Over the past hour or so, Bernard Madoff’s lawyer, Ike Sorkin, has spread word to reporters (including the Law Blog) of his client’s decision not to challenge the 150-year prison sentence handed down last week by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin (pictured). Here’s the story from DJN’s Chad Bray.

That decision is hardly surprising, considering that the sentence Madoff got was within the federal sentencing guidelines calculated by the judge. (150 years = the total maximum prison penalties for 11 felony counts to which Madoff pleaded guilty.) In other words, Sorkin couldn’t argue that Chin had unfairly departed from the advisory guidelines. See prior LB coverage of Chin’s decision here.

Speaking of Chin, the unlikely star of last week’s Madoff hearing left the federal courthouse this morning and mosied across Foley Square to the U.S. Court of International Trade, where the U.S. Sentencing Commission set up shop for a public hearing on all things sentencing-related.

According to Chin’s prepared remarks before the commission, the judge set the audience up for a titillating discussion on Madoff:

In the days since, the sentence has been dissected and debated, both in the popular press and the academic media. The discussion has been healthy: What are the goals of punishment? Did the sentence further those goals? Should helping victims heal be a goal of punishment? Is a financial crime such as securities fraud really “evil?” Is there any point to a sentence of years far longer than a defendant is expected to live? Is such a sentence merely pandering to the public?

By the last question, we were holding our breath. But just as quickly, we exhaled in disappointment.

Continued Chin: “We are here today, of course, not to take on these questions, but to discuss the Sentencing Guidelines. But the Madoff case underscores how difficult sentencing can be.”

Chin would utter the name “Madoff” only two more times.

Just a quick note, LBers. Starting tomorrow, and extending through next week, I’ll be on vacation with family in sunny SoCal. Rest assured, while I’m actively duffing, Angels-cheering, and trying to tan up this pale, sunshine-deprived body, the Law Blog will be in the extremely capable hands of Nathan Koppel, Amir Efrati, Chris Herring, and Jennifer Forsyth. Until then, as they say in the Southland’s beachier parts (or at least did circa 1985), Later Days, Dudes!
— Ashby.

On its face, the logic seems a little screwy. In April, a Colorado jury ruled that Ward Churchill, a former University of Colorado professor, was wrongfully terminated for his controversial political views. But on Tuesday, in a ruling meant to be consistent with the jury’s finding, a Denver judge on Tuesday declined to give Churchill his job back. Click here and here for reports from the NYT and Denver Post, respectively.

The backstory: CU began investigating Churchill after an essay surfaced in which he had called some victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks “little Eichmanns.” The entire passage is just too, well, something, not to reprise here. Wrote Churchill:

[The 9/11 victims] were civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme a break. They formed a technocratic corps at the very heart of America’s global financial empire – the “mighty engine of profit” to which the military dimension of U.S. policy has always been enslaved – and they did so both willingly and knowingly. Recourse to “ignorance” – a derivative, after all, of the word “ignore” – counts as less than an excuse among this relatively well-educated elite. To the extent that any of them were unaware of the costs and consequences to others of what they were involved in – and in many cases excelling at – it was because of their absolute refusal to see. More likely, it was because they were too busy braying, incessantly and self-importantly, into their cell phones, arranging power lunches and stock transactions, each of which translated, conveniently out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into the starved and rotting flesh of infants. If there was a better, more effective, or in fact any other way of visiting some penalty befitting their participation upon the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers, I’d really be interested in hearing about it.

After the statement surfaced, some four years after it was written, there were calls for Churchill’s dismissal. Subsequently, the university launched an investigation of his writing and found that he engaged in repeated acts of plagiarism over a period of years. CU said he was fired, in 2007, for academic misconduct. Churchill and his supporters said that the university manufactured a case against him to appease his critics, among whom was then-Gov. Bill Owens.

Click here and here for previous LB posts on the situation.

In any event, on Tuesday, the judge on the case, Larry Naves, ruled that the jury’s damages award — $1 — dictated that he not award Churchill a substantive remedy. Wrote Naves: “If I am required to enter an order that is ‘consistent with the jury’s findings,’ I cannot order a remedy that ‘disregards the jury’s implicit finding’ that Professor Churchill has suffered no actual damages that an award of reinstatement would prospectively remedy.”

