Archive for the ‘Attorney General News’ Category

From Banner Graphic:

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced late Tuesday that he would act as legal counsel for a group of county prosecutors who have been named in a civil law suit filed through Marion Superior Court.

The suit, filed by Indianapolis law firm Roberts & Bishop, deals with the filing of civil forfeiture suits against the property of drug offenders or other criminals. Under Indiana law, prosecutors can seek to seize the proceeds of crime, and use those proceeds to fund law enforcement efforts.

Prosecutors in 78 of Indiana’s 92 counties — including Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter — are named as defendants in the case, which calls into question their handling of the proceeds in civil forfeiture cases. The suit alleges that the prosecutors have violated state statute that says any money left over in forfeiture cases after the enforcement fees associated with the case have been paid is to be turned over to Indiana’s Common School Fund.

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Following through on campaign promise, Attorney General-elect Mike DeWine will have a focus on speeding up the processing of evidence.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Incoming Attorney General Mike DeWine plans to have an office in the state’s crime lab, which he criticized during the campaign as slow and inefficient.

Working at the London-based Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation would shave more than half of the time off DeWine’s commute from his home in Cedarville as opposed to working at the attorney general’s main office in Columbus.

But DeWine says distance has nothing to do with it. The Republican spent much of the campaign criticizing Attorney General Richard Cordray’s management of the state crime lab, which assists local authorities with highly technical investigations involving DNA, ballistics, computer forensics and other specialized evidence.

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From trib.com:

Wyoming Gov.-elect Matt Mead picked Greg Phillips, a federal prosecutor and longtime friend, to serve as Wyoming state attorney general, Mead announced Monday.

Phillips, 50, has served for the past eight years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cheyenne. Mead was Phillips’ boss there before Mead stepped down as U.S. Attorney in 2007.

Phillips also has worked as a lawyer for the state and in private practice with Mead in Cheyenne.

“Greg is a critical thinker and he gets the job done,” Mead said in a prepared statement. “His leadership is exactly what Wyoming needs to address tough issues such as federal health care mandates and wolf management.”

Mead said he believes Wyoming needs to take strong steps to make its views and needs heard when the federal government makes policy that affects the state.

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From LJWorld.com:

U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, both Kansas Republicans, have joined a legal challenge of the new federal health care reform bill.

A legal brief, signed by 32 Republican senators, was filed in the lawsuit brought by Florida and 20 other states against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The senators contend that the congressionally approved requirement that people purchase health insurance oversteps the bounds of the commerce clause in the U.S. Constitution.

“Indeed, in more than 200 years of debate as to the proper scope of the Commerce Power, the Supreme Court has never suggested that the Commerce Power allows Congress to impose affirmative obligations on passive individuals, or to punish individuals for failing to purchase a particular product,” the legal brief states.

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From the Dickinson Press:

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says state-supported lawsuits against new federal health care law haven’t stopped it from taking effect.

North Dakota is one of a group of states taking part in a federal lawsuit in Florida against the law. It challenges a provision that requires people to buy health insurance.

Fargo Democratic state Sen. Tim Mathern is one of a group of lawmakers who are joining a court brief supporting the new law.

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From inforum.com:

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEN’-juhm) says changes need to be made to North Dakota’s so-called “sexting law” after a judge ruled it unconstitutional.

Stenehjem tells North Dakota Public Radio that he’s working on changes to be considered by lawmakers next year.

A district judge in Fargo recently dismissed a case against a male college student accused of secretly recording nude videos of a female roommate. Judge Steven McCullough said the law passed by the Legislature last year barring the secret creation of sexually expressive images is unconstitutional because it’s overly broad and outlaws material protected by free-speech rights.

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From The Palm Beach Post:

Attorney General-elect Pam Bondi enlisted two losing attorney general primary candidates to her transition team, which will be chaired by former St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker,her predecessor Attorney General Bill McCollum and former House Speaker Larry Cretul.

Bondi tapped former state Sen. Dave Aronberg, a Greenacres Democrat who lost his AG bid in the primary to former state Sen. Dan Gelber who lost to Bondi, to serve on her pill mills and prescription drug team.

And Bondi recruited former state Rep. Holly Benson, her one-time opponent in the GOP primary, as one of her Medicaid fraud advisers. Benson formerly served as secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

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