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Gov't files $25B mortgage settlement in court
Legal Career News |
2012/03/13 16:19
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The government filed in federal court Monday a $25 billion settlement with the five largest mortgage lenders, putting an official stamp on the landmark agreement over alleged foreclosure abuses.
The court papers offered few new details on the deal between the federal government, 49 states and Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc. The deal was first announced last month.
Banks will pay roughly $20 billion to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. Most of that will go toward reducing loans for about 1 million of the 11 million U.S. households that owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
The banks will also pay $5 billion in cash to the federal and state governments. About a third of that money will go into a fund to be used for sending $2,000 checks to about 750,000 Americans who were improperly foreclosed upon from 2008 through 2011.
The banks will have to complete 75 percent of their loan relief requirements within two years and 100 percent within three years.
The banks did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Federal and state law-enforcement authorities could still pursue criminal action against them, the government says. |
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Justice Dept opposes Texas voter ID law
Legal Career News |
2012/03/12 14:36
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The Justice Department's civil rights division on Monday objected to a new photo ID requirement for voters in Texas because many Hispanic voters lack state-issued identification.
Texas follows South Carolina as the second state in recent months to become embroiled in a court battle with the Justice Department over new photo ID requirements for voters.
Photo ID laws have become a point of contention in the 2012 elections. Liberal groups have said the requirements are the product of Republican-controlled state governments and are aimed at disenfranchising people who tend to vote Democratic — African-Americans, Hispanics, people of low-income and college students.
Proponents of such legislation say the measures are aimed at combating voter fraud. But advocacy groups for minorities and the poor dispute that and argue there is no evidence of significant voter fraud.
In regard to Texas, "I cannot conclude that the state has sustained its burden" of showing that the newly enacted law has neither a discriminatory purpose nor effect, Thomas E. Perez, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said in a letter to the Texas secretary of state.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot has said the Obama administration is hostile to laws like the one passed last year in Texas. |
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Attorney: Accused NYC madam unfair target of case
Legal Career News |
2012/03/07 17:18
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Prosecutors and defense attorneys have presented contrasting views of a New York woman jailed on a seven-figure bail on a single charge of promoting prostitution.
Anna Gristina's lawyers have portrayed her as a dedicated suburban mom, animal rescuer and former real estate broker who was working on building an online dating service. They said she's a target of an unfairly sensationalized case.
But prosecutors contend she's an arrogant, multimillion-dollar madam who boasted of ties to law enforcement and stashed cash to flee if authorities tried to close in on her.
"A caring mother of four has been slapped with a $2 million bond," one of her lawyers, Peter J. Gleason, said after a judge refused Tuesday to lower the bail.
In an interview Wednesday on "Good Day New York," Gleason said the prosecution has not shared with the defense team information about its allegations that the Monroe, N.Y., woman peddled underage girls and had police protection.
He said the underage allegation was "a ploy that the police will sometimes use if they have a hostile client that they want to break," he said.
He also said he never asked his client about reports of a "black book" containing names of influential clients. |
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Supreme Court: Inmate cannot change court-appointed lawyer
Legal Career News |
2012/03/05 17:11
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The Supreme Court says a death row inmate can't change his court-appointed appeals lawyer because he didn't like the lawyer's defense tactics.
The justices on Monday turned away the appeal from Kenneth Clair, who was sentenced to death in California in 1987 for burglary and murder.
Clair wanted to change his federal public defender in 2005 because he says they were trying to stop his execution instead of trying to prove his innocence. A federal judge denied his request but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision.
The justices ruled unanimously that the appeals court's decision was incorrect
Justice Elena Kagan wrote that Clair's request came just as a judge was about to make a final ruling so any change would have been too late. |
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Federal court orders May 29 primary date for Texas
Legal Career News |
2012/03/02 17:13
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The federal court in San Antonio has ordered Texas to hold its primary elections on May 29, resolving for now one of the biggest issues in the state's redistricting battles.
The three-judge panel issued the election schedule two days after releasing political maps for Texas to use in the 2012 election. Legal disputes over the maps for congressional and House districts have kept Texas from holding elections.
In the primary schedule released Thursday, the filing period for candidates reopens Friday and closes March 9.
While the court order clarifies the election schedule, some minority groups complain that the election maps are unfair and still are seeking changes. |
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Ex-head of Nigerian state admits financial crime
Legal Career News |
2012/02/27 13:44
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A former governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Delta state pleaded guilty in a British court Monday to charges of money-laundering, conspiring to defraud and obtaining a money transfer by fraud, officials said.
James Ibori, 49, entered his plea at Southwark Crown Court. He is to be sentenced on April 16.
Paul Whatmore of the Metropolitan Police Proceeds of Corruption Unit said Ibori's guilty pleas capped an inquiry which began in association with Nigerian anti-corruption investigators in 2005. Ibori was immune from prosecution in Nigeria between 1999 and 2007 when he was serving as governor of Bayelsa state, police said.
"We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta state," Whatmore said. |
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