According to the NYT, Churchill’s lawyer, David Lane, said he would appeal the decision.

“To me, this is judicial activism in its worst form,” Lane said. “What is really a shame here is that a jury said Ward Churchill’s free speech was violated, and yet Judge Naves goes on for almost 50 pages, saying in so many words, ‘Too bad.’ ”

“At the moment, we feel very satisfied,” said Bronson Hilliard, a university spokesman. “There was an important principle at stake here, and that is academic integrity, which is at the heart of everything we do in research and teaching. We feel very gratified at the outcome.”

Photo: AP

Much has been made about former attorney general Alberto Gonzales’s difficulty in finding work after his bumpy landing as U.S. attorney general back in 2007. Click here and here for a NYT story and a LB post based on the story, from April of last year.

In March, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, Gonzales was planning to move to either Austin or Houston, and had reportedly been making a living by doing consulting work, giving speeches, and working as an arbitrator. He was also looking to write a book.

Well, now “Fredo,” as President Bush used to affectionately refer to him, has a workplace to call home, at least for the fall months. According to this story in the Austin American-Statesman, Gonzales will teach a course at Texas Tech University down in Lubbock, Texas. (Hat tip: ABA Journal).

Gonzo won’t be teaching contracts, torts, property, or an advanced symposium on jurisdiction. Rather, he’ll be working in the university’s political science department, teaching a “special topics” course on contemporary issues in the executive branch.

The paper didn’t reach Gonzales for comment.

In the big jury trial of the early summer, Boies, Schiller & Flexner’s David Boies has beaten Paul Weiss’s Ted Wells.

Yes, there were real parties involved with real money at stake, but part of us wishes this were the last episode of an American Idol like reality show pitting lawyers against lawyers, and we could focus exclusively on the battle royale of the bold-faced named litigators.

But luckily for us, the underlying lawsuit was interesting too. The jury, which returned its verdict only after a few hours of deliberation, rejected claims that Starr International, repped by Boies, a sister company to American International Group, repped by Wells, improperly seized control of millions of shares of the insurer’s stock at the urging of Hank Greenberg, AIG’s former chief executive. The jury found that Starr International, or SICO, wasn’t liable for claims that it violated a trust agreement and improperly converted, or took, the block of shares. Click here for the WSJ story.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who is presiding, is separately considering the breach of trust claim and expects to deliver a decision by August at the latest.

“This is not the final judgment,” the judge said. “There is still the other shoe that needs to drop, so to speak.”

AIG sued SICO in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for $4.3 billion in damages — representing the sale of tens of millions of AIG shares since Greenberg was forced out as AIG’s top executive in 2005 — and the return of millions of shares SICO controls. The stock went to SICO as part of a reorganization of AIG and its affiliates in 1970.

The insurer claimed the shares were set aside in a trust to fund a deferred-compensation plan for select AIG employees and executives and were improperly diverted by SICO and its management.

Republican Peter King calls Michael Jackson a "pervert," "low-life," "pedophile" in new YouTube video.

Jackson was acquitted of molesting a boy.

In the video, the congressman says the "day in and day out" coverage of Jackson's death is "too politically correct."

He conceded that Jackson "may have been a good singer" and "did some dancing."

King is among the possible Republican contenders for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Jackson family in legal bid for his money

The next round in the billion-dollar battle over Michael Jackson's estate will play out in a Los Angeles court today [Monday, 6 July 2009], as the singer's family spends the eve of his funeral applying for his possessions to be transferred to their control.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff will decide whether the King of Pop's worldly goods should be temporarily turned over to a trust that will benefit his mother, three children, and various charities.

Read more:

Jackson family in legal bid for his money - News, People - The Independent

The lawyer for accused fraudster Robert Allen Stanford filed a motion late Monday requesting the government release funds for Stanford to pay for his legal defense or dismiss the charges against Stanford.

Dick DeGuerin, the lawyer, filed the motion with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston division. Judge David Hittner is presiding over the case, which alleges a multibillion-dollar global investment scheme that included a program offering certificates of deposit with unusually high rates of return.

Read more:

Stanford Motion Seeks Funds to Pay for Legal Defense - FOXBusiness.com

Gov. Sarah Palin spent Monday fishing with her family and away from the spotlight as her lawyer insisted that legal troubles did not drive her to announce her stunning resignation over the holiday weekend.

