Lawyer

Network lawyers in a legal motion strongly pushed back against the FCC’s investigation into The View talkshowLawyers representing an ABC station have accused the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of punishing the network for political purposes in a strongly worded attack on the Trump-controlled commission’s investigation into top-rated talkshow, The View.In a legal motion filed on Thursday, KTRK-TV, a Houston-based local television station owned by ABC, pushed back strongly against the FCC investigation, accusing the purportedly independent agency of taking actions that “threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to The View and more broadly”. Continue reading...

Jonathan Rinderknecht’s attorneys say he’s being used as scapegoat for Los Angeles fire department’s failure to fully extinguish earlier blazeSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades fire in Los Angeles was upset over a failed relationship and his lack of plans for New Year’s Eve – and he ranted about being angry at the world before the initial blaze was ignited, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. It began on 7 January 2025 in the hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 people. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on 1 January that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up a week later. Continue reading...

Fahad Ansari says it was ‘chilling’ that police ‘equated him with his client’ after he was stopped on return from family holiday in IrelandA lawyer who filed Hamas’s challenge to proscription in the UK was recorded by police as being a member of the banned group, “equating him with his client”.On a risk assessment form, a detective inspector, who authorised the detention of Fahad Ansari under the Terrorism Act on his return from a family holiday in Ireland, wrote “Hamas” in the space reserved for “membership of a known group”. Continue reading...

El Gamal family was released from detention and then re-arrested as US officials appeared to overstep judge’s orderAn Egyptian mother and her children, previously jailed by immigration authorities, arrived back in their home in Colorado on Wednesday, after a days-long ordeal during which the Trump administration likely attempted to violate a federal judge’s order.Their attorney, Eric Lee, claimed the US government’s actions against the El Gamal family constituted “kidnapping” after immigration officials re-arrested the family last week. Continue reading...

Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to ask MPs to back controversial voluntary repatriation schemeItalian lawyers will be paid bonuses if they successfully convince their immigrant clients to return home under a government plan that has been compared to a “wild west-style bounty”.The incentive is in the latest security bill from Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government and goes to the lower house of parliament for final approval this week. It was passed by the upper house after fiery debate. Continue reading...

Pugilistic presence has laid waste to civil rights decision – her take-no-prisoners approach has alarmed legal experts but earned president’s plauditsWhen Donald Trump abruptly fired Pam Bondi earlier this month, he made it clear that an unmistakable priority for the justice department would be using the nation’s top law enforcement agency to seek retribution against his political rivals.For months, Trump pressured Bondi to move ahead with prosecutions against James Comey, Letitia James, Adam Schiff and other rivals, even publicly venting his frustration with Bondi in October. The justice department eventually did secure indictments against Comey and James, but the cases later collapsed. Trump fired Bondi on 2 April, reportedly because he was angered by the department’s lack of progress in prosecuting enemies. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has since said Trump has the “right” to direct investigations at the justice department. Continue reading...