewed its partnership with the Bread for the City, pledging to provide financial support, in-kind donations, volunteer work and pro bono services to the D.C. nonprofit through 2015.

The firm first began its partnership in 2008 with Bread for the City, which provides services to the homeless and those at risk for being homeless including food, clothing, medical care, legal assistance and social services.

Over the years, Wilmer has helped provide two new delivery trucks, a new medical clinic, a new dental clinic, a new rooftop garden and a city orchard as well as funding for nearly 80,000 meals, 650 medical visits, 1,915 social service visits, and 3,529 hours of legal services from the organization's staff attorneys.

Study Shows Rise in FOIA Lawsuits During Obama's First Term

By Zoe Tillman

A new study details the growing number of lawsuits filed under the federal Freedom of Information Act during President Barack Obama's first term in office.

The study, announced last week by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, showed that number of FOIA lawsuits filed went up by about 6 percent between President George W. Bush's second term and Obama's first term.

Comparing the last two years of those terms, TRAC found that the number of FOIA lawsuits jumped by 28 percent, from 562 under Bush to 720 under Obama. TRAC, which is housed at Syracuse University, noted in its release that the two-year time periods at the end of each term might be a more meaningful time period to study because there's often a delay in filings during the transition to a new administration.

Senate Reauthorizes FISA, a Top DOJ Priority

The Senate voted Friday to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, after rejecting amendments that would have required more disclosure of how the warrantless wiretapping program is used.

The Senate adopted the House-passed version of the reauthorization by a 73-23 vote. It was the top legislative priority of the U.S. Department of Justice as a tool for collecting foreign intelligence, but drew criticism from privacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union.

During debate on the bill Thursday, senators had rejected an amendment from Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would have boosted Fourth Amendment protections for Americans by requiring specific warrants for electronic surveillance to be granted through FISA court, a secret court that oversees the DOJ's actions.

The Morning Wrap

On the brink: The White House and Congress are inching ever closer to the so-called "fiscal cliff." From today's New York Times: "A meeting at the White House between President Obama and Congressional leaders scheduled for Friday offered either the promise that a resolution of the fiscal debacle was in view or a portentous sign that each side was doing all it could to make sure that it could escape blame for a potential fiscal meltdown. No one was quite sure which." The Washington Post has coverage here. Today in Politico, this piece: "Why they want to go over the cliff."

Moving, but not leaving: Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, is leaving the city to return to his house in suburban Maryland. But Machen tells The Washington Post he has no intention to ditch his gig as the top federal prosecutor here. “The work we’re doing here is too important to abandon,” Machen said.

Spotlight on religious liberty: Stanford Law School has started a religious liberty law clinic, which administrators hail as the first in the country, The National Law Journal reports. The clinic's leaders said clients include a Florida prisoner who can't obtain a circumcision while incarcerated and a Muslim group facing opposition over the construction of a mosque in California.

Senate Debates FISA Amid Concerns Over Warrantless Wiretapping

The Senate plans to vote today on the U.S. Department of Justice's top legislative priority: reauthorizing key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The House in September passed its version of the FISA Amendments Act reauthorization, one of the top tools for collecting foreign intelligence. The reauthorization faces opposition and amendments from Democrats and other senators, who have privacy concerns about when the emails and phone calls of American citizens have been collected without a warrant.

The debate is scheduled to last all day, with a vote at 5:30 p.m. The FISA program has been the subject of numerous hearings on Capitol Hill, including testimony from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. and privacy advocates. The FISA program was expanded during the Bush administration in 2008 to include the interception of digital communications. The law is set to expire in 2013.

EPA Head, Leaving 'Giant Shoes to Fill,' Calls it Quits

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that she is stepping down after four years at the helm of the controversial regulator, which has been embroiled in major legal battles over issues such as limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases.

Lisa Jackson said in a statement that she will depart after President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address next month.

Jackson said she was leaving the EPA "confident the ship is sailing in the right direction." Still, Jackson also noted that when she took office four years ago, "I spoke about the need to address climate change"—an area where the EPA has made limited progress.

Holland & Knight Partner Leaving Firm to Teach Indigent Defense at Georgetown

Holland & Knight's Stephen Hanlon is trading his partnership for his passion, leaving the firm after 23 years to teach a practicum on litigation challenges to indigent defense systems.

Hanlon, who has headed the firm's Community Services Team and who received a 2012 "Champions & Visionaries Award" from The National Law Journal, will teach "Structural Challenges to Indigent Defense Systems" at Georgetown University Law Center in the new year. He will work with law firms that undertake this type of institutional reform litigation and will have a special focus on case refusal by overworked public defender organizations.

"This is something I've done a lot of and it's something I really enjoy," said Hanlon. Last July, Hanlon won a 4-3 ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court that overburdened public defenders can not be required to handle cases in violation of their ethical duty to provide zealous and competent advocacy and in violation of defendants' Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel. Among other sources, the state high court looked to the American Bar Association's Eight Guidelines of Public Defense Related to Excessive Workloads.

New Partners Announced at D.C. Law Offices

By Matthew Huisman

Partner promotion season is in full swing.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has promoted nine attorneys to partner, including one in Washington. Gary Greenstein, formerly of counsel, will take the title of partner effective February 1. Greenstein is an attorney in the firm's intellectual property practice where he focuses on licensing and commercial transactions.

O'Melveny & Myers promoted six to its partnership, including one lawyer based in Washington. Senior Counsel David Leviss takes the title of partner starting January 1. Leviss works out of the firm's white collar defense and corporate investigations group. He defends corporations and individuals from whistleblower qui tam actions and civil and criminal enforcement actions.

D.C. Ethics Board Names New General Counsel

The District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability has selected Stacie Pittell to become the agency's general counsel.

Pittell is currently the assistant inspector general for investigations of the D.C. Office of the Inspector General, and formerly had served in various roles with the New York City Department of Investigation.

The city's ethics board investigates allegations of ethics-related misdeeds by D.C. public employees and elected officials.

The board was created earlier this year as part of an ethics overhaul passed by the D.C. Council. The city suffered several hits to its political reputation in the months preceding the announcement of the ethics board and the nomination of its leader, Robert Spagnoletti, former District of Columbia attorney general and a partner with D.C.'s Schertler & Onorato, in June.