Palin's early departure has fueled rumors that some legal entanglement not yet known to the public may have compelled her to resign. Sixteen ethics complaints have been filed against Palin in the last year, most of which have been dismissed as baseless.

But Palin's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, said the Republican governor and former vice presidential candidate has no legal problems whatsoever.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said that Palin believes that the hostile political climate and legal bills have become too much of a distraction for the state.

Read the entire article:

The Associated Press: Palin's lawyer: no legal troubles driving her out

Powersports Business
Wednesday February 11, 2009

On Jan. 22, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously approved an exemption requested by aftermarket manufacturers that will allow them to sell exhaust systems legally, which is good news for parts manufacturers and riders who like to express themselves through their bikes.

Current California law prevents the modification of any pollution-control system on a motor vehicle that is under warranty, which includes the exhausts of motorcycles with catalytic converters and other emission-control components. California’s emissions laws often serve as a model for the EPA and other states.

Read the entire article:

California board approves aftermarket exhaust exemption

A lot happened over this three-day weekend: a tennis match turned from scintillating to weirdly boring; an NFL quarterback was killed; eMusic expanded its lineup (Hello, Springsteen!); Obama flew to Russia; a former afternoon roundup honoree made his first All-Star team; and a bankruptcy judge in New York cleared the way for General Motors to sell its most valued brands to the U.S. Treasury.

But the undeniably big news of the weekend involved the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, who unexpectedly threw in the towel on the Alaska governorship.

While much speculation as to the real reason behind Sarah Palin’s abrupt decision to quit spidered quickly through the Internet, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell managed to clear the air — or at least give his own take — on Sunday. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Parnell cited the millions in state money being spent to deal with document requests and other matters concerning ethics complaints made against Palin. Parnell said she has personally accumulated a $500,000 debt defending herself.

“She became a national figure — an international figure during the last presidential race. . . . What that means is that she not only had the local press after her, the local party after her, she had the national — national candidates, national party, after her — international, perhaps, even,” Parnell said.

Much of the debt to which Parnell is referring comes in the form of — yup — legal bills. According to this Anchorage Daily News article from March (Hat Tip: Above the Law), Palin at the time owed some $500,000 to the Alaska law firm Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness.

According to the ADN story, Palin made $131,891 last year, counting her $125,000 salary and expense payments she collects when she’s away from Juneau, according to the disclosure. Todd Palin made $86,150 from his two jobs, as a commercial fisherman and a BP production operator.

“Obviously we cannot afford to personally pay these bills — and really no future governor should feel the sense of financial vulnerability at the hands of those with a political vendetta bent on personal destruction,” Palin wrote. “Some have suggested a legal fund to pay these bills. We’ll have to pursue that.”

News from the world of BigLaw: Bingham McCutchen and McKee Nelson are headed to the altar. The firms announced Monday morning that the firms will be one as of August 1. The firm will retain the Bingham McCutchen name, not entirely surprising given that the deal doesn’t exactly represent a marriage of equals: Bingham has 1000 lawyers in 12 offices; McKee Nelson has 120 lawyers in New York and D.C.

Something else that’s not entirely surprising: that a deal involving McKee Nelson is happening at all. The firm was hit hard by the recession; especially in the steep dropoff in work related to mortgage-backed and asset-backed securitizations, practices in which the firm had created a nice niche. Click here for a blog post from last November on layoffs at McKee.

“This is the right combination at the right time,” said Bingham chair Jay Zimmerman, noting McKee Nelson’s strength in tax, financial regulation and capital markets. “Legal and regulatory lines are being redrawn and are intersecting in ways they never have before. . . . The opportunity for us to add McKee Nelson’s market-leading practices in financial institutions litigation, capital markets and tax is extraordinary. These are quite simply some of the finest lawyers in the profession.”

ADA, Okla., July 1, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (PPD), reported new memberships produced and new sales associates enrolled for the 2009 second quarter. During the 2nd quarter of 2009, new sales associates enrolled decreased 3.6% compared to the second quarter of 2008. Memberships produced decreased by 9.1% while new membership fees written decreased by 9.3% and our active membership base decreased 3.9% compared to the comparable period of the previous year.

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MarketWatch.com Story

By this time next year, Omahans may be able to purchase fireworks within the city's limits, according to a city official.

There has been movement in city government to bring Omaha's fireworks laws on par with state regulations, said Ron Gerard, a spokesman for Mayor Jim Suttle.

State law permits consumer fireworks to be sold between June 25 and July 4, with restrictions. The state regulates the types of fireworks that can be sold — they can't be hot or in flames when they hit the ground.
In Omaha, all fireworks sales are prohibited. Omahans go to neighboring communities such as Papillion, Bellevue, Ralston and La Vista to purchase fireworks — or to Missouri to get the types that aren't legal in Nebraska.

AdvertisingIn the face of a tough economy and a city budget crisis, Omaha officials are considering allowing fireworks sales.

“If we could keep dollars here, why not?” Gerard said.

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Omaha.com - The Omaha World-Herald: Metro/Region

If you plan to shoot off some fireworks to celebrate the Fourth, you should follow the laws in your state. Otherwise, your celebration could come to an abrupt halt.

Warnings will most likely be issued for the first offense, depending on the severity of the complaint, and the fireworks are seized," said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.

Richmond County police respond in a similar way.

On a second violation, citations carry a maximum $1,000 fine and year in jail, depending on a magistrate judge's order.

Police, however, say a first warning is usually all that's needed.

Georgia law allows sparklers, snappers, party poppers, glow worms and snakes. But fire*******s, torpedoes, Roman candles and any fireworks that shoot into the air before exploding are prohibited.

In the unincorporated areas of Aiken County, it's legal to shoot Class C fireworks, which include most items sold to consumers.

More...

Fireworks laws differ in Georgia, South Carolina 070309 - The Augusta Chronicle

Fireworks activities increase this time of year, and before you make purchases there are things you should consider. The National Fire Protection Association reports that there are more fires reported on July 4th than any other day in the year and that half of them are because of fireworks. Kentucky state law prohibits any item that produces a report, or has wings or fins intended to cause the device to fly, unless a display permit is obtained. Any device that has the terms “explosive,” “emits flaming pellets,” “flaming balls,” “fire*******,” “report,” or “rocket,” is illegal for the public to possess, sell or use in Kentucky.

A city of Elizabethtown ordinance details the requirements for those wishing to sell or use “display” fireworks and this information is available by calling the fire department at (270) 765-2121. Retail stands, wholesalers and all who wish to use “display” fireworks must have a permit and are inspected by fire department officials. Most people are unlikely to qualify for a permit in the area of training, and they often don’t have sufficient space for a compliant display.

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Know fireworks laws, safety rules - www.thenewsenterprise.com

The New York State Police has planned an Independence Day Traffic Safety Initiative to heighten the public’s awareness of the dangers posed by speeding, impaired driving and failure to properly use safety restraints. Starting today and running through Monday, July 6, patrols will pay close attention to motorists who may be violating any of these traffic laws.

“We have a commitment to protect all who are traveling on the highways this holiday weekend," said Major Christopher L. Cummings, Troop “A” commander. “If you are caught drinking and driving you will be arrested. We will not tolerate irresponsible driving behavior that puts others in danger."

Throughout the holiday weekend motorists should expect sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols committed to DWI enforcement.

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http://www.thebatavian.com/blogs/bil...fireworks/7418

If you're thinking about shooting off fireworks or firing your gun at random this Independence Day weekend, be warned: both the Dallas Police and Fire departments will be looking for you.

Extra police and fire prevention officers will be out in neighborhoods and at city parks and lakes looking for anyone with illegal fireworks or shooting off their guns.

Here is the press release explaining what authorities plan to do. Consider yourselves warned and Happy Fourth!

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CRIME Blog | The Dallas Morning News

Gov. Jon Corzine has formally joined the legal effort to overturn a federal ban on sports betting in New Jersey and 45 other states.

Corzine in June said he was throwing his support behind the lawsuit filed in March by Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), which claims the federal prohibition of sports betting discriminates against the 46 states where it is imposed.

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Gov. Corzine joins legal fight to overturn federal ban on sports betting - NJ.com

Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe is reportedly considering whether to fight for custody of the couple's two children.

The BBC News website asked Professor Scott Altman, an expert in family law from the University of Southern California, to explain the legal issues surrounding the custody battle.

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BBC NEWS | Americas | Jackson custody case: the legal